Join Dallas SWE and SMU Lyle School of Engineering on April 18 for a full-day conference built around this year’s theme: “Leading with Intention: Skills and Mindsets for the Modern Professional.” Engineers at every career stage will leave with practical tools to:
- Lead with or without formal authority
- Apply their engineering background to emerging and non-traditional roles
- Make data-driven decisions and communicate with clarity
- Navigate change and modern workplace dynamics
Keynote, interactive workshops, panels, and networking — all in one day. April 18 at SMU Caruth Hall, Dallas.
Agenda
Morning
9:00 AM
Registration & Networking Breakfast
9:45 AM
Opening Remarks
Anmolika Singh — Analytics Program Manager, Stanley Black & Decker | VP Professional Development, Dallas SWE
Dr. Cyonna Holmes, PhD — Director of Strategic Initiatives, McKesson | President, Dallas SWE
Lea Worth — Program Development, Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, SMU Lyle
10:00 AM
KEYNOTE SESSION
Designing the Future You Want: Intentional Leadership and Career Development
Career paths rarely go as planned, but the professionals who thrive aren’t the ones who avoided change, they’re the ones who navigated it with intention. Dr. Lundsteen draws on her research and coaching expertise to help you build the self-awareness and strategic clarity needed to shape a career that’s distinctly yours.
Dr. Natalie Lundsteen, PhD — Director of Operations, Alloy Therapeutics | Expert Career Advisor
10:50 AM
SESSION I — FIRESIDE CHAT
Strategies for Navigating Career Transitions and the Modern Job Search
The modern job search is noisy, but the right strategies can make you impossible to ignore. This fireside chat covers how to stand out in a crowded applicant pool, leverage your engineering background for roles beyond the obvious, and strategically approach networking, cold outreach, and interviews.
Claire Jordan — HR Manufacturing Training Program Owner, Texas Instruments
Moderated by: Dr. Cyonna Holmes, PhD — Director of Strategic Initiatives, McKesson | President, Dallas SWE
SESSION II — WORKSHOP
Mindsets for Innovation (Hands-on Design Workshop)
A hands-on workshop to improve collaboration skills with practical tips and best practices you can take back to your organization. Roll up your sleeves and use your hands to build and learn about innovation through building.
Dr. Seth Orsborn, PhD — Deason Innovation Gym (DIG) Director & Clinical Professor, SMU
SESSION III — WORKSHOP
Data-Driven Decision Making
Data doesn’t make decisions. Leaders do. This workshop gives you a practical playbook for turning messy, conflicting data into confident, defensible decisions.
Anmolika Singh — Analytics Program Manager, Stanley Black & Decker | VP Professional Development, Dallas SWE
Afternoon
12:05 PM
PANEL DISCUSSION
Building Influence and Leading With and Without Authority in the Modern Workplace
How do engineers build influence without positional authority and what does leadership really look like in today’s workplace? This panel brings together leaders across industries to explore leadership at all career stages, navigating uncertainty, and redefining growth in the evolving workforce.
Shelley Stracener — Principal Systems Engineer, LivaNova
Tanya Titus — Director of Systems & Clinical Engineering R&D, Abbott
Susanna Biancheri — Vice President, AT&T
Dr. Barbara Minsker, PhD, PE — Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Professor of Leadership & Global Entrepreneurship, SMU
Moderated by: Anmolika Singh — Analytics Program Manager, Stanley Black & Decker & VP Professional Development, Dallas SWE
12:50 PM
Networking Lunch & Sponsor Spotlights
2:00 PM
FEATURED SESSION
The High Impact Professional: How to Focus, Prioritize, and Deliver
In a landscape of compressed timelines and shifting priorities, the professionals who thrive are those who deliver despite moving goalposts. David Sandhu provides a tactical playbook for thriving and succeeding in complex corporate settings. Through real-world scenarios for every level, from entry-level to director and above, you will learn how to prioritize your work for the greatest impact, manage capacity, navigate changing expectations, and initiate the right conversations with your team or manager. Leave with a practical toolkit ready to put into action on Monday morning.
David Sandhu — Senior Financial Advisor, EverSource Wealth Advisors
2:50 PM
ROUND TABLE
Bridging Your Past and Your Future: Evolving Your Engineering Skills for Tomorrow’s Challenges
How do you translate core STEM skills into emerging and non-traditional careers? This roundtable explores reframing existing experience to stay competitive, future career trends shaping engineering roles, and strategies for exploring new technical opportunities.
Jessica Burnham — Director, MADI Design & Innovation, SMU
Dr. Kathleen Smits, PhD, PE — Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, SMU Lyle
Jasleen Dhillon — Asst. Director, Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity, SMU
Nancy Novak — Chief Innovation Officer, Compass Datacenters
Facilitated by: Linda Parker — Director, Career Development, SMU Lyle
3:20 PM
CLOSING PANEL
Women Leading the Future: Stories of Courage, Clarity, and Resilience
Join our panel for a lively, candid conversation about the twists, pivots, and moments that shaped their careers. They’ll share the decisions that didn’t go as planned, how they regrouped and kept moving, and the advice they’d give their younger selves. Part panel, part Q&A, you can submit questions in advance or ask them live. Whether you’re at a career crossroads or trying to navigate the messy parts of leadership at any level, this is your chance to ask what you’re usually afraid to ask.
Barbara Read — Principal Quality Engineer, Raytheon
Dr. Cyonna Holmes, PhD — Director of Strategic Initiatives, McKesson | President, Dallas SWE
Amanda Alsbrook — Product Development Engineer, 4Web
Anmolika Singh — Analytics Program Manager, Stanley Black & Decker & VP Professional Development, Dallas SWE
Moderated by: Ella Deane — Manufacturing Engineer II, Inogen | VP Membership, Dallas SWE
Speaker Bios
Opening Remarks
Anmolika Singh
Analytics Program Manager, Stanley Black & Decker | VP Professional Development, Dallas SWE
Anmolika Singh is an Analytics Program Manager at Stanley Black & Decker with their Data & Analytics team. She previously worked as a Data Scientist and led impactful projects that showcase her ability to extract meaningful insights from complex data to support strategic decision-making and process optimization. Her academic research includes publications on AI-driven inventory classification and modeling sociocultural behavioral traits to predict COVID-19 infection rates. She holds a BS in Data Science from Pennsylvania State University. Beyond her technical work, she is a dedicated advocate for women in STEM, actively contributing to the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Dallas Section since 2023.
Dr. Cyonna Holmes, PhD
Director of Strategic Initiatives, McKesson | President, Dallas SWE
Dr. Cyonna Holmes is the Director of Strategic Initiatives at McKesson, where she leads provider solutions strategy for multispecialty therapeutic areas. She previously served as the Global Pharma Strategy Leader for Ophthalmology, Rare Disease, RNA, and Emerging Areas at Celanese, where she led and oversaw R&D, Strategy, Marketing, and Sales functions. She has authored numerous academic publications, presented at national and global scientific conferences, and is named on two drug delivery patents. She has held multiple leadership roles in Dallas SWE’s Executive Council since 2022 and also serves on the Board of Directors for BOLD Purpose Foundation, a Foundation focused on advancing the success of PhD trainees. She holds a BS in Bioengineering from Stanford University and a PhD in Biomedical Engineering from UT Southwestern.
Lea Worth
Program Development & Industry Outreach, Hart Center for Engineering Leadership, SMU Lyle School of Engineering
Lea Worth leads Program Development and Industry Outreach at the Hart Center for Engineering Leadership at the SMU Lyle School of Engineering. She plays a critical role in shaping the leadership and professional development of engineering students, overseeing initiatives that blend technical education with emotional intelligence and career readiness. Her work focuses on equipping future engineers with the soft skills necessary to lead high-performance teams. She holds a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Asian Studies from The Australian National University and an MSc in Management & Administration from UT Dallas.
Keynote Session:
Designing the Future You Want: Intentional Leadership and Career Development
Dr. Natalie Lundsteen, PhD
Director of Operations, Alloy Therapeutics | Expert Career Advisor
Dr. Natalie Lundsteen is the Director of Operations at Alloy Therapeutics where she manages a biotech start-up academy to support the emerging life sciences ecosystem in North Texas. She has held many career advising positions, including Assistant Dean of Student Affairs at the TCU School of Medicine, Assistant Dean for Career and Professional Development at UT Southwestern and Academic Advising roles at Stanford, MIT, University of Oxford, and the University of Rhode Island. She was selected to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster (2018–2024), where she used her higher education knowledge to contribute to overseas institutional and government projects. A past President of the Board of Directors for the Graduate Career Consortium, she is also a certified Gallups Strength Coach and holds a Board Certified Coach Credential from the Center for Credentialing and Education. She serves on the Board of Directors for BOLD Purpose Foundation, a Foundation focused on advancing the success of PhD trainees. She holds a BS in Journalism and an MS in Education from Boston University, and a DPhil in Education from the University of Oxford.
Morning Fireside Chat and Workshops
Claire Jordan
HR Manufacturing Training Program Owner, Texas Instruments | Treasurer, Dallas SWE
Claire Jordan is the HR Manufacturing Training Program Owner at Texas Instruments and the Treasurer for Dallas SWE. She previously served as a Process Engineer and Equipment Engineer at Texas Instruments, as well as a Peer Career Coach at Arizona State University. She specializes in process engineering and project management, focusing on optimizing technical onboarding and facilitating career transitions for modern professionals. She holds a BS and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University.
Dr. Seth Orsborn, PhD
Deason Innovation Gym (DIG) Director & Clinical Professor, SMU
Dr. Seth Orsborn is a Design and Innovation Advisor at SMU and the Director of the Deason Innovation Gym (DIG), a space for students and faculty to use their heads and hands to create innovative, human-centered solutions for technical, entrepreneurial, and artistic challenges. He previously held academic and advisory roles focused on design theories and product development. Dr. Orsborn specializes in navigating the “fuzzy front end” of innovation, helping teams create solutions at the intersection of engineering, marketing, and user-centric design. Seth held previous roles at Toyota North America and a professorship at Bucknell University. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the University at Buffalo and an MS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering from Carnegie Mellon University.
Anmolika Singh
Analytics Program Manager, Stanley Black & Decker | VP Professional Development, Dallas SWE
For a full bio, please see the Opening Remarks section.
Mid Day Panel:
Building Influence and Leading With and Without Authority in the Modern Workplace
Shelley Stracener
Principal Systems Engineer, LivaNova
Shelley Stracener is a Principal Systems Engineer at LivaNova. She previously held various roles at Abbott, including Senior Systems Design Engineer and Senior Regulatory Affairs. A recipient of the SWE Distinguished New Engineer Award, she is a natural systems thinker specializing in product lifecycle management and technical communication. She holds a patent for unique responses for puncture drive media errors. Shelley has held numerous leadership positions in Dallas SWE including section president. She also served SWE at the national level as a Senator for three years. She holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Baylor University and an MS in Systems Engineering from Johns Hopkins University.
Tanya Titus
Director of R&D and Systems & Clinical Engineering, Abbott
Tanya Titus is the Director of R&D and Systems & Clinical Engineering at Abbott, where she manages an R&D team responsible for chronic neuropathic disease medical devices. She previously spent over 20 years at Lockheed Martin, where she managed software engineering and system integration for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. A recognized “Women of Color Technology All-Star,” she is a passionate advocate for inclusive leadership. She holds a BS in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University at Buffalo and an MS in Systems Engineering from Southern Methodist University.
Susanna Biancheri
Vice President, AT&T
Susanna Biancheri is a Vice President at AT&T. She has spent over two decades at AT&T in various leadership capacities across network engineering and operations. A strong advocate for STEM education, she is dedicated to encouraging students to pursue advanced engineering and computer science degrees to drive technical innovation. She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Rochester, an MS in Computer and Information Sciences from DePaul University, and an MBA in Accounting and Finance from the University of Rochester.
Dr. Barbara Minsker, PhD, PE
Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Professor of Leadership & Global Entrepreneurship, SMU
Dr. Barbara Minsker is the Bobby B. Lyle Endowed Professor of Leadership and Global Entrepreneurship at Southern Methodist University. She teaches leadership courses and is a serial entrepreneur. She was recently elected as Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers for her research on water and infrastructure systems analysis. She previously served as a Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and was the President and Founder of Joyful U and Hazard Management Systems, Inc. She is an experienced Leadership Coach and Trainer with a decade of experience in coaching and training women leaders in STEM. She holds a BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Cornell University.
Anmolika Singh
Analytics Program Manager, Stanley Black & Decker | VP Professional Development, Dallas SWE
For a full bio, please see the Opening Remarks section.
Afternoon Featured Session:
The High Impact Professional: How to Focus, Prioritize, and Deliver
David Sandhu
Senior Financial Advisor, EverSource Wealth Advisors
David Sandhu is a Senior Financial Advisor at EverSource Wealth Advisors and a Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®). Before transitioning to financial services, he worked for a decade as an engineer for SpaceX, Raytheon, and Lockheed Martin. He leverages his technical background to provide education-focused retirement planning for modern professionals. He holds a BE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington.
Roundtable:
Bridging Your Past and Your Future: Evolving Your Engineering Skills for Tomorrow’s Challenges
Jessica Burnham
Director, MADI Program & Fellow, Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity, SMU
Jessica Burnham is the Director of the MADI program at SMU and a Fellow at the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity. She previously served as the Executive Director of the Deep Ellum Foundation and the Lowest Greenville Collective. Her work focuses on human-centered design and using communication design to bridge the gap between small businesses and their local environments. She holds a BFA in Communication Design from Metropolitan State College of Denver and an MFA in Innovation Studies and Design Research from the University of North Texas.
Dr. Kathleen Smits, PhD, PE
Professor, Civil & Environmental Engineering, SMU
Dr. Kathleen Smits is a Professor at SMU, previously serving as Chair of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Solomon Professor for Global Development. Prior to SMU, she was a professor at the University of Texas at Arlington and an Associate Professor at Colorado School of Mines and the U.S. Air Force Academy. She has served as a Civil and Environmental Engineering Project Manager in the U.S. Air Force and is currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force Reserves. Over her career, Smits has published more than 80 peer-reviewed technical publications and served in a number of editorship roles, most notably as co-editor and science communication editor of Vadose Zone Journal and associate editor of the Journal of Hydrology. She holds a BS in Environmental Engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy, an MS in Civil Engineering from UT Austin, and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.
Jasleen Dhillon
Assistant Director, Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity, SMU
Jasleen Dhillon is the Assistant Director of the Hunt Institute for Engineering & Humanity at SMU. She previously held roles at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and served as a research assistant at the SMU Lyle School of Engineering. She works at the intersection of engineering and social impact, supporting initiatives that address global challenges through technical innovation. She holds a BS in Environmental Science and an MS in Sustainability & Development from Southern Methodist University.
Nancy Novak
Chief Innovation Officer, Compass Datacenters | Datacenter Systems Engineering Advisory Board, SMU
Nancy Novak is the CIO and a Compass Ambassador at Compass Datacenters. She also serves as an Advisory Board Member for the Datacenter Systems Engineering Program at the SMU Lyle School of Engineering. She previously served as the SVP of Construction at Compass Datacenters and held executive roles at Balfour Beatty US and Hensel Phelps. With over three decades of experience in the construction industry and as a recent inductee into the National Academy of Construction, she has deep expertise in strategic leadership, innovation, and operational management. She is the host of the Extending the Ladder podcast, a podcast focused on providing insight for the next generation of women leaders, as they forge a path in a traditionally male-dominated space. She serves on the Board of Directors for Weston Solutions, World Trade Institute and the National Institute of Building Sciences. She holds a BS in Construction Management from San Diego State University.
Linda Parker (Facilitator)
Director, Career Development Center, SMU Lyle
Linda Parker is the Director of the Career Development Center at SMU Lyle. She provides strategic guidance on job search tactics, interview preparation, and the college-to-career transition for engineering students. Under her leadership, the center helps students leverage the DFW technology environment to secure high-impact roles. She holds a BBA in Marketing and an MEd in Higher Education Policy & Leadership from Southern Methodist University.
Closing Panel:
Women Leading the Future: Stories of Courage, Clarity, and Resilience
Barbara Read
Senior Financial Advisor, EverSource Wealth Advisors
Barbara Read is a Principal Quality Engineer at Raytheon and the FY26 SWE Affinity Group Working Group Chair. She has over three decades of experience in software systems engineering and metrics analysis at Raytheon and E-Systems and is a specialist in process improvement and CMMI compliance. She is a past President of Dallas SWE and remains a dedicated mentor in the quality engineering field. She currently serves SWE at the national level as the SWE Affinity Group Working Group Chair. Barbara has given many presentations and seminars at SWE and WE Local Conferences. She holds a BS and an MS in Mathematics from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.
Dr. Cyonna Holmes, PhD
Director of Strategic Initiatives, McKesson | President, Dallas SWE
For a full bio, please see the Opening Remarks section.
Amanda Alsbrook
Product Engineer, 4WEB Medical
Amanda Alsbrook is a staff product development engineer at 4WEB Medical. With over a decade of experience in product management and development, Amanda has spent her career in a variety of engineering fields ranging from oil and gas to medical devices. She held previous roles at Smith & Nephew Orthopaedics, Schlumberger, OrthoFix, Cudd Energy Services and NCH Corporation. Amanda is passionate about SWE and has held several leadership roles, including Dallas SWE Section president. Amanda earned her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Christian Brothers University.
Anmolika Singh
Analytics Program Manager, Stanley Black & Decker | VP Professional Development, Dallas SWE
For a full bio, please see the Opening Remarks section.
Ella Deane (Moderator)
Manufacturing Engineer II, Inogen | VP Membership, Dallas SWE
Ella Deane is a Manufacturing Engineer II at Inogen and the VP of Membership for Dallas SWE. She has focused on additive manufacturing, tooling design, and bridging the gap between design and manufacturing to optimize production efficiency. She is a dedicated advocate for empowering women in STEM and is passionate about building inclusive professional communities. She holds a BS and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.