Liza Resley is a senior radio frequency (RF) engineer. Her role with Lockheed Martin has earned her a nomination for the 2018 Women of Color in STEM Outstanding Technical Contribution in Industry Award.

"Never will you find a person more committed to the pursuit of technical excellence than Liza Resley," said Darrell Durst, vice president, advanced program development, Lockheed Martin Space, Mission Solutions. "Liza’s continued personal obligation to improvement, coupled with her deep knowledge of RF systems, has made her a critical asset to the aerospace industry."

After graduating with an engineering degree in 2011, Resley obtained a position as Research Assistant in the Microwave and Electromagnetics Department of the University of Colorado. The following year, she began volunteering as coach of the St. Mary Elementary School’s first Robotic class. She led a team of third through eighth graders to finish as the top Santa Maria team.>/p>

"Contrary to most of my peers, I didn’t pursue engineering until later in life," Resley said. "For ten years, I focused on raising my children and supporting my husband’s Air Force career. When it became the right time for me to pursue my goals, my family was my biggest supporter, my cheerleader during those most challenging and discouraging moments."

After beginning her career with Lockheed Martin in 2013, Resley was challenged to solve a problem between critical hardware and software for a 1998 vintage RF system. It took her three weeks of studying the system topology and performing root-cause analyses to identify the problem at the firmware level and resolving the issue within four days.

Resley said she credits her achievement to her family.

"Their motivation showed me that no matter what stage of life you are in, perseverance and commitment to accomplishing your goals will transform into a lifelong passion, just as engineering has for me," she said.