Lakela Lofton was a nuclear engineering manager at Newport News Shipbuilding when she won a Special Recognition Award at the 2013 Women of Color STEM Conference.

Lofton began her career as an associate electrical engineer at Newport News. Within two years, she was recognized as one of US Black Engineer and Information Technology magazine’s “30 Under 30: Making a Difference in Engineering.”

Lofton gained swift promotion to construction supervisor and then to refueling cranes engineering supervisor. While in this position, Lofton standardized a process that improved the reliability of the cranes at a time when the company and her team were faced with consistent equipment failures which hampered productivity and increased delays.

Later, Lofton served as a principal nuclear engineer, and that same year was honored by Northrop Grumman as a “Woman That Makes a Difference in the Shipyard.”

In 2011, Lofton was appointed project manager for Kesselring Site Proposal at Ballston Spa, New York. There, she and her team developed a winning proposal worth $590M, a feat that allowed NNS access to new similar opportunities. The Kesselring project was nominated for the NNS 2012 Model of Excellence Award.