Thursday, January 24, 2019
6:30 p.m.
McMurtry Auditorium, Dunan Hall
Reception in Martel Hall following panel
Join top female industry leaders as they discuss the additional demands and challenges of being a woman in an engineering leadership position. Hear about how to be an effective leader, the double standards they have faced, and advice for both men and women on how to break down gender barriers.
MEET THE PANEL
Wendy Hoenig ’86
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, H&H Business Development
Wendy Hoenig is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of H&H Business Development, a consulting firm that delivers technology and business assessment due diligence for start-up and private equity companies. The company is based in Spring, Texas. Previously, Hoenig was Chief Technology Officer for Molecular Rebar Design in Austin, TX, a start-up company focused on commercializing discrete carbon nanotubes in various material sectors. Prior to that, she worked for The Dow Chemical Company for 25 years. There she held executive leadership positions within the company in both North America and Europe. These included Global R&D Director for New Business Development for the Performance Plastics & Chemical businesses, Vice President of R&D for Dow Coating Solutions, Technology Director for Epoxy Coatings & Composites, and lastly Global Business Director in the Ventures & Business Development organization. Hoenig obtained her B.A. in Materials Science from Rice University in Houston, TX in 1986 and completed an Entrepreneurial Studies Executive Education diploma at Babson College in Wellesley, MA in 1998. She has also participated in continuing studies programs at IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Joanna Papakonstantinou, ’09, Ph.D.
Mathematics Faculty, Episcopal High School
Dr. Joanna Papakonstantinou received her B.A., M.A., and M.A.T., as well as her Ph.D. in Computational and Applied Mathematics, from Rice University in the field of optimization. She has rich experience in both Academia and the Private Sector. She has served in numerous think tanks, worked in industry designing and implementing science algorithms that solve business problems. After her more than 20 years of combined research, practical and management experience, she returned to teaching 5 years ago and currently teaches at Episcopal High School.
Yvette Pearson, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE
Associate Dean for Accreditation, Assessment & Strategic Initiatives
Rice University
Dr. Yvette E. Pearson is Associate Dean for Accreditation, Assessment, and Strategic Initiatives in the George R. Brown School of Engineering at Rice University. A Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), she is recognized for more than two decades of contributions to engineering education, focused largely on participation of students from excluded identities in STEM education and careers.
Dr. Pearson is Vice Chair of ASCE’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion and was the 2018 recipient of ASCE’s Professional Practice Ethics and Leadership Award “for her role in the development of Canon 8 of the ASCE Code of Ethics [which is focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion] and for emphasizing ethics education and mentoring throughout her career, her embodiment of professional ethics, and service to the civil engineering profession.”
Amy Suhl, MBA
VP CIO – Project & Technology
Shell Global Solutions
Amy Suhl retired from Shell in December 2018 after a successful 32+ year career with the company. In her last assignment, she was the VP CIO for Shell’s Project & Technology business where she had full accountability for IT strategy and operations for that business segment. Throughout her tenure at Shell, she worked in a variety of assignments including IT, Manufacturing, Chemical Sales, and Global Procurement. She also held global management positions since 1998 and has traveled extensively learning about new cultures throughout the world. She has a passion for developing and mentoring staff and is an active mentor both inside and outside Shell. She also does a variety of charity activities in the community serving as an advisor to non-profits and providing support to the senior center in her city. She was recently appointed by the Governor of Texas as a commissioner on the State Commission for Judicial Conduct whose sole purpose is to protect the public from dishonest or unprincipled judges. She received a B.S. Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University and an MBA from Houston Baptist University.