In February, the United States celebrates Black History Month, which recognizes the contributions of African Americans to the nation.
Throughout the month, Women of Color (WOC) Online will share the stories and accomplishments of WOC award winners.
We begin the series with inspiring quotes from African American scientists, technologists, engineers, and mathematicians who have been awarded the top prize at the WOC STEM Conference.
Sherita Caesar, the Technologist of the Year in 2001, had a successful career spanning decades.
She was responsible for numerous firsts, including launching the first Comcast Universal Caller ID cross-platform application, remote DVR, Comcast Content Distribution Network, and Cloud DVR platforms.
Her contributions transformed regional video deployment activities into a crucial element of the corporation's video platform.
She retired as senior vice president of technology environments & strategy in 2022 and also spoke at a meetup held during a learning and networking event.
Vallerie Parrish-Porter, the Technologist of the Year in 2003, was responsible for the strategic direction of Hewlett-Packard's IT resources.
She held significant positions as a chief information officer and comptroller in Fortune 500 companies. Her groundbreaking work was recognized for breaking barriers in a male-dominated industry.
Nancy Stewart, the Technologist of the Year in 2005, became the first Black woman to be appointed vice president at IBM in 1991.
Her R&D team developed the hardware and software for the market-leading 4381 computer system.
Stewart was Walmart's chief technology officer (CTO) and led Walmart's systems, system infrastructure, and operations, responsible for over 11 mainframes supporting 2,000 processors and two data centers in Bentonville, Arkansas.
On women working in male-dominated industries
Chineta Davis, the 2007 Technologist of the Year, who retired as a vice president at Northrop Grumman, said, "I didn't grow up where people talked about stocks around the table at night or what would happen in the market the next day. But I was fortunate to work for the first female vice president at Northrop Grumman. Suzanne used to tell us, 'If you want to work in this industry and you want to be competitive, you've got to learn how to have 'rhino hide'—not take anything personally.'"
Norma Clayton, the 2009 Technologist of the Year, was the vice president for Learning, Training, and Development at The Boeing Company.
In that role, she collaborated with business units and functions to create training and development programs to ensure Boeing employees had the necessary skills to perform their jobs.
On learning from failure and success
Alicia Boler-Davis, the former senior vice president of General Motors, who was the 2014 Technologist of the Year, said, "Any time you drive for results and move fast, you will make mistakes. Don't pretend you have all the answers. Humility goes a long way."
On breaking the glass ceiling
Delia Grenville, research scientist at Intel Corporation and the 2015 Technologist of the Year, said, "The award opened up a lot of career conversations in and outside of my company. It gave me access to executive-level connections and conversations I hadn't had before. I don't think where I was in middle management, those conversations would have occurred as quickly."
On innovation
Denise Gray, the CEO of LG Chem Power Inc. and the 2017 Technologist of the Year, said, "Industry is always going to need people who can innovate. The technology we have today wasn't here when our parents were young. We Americans love to be the first at doing something. Innovation is a part of our core."
On overcoming obstacles
Donna L. Bell, the former director of research operations at Ford Motor Company and the 2018 Technologist of the Year, said, "Growing up, I wasn't exactly sure where my love for STEM would lead. Unfortunately, in our world, there aren't too many paths for an African American girl from Detroit interested in learning about how things work. So, I decided to forge my own."
On solving global problems
Pamela McCauley, the professor and laboratory director at the University of Central Florida and the 2019 Technologist of the Year, said, "I'm excited by the National Science Foundation's ten big ideas that will impact most significantly. Seeding innovation, harnessing the data revolution, and the future of work at the human-technology frontier. Still, a few of these ideas will bring people together to solve global problems."
Sylvia Trent Adams, Ph.D., who received the Technologist of the Year award in October 2020, was recognized as a champion of the greater appreciation of science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine, particularly for underrepresented minorities at undergraduate and graduate levels.
On impostor syndrome
Dr. Valerie S. Ashby, the 2022 Technologist of the Year, said, "When I struggled as a student, I learned that I was called to teach. When I struggled with the weight of impostor syndrome, I learned I was called to encourage and empower graduate students and faculty. When I struggled to see myself represented in the Academy, I learned I was called to create pathways and opportunities for scholars of color to be recognized, visible, and valued. So, I'm grateful that struggle is the first word, but I stand here tonight grateful that it isn't the last."
Below is a list of 14 African American technologists of the year who have been recognized at the WOC STEM Conference since 1997:
