FY23 SWE-SNH SLATE OF OFFICERS
PRESIDENT:
Melissa Odom
VICE PRESIDENT:
Christina Millar
TREASURER:
Jeff Brody
SECRETARY:
Carolyn Hajdusek
Melissa Odom
VICE PRESIDENT:
Christina Millar
TREASURER:
Jeff Brody
SECRETARY:
Carolyn Hajdusek
SWE-SNH Officer Candidate Summaries
Nomination and Election Process
The nominating committee is responsible for soliciting candidates from the section members and issuing a slate which includes members who are both qualified to run and have expressed their interest in writing to the President. Any candidate, including petitioners, must submit a “Willingness to be Considered” form. The nominating committee arranges for the distribution of ballots, receives and counts the votes, and reports the results to the membership.
Elections must be completed by June 30 th. To meet this timeline, the call for nominations for FY23 was issued with a deadline of April 1, 2022. The slate was issued on April 13, 2022. The nomination by petition period closed April 30, 2022. Ballots will be issued by May 6, 2022 and voting will take place for at least 21 days. Voting will close on May 28, 2022.
SWE SNH FY23 Ballot
PRESIDENT
Melissa Odom
Melissa Odom is the Deputy Business Area Engineering Director for C4ISR Systems at BAE Systems, Inc in Hudson, NH. She has worked in Defense as a software and systems engineer for over 20 years. Prior to joining BAE, she worked on COMINT and SIGINT systems for shipboard, airborne, man portable, and land-based platforms for over a decade at DRS Technologies. She was a technical lead for their distributed Electronic Warfare systems, which she helped design, develop, and deploy in several different countries. She worked on the Patriot Missile System during her time as a software engineer for Raytheon and wrote targeting and collateral damage software while working for the Naval Surface Warfare Center. She grew up in Maine, and has a BS in Computer Science from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.
From the candidate: "It has been a pleasure to serve as the Southern New Hampshire President for this past year as we navigate out of the pandemic. I have really learned a great deal about SWE and our section I am passionate about mentoring and supporting others in their professional development - and want to continue to grow and develop our Southern New Hampshire SWE section."
VICE PRESIDENT
Christina Millar
Christina Millar is a Principal Systems Engineer in the CEMA organization where she leads Capital Management and Miniature System Integration Lab efforts at the Hudson, NH facility. Her previous roles included Systems Engineering Integration and Test Lead, Consoles Racks and Power IPT Lead, and Requirements Manager. Prior to coming to BAE Systems in January of 2019, she worked at Raytheon Technologies as a Mechanical Engineer. She held multiple roles throughout her 4 years there, including Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) Lead and Research and Development Lead for MMIC Thermal Management. Christina has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Vermont and will be receiving her Master’s Degree in Engineering Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2022. Christina holds leadership roles in several other organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) SNH Chapter Vice President as well as the BAE Systems Women’s Inclusive Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group (ERG) Vice President. She lives in Amherst, NH with her husband and two dogs, and she enjoys cooking, skiing, photography, scuba diving, and world travel.
From the candidate: "I operate best when my plate is full, especially when it is full of opportunities to create a better environment for women in the workplace and equal opportunity for all. The leadership, communication and organization skills that I possess allow me to be comfortable hosting large meetings, encouraging discussions on a wide variety of topics, presenting data and ideas to large groups, and creating a safe space for people from all walks of life. My engineering background combined with my enthusiastic and energetic personality provides me with an organized, analytical mindset that is conducive to preparing presentations, communicating information and ideas, and organizing meetings and events. I am passionate about this organization and am excited about the opportunity to make a difference and to continue to support an adapting and growing SWE Chapter.
I am an active member of SWE and participate in a variety of events that are focused around encouraging women in technology and science. I recently transferred out of the SWE Boston chapter and into the SWE SNH chapter, and I am excited to have the opportunity to become more involved with this group. I have been to the past five SWE National Conferences, participating in workshops, volunteering for the career fair and giving a 1 hour presentation at the Austin conference in 2017. Encouraging women, not only in engineering but in all careers, is near and dear to my heart and I strive to always find opportunities to make a difference for young women who may not otherwise pursue a STEM degree. I am also actively involved with the UMass Lowell and WPI collegiate SWE organizations and visit the campus often to present on panels to encourage female students to stay in engineering despite the obstacles it may indicate."
TREASURER
Jeff Brody
Jeff Brody is retired from IBM where he was Program Director for Faculty Awards for the IBM Global University Programs for IBM Corporation. He brings over 30 years of experience managing and preparing budgets.
A longtime member and supporter of SWE, Jeff served a three-year term as a Trustee for the Society of Women Engineers. The SWE Trustees manage all investments for the Society. He also served as chair of the audit committee for one year. Jeff is in the unique position of understanding SWE financial strategy, fiduciary responsibility and is passionate about supporting SWE-SNH. He is presently serving as SWE SNH's Treasurer.
From the candidate: "I am pleased to volunteer to be Treasurer for the SNH section again for FY23. I have been a member of the board of trustees at a time when we each managed a portfolio of stocks and bonds. I have been the audit committee chair for the society and managed the process for the whole society ensuring the audits were completed. I have also been the audit chair for region F. I have been the Treasurer since FY17 and would like to continue in that role."
SECRETARY
Carolyn Hajdusek
Carolyn Hajdusek is a Senior Systems Engineer and Section Leader in the Air Defense Systems
Department (ADS) at Raytheon Technologies. Her primary role responsibilities as a senior systems
engineer involve being the diagnostic software requirements lead for all maintenance diagnostic
programs as well as develop and test software requirements for shelter diagnostics across multiple
Patriot programs. As a section leader, her responsibilities include leading a diverse team of engineers through performance and career development in addition to supporting department initiatives, mentoring, program staffing and hiring activities. She started her career with Raytheon as an intern in 2013 and later accepted a full-time position in 2015 and has supported the ADS department since. She stays active with mentoring efforts, SWE and employee resource groups.
Carolyn grew up in Northfield, NH and later pursued a BS in Electrical Engineering from Western New England University. Most recently she has completed her MS in Engineering Management from Tufts University.
The nominating committee is responsible for soliciting candidates from the section members and issuing a slate which includes members who are both qualified to run and have expressed their interest in writing to the President. Any candidate, including petitioners, must submit a “Willingness to be Considered” form. The nominating committee arranges for the distribution of ballots, receives and counts the votes, and reports the results to the membership.
Elections must be completed by June 30 th. To meet this timeline, the call for nominations for FY23 was issued with a deadline of April 1, 2022. The slate was issued on April 13, 2022. The nomination by petition period closed April 30, 2022. Ballots will be issued by May 6, 2022 and voting will take place for at least 21 days. Voting will close on May 28, 2022.
SWE SNH FY23 Ballot
PRESIDENT
Melissa Odom
Melissa Odom is the Deputy Business Area Engineering Director for C4ISR Systems at BAE Systems, Inc in Hudson, NH. She has worked in Defense as a software and systems engineer for over 20 years. Prior to joining BAE, she worked on COMINT and SIGINT systems for shipboard, airborne, man portable, and land-based platforms for over a decade at DRS Technologies. She was a technical lead for their distributed Electronic Warfare systems, which she helped design, develop, and deploy in several different countries. She worked on the Patriot Missile System during her time as a software engineer for Raytheon and wrote targeting and collateral damage software while working for the Naval Surface Warfare Center. She grew up in Maine, and has a BS in Computer Science from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.
From the candidate: "It has been a pleasure to serve as the Southern New Hampshire President for this past year as we navigate out of the pandemic. I have really learned a great deal about SWE and our section I am passionate about mentoring and supporting others in their professional development - and want to continue to grow and develop our Southern New Hampshire SWE section."
