The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering has announced the selection of Michele Lezama as president and chief executive officer, effective March 26, 2018.
"NACME is delighted to have Michele join the organization as president and CEO," said Ray Dempsey, NACME board chairman. "Her transformational leadership style and history of dedication and support of access to education for underrepresented minorities is a great fit for NACME."
The National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) supports high-performing American Indian, African American, and Latino engineering and computer science students, from college-to-career.
Michele earned her bachelor's degree in Industrial engineering at Northeastern University and both her master's in Industrial Engineering and MBA in Finance and Accounting from Columbia University.
"I am honored and humbled to have been selected as NACME's president and CEO," she said. "As a proud NACME Scholar Alum, I am excited to work with the NACME team to dramatically increase the number of high performing students who gain access to our nation's most rigorous engineering and computer science undergraduate programs, to deliver exceptional outcomes for our university and corporate partners and to actively showcase the opportunities and successes of our nation's diverse STEM community."
The NACME’s Scholars Program provides scholarship support in the form of a lump sum grant to partner institutions who enroll students from three sources – first-year students identified by NACME or the partner universities, transfer students from two-year colleges, and currently enrolled students who have completed at least one year of engineering study.
Recently, Michele served as CEO and executive director of The National GEM Consortium (GEM).
GEM is dedicated to increasing the number of underrepresented individuals who pursue and receive a masters or Ph.D. in engineering, computer science, and other applied science fields.
Prior to GEM, Michele served as executive director of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). She is credited with tripling the organization's capital position and creating a long-term investment structure. Under her leadership, NSBE received a Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring awarded by the White House Office of Science and Technology.
