Superpowers in STEM Panel

Christ Cindy

Chris Cordova grew up in South Central L.A. in a single-parent, low-income, hardworking household. After graduating from Stanford University in 2009 with a B.S. in Aeronautics & Astronautics, she enjoyed an eight-year career in the aerospace industry serving in various roles including jet engine design, aircraft accident investigation, and mechanical product management. She decided to expand her skillset and completed an MBA from UC Berkeley in 2020. Since then, she pivoted into product management of software and data center design at Amazon Web Services. Chris is passionate about expanding access to tech careers, entrepreneurship, and capital for BIPOC communities. She enjoys sharing her own resources and knowledge by coaching small business owners and aspiring tech professionals. Her backbone and drive stem from her three daughters and husband.

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Rocío Aldeco-Pérez

Rocío Aldeco-Pérez holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Southampton, United Kingdom, and is a specialist in the areas of Cryptography and Security. She is currently a full-time professor at the Faculty of Engineering, UNAM, where she conducts research and teaches. Her research interests lie in information privacy, decentralized and distributed authentication protocols, and security applications using blockchain. She is a member of the Mexican Academy of Computing and part of the executive committee of ACM-W, in addition to actively participating in the “Technovation” and “Women in STEM, Future Leaders” movements.

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Check out Rocio’s personal website!

Lindi Mujugira

I love science and I value education. I grew up with a love for Math and Science with the support of my parents who were educators and encouraged us to work hard and reach our goals in life.

My college education journey started with completing my B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. I then completed an MPhil and Ph.D. at the University of Lancashire, U.K, in the Department of Built Environment.
I worked as an engineering consultant for 8 years in Southern Africa. One key project I was involved with was the airport extensions, soccer stadium, and underground high-speed train network, in preparation for the 2010 FIFA soccer world cup games – the first-ever, on African soil.

I work at the University of Washington, College of Engineering as Director of the STARS Program. I am also an adjunct professor at Bellevue College with the STEM to Stern program.

My mission in life is to help students reach their full potential, particularly those disadvantaged by some circumstance, to reach their dream goals in science and engineering.

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Angelica Tran

I decided to pursue Computer Engineering