VICE PRESIDENT
Christina Millar
Christina Millar is a Principal Systems Engineer in the CEMA organization where she leads Capital Management and Miniature System Integration Lab efforts at the Hudson, NH facility. Her previous roles included Systems Engineering Integration and Test Lead, Consoles Racks and Power IPT Lead, and Requirements Manager. Prior to coming to BAE Systems in January of 2019, she worked at Raytheon Technologies as a Mechanical Engineer. She held multiple roles throughout her 4 years there, including Design for Manufacture and Assembly (DFMA) Lead and Research and Development Lead for MMIC Thermal Management. Christina has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Vermont and will be receiving her Master’s Degree in Engineering Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2022. Christina holds leadership roles in several other organizations, including the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) SNH Chapter Vice President as well as the BAE Systems Women’s Inclusive Network (WIN) Employee Resource Group (ERG) Vice President. She lives in Amherst, NH with her husband and two dogs, and she enjoys cooking, skiing, photography, scuba diving, and world travel.
From the candidate: "I operate best when my plate is full, especially when it is full of opportunities to create a better environment for women in the workplace and equal opportunity for all. The leadership, communication and organization skills that I possess allow me to be comfortable hosting large meetings, encouraging discussions on a wide variety of topics, presenting data and ideas to large groups, and creating a safe space for people from all walks of life. My engineering background combined with my enthusiastic and energetic personality provides me with an organized, analytical mindset that is conducive to preparing presentations, communicating information and ideas, and organizing meetings and events. I am passionate about this organization and am excited about the opportunity to make a difference and to continue to support an adapting and growing SWE Chapter.
I am an active member of SWE and participate in a variety of events that are focused around encouraging women in technology and science. I recently transferred out of the SWE Boston chapter and into the SWE SNH chapter, and I am excited to have the opportunity to become more involved with this group. I have been to the past five SWE National Conferences, participating in workshops, volunteering for the career fair and giving a 1 hour presentation at the Austin conference in 2017. Encouraging women, not only in engineering but in all careers, is near and dear to my heart and I strive to always find opportunities to make a difference for young women who may not otherwise pursue a STEM degree. I am also actively involved with the UMass Lowell and WPI collegiate SWE organizations and visit the campus often to present on panels to encourage female students to stay in engineering despite the obstacles it may indicate."
TREASURER
Jeff Brody
Jeff Brody is retired from IBM where he was Program Director for Faculty Awards for the IBM Global University Programs for IBM Corporation. He brings over 30 years of experience managing and preparing budgets.
A longtime member and supporter of SWE, Jeff served a three-year term as a Trustee for the Society of Women Engineers. The SWE Trustees manage all investments for the Society. He also served as chair of the audit committee for one year. Jeff is in the unique position of understanding SWE financial strategy, fiduciary responsibility and is passionate about supporting SWE-SNH. He is presently serving as SWE SNH's Treasurer.
From the candidate: "I am pleased to volunteer to be Treasurer for the SNH section again for FY23. I have been a member of the board of trustees at a time when we each managed a portfolio of stocks and bonds. I have been the audit committee chair for the society and managed the process for the whole society ensuring the audits were completed. I have also been the audit chair for region F. I have been the Treasurer since FY17 and would like to continue in that role."
SECRETARY
Carolyn Hajdusek
Carolyn Hajdusek is a Senior Systems Engineer and Section Leader in the Air Defense Systems
Department (ADS) at Raytheon Technologies. Her primary role responsibilities as a senior systems
engineer involve being the diagnostic software requirements lead for all maintenance diagnostic
programs as well as develop and test software requirements for shelter diagnostics across multiple
Patriot programs. As a section leader, her responsibilities include leading a diverse team of engineers through performance and career development in addition to supporting department initiatives, mentoring, program staffing and hiring activities. She started her career with Raytheon as an intern in 2013 and later accepted a full-time position in 2015 and has supported the ADS department since. She stays active with mentoring efforts, SWE and employee resource groups.
Carolyn grew up in Northfield, NH and later pursued a BS in Electrical Engineering from Western New England University. Most recently she has completed her MS in Engineering Management from Tufts University.
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