Award ceremonies at the annual Women of Color (WOC) Science, Technology, Engineering, Technology, and Math (STEM) Conference showcase excellence, from undergraduate college students to professionals with lifetime achievements.

We celebrate corporate citizens, community servant leaders, and diversity champions. We celebrate educators, inventors, innovators, and people who open doors.

Our awardees have broken barriers in all sectors: educational, geographic, cultural, linguistic, gender-based, racial, and beyond. Generations to come are guaranteed a better future because of them.

Kicking off the 2022 gala, there were greetings from Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan, inspirational songs from the Detroit Youth Choir, and remarks from conference co-host representative Dr. Lexi Hernandez, executive director of the DE&I Workforce Initiatives ay the Raytheon Technologies.

Sponsor remarks were made by Steve Demetriou, chair and CEO, Jacobs, WOC STEM Awards Ceremony sponsor, and by Actalent.

Since 1995, awards presented at the Women of Color STEM Conference have honored excellence in STEM and underscored the under-representation of women in STEM and at senior levels in all disciplines.

For nearly three decades, employers committed to inclusion have chosen the Women of Color STEM Conference to exchange best practices and strategies to attract and keep girls and women in scientific and technical fields. This year's co-sponsor is Raytheon Technologies, with additional sponsorship from Jacobs Engineering.

The event has highlighted the continuing challenges that bias, discrimination, and harassment pose to diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. That's why the 2022 conference theme is a call to action while reflecting on the development and progress to achieve universal workplace gender equality.

In addition to a series of events for attendees to gather, learn, and grow together, the conference hosts an awards ceremony to honor women from a myriad of backgrounds who have overcome obstacles, paved new ways toward success, and have spent time mentoring and nurturing the next generation of STEM leaders. Awards presented at WOC honor excellence and underscore the under-representation of women in all STEM disciplines. Here are the awardees for this year's Women of Color STEM DTX Conference.

The Women of Color STEM Conference is produced by Career Communications Group (CCG), the leader in workforce diversity, working with employers to help promote multiculturalism and gender equity in STEM fields.

For 27 years, the Women of Color STEM Conference has been a leading event for professional development, networking, and providing a resource for women to feel empowered. For more information about the 2022 Women of Color STEM DTX Conference, visit www.womenofcolor.net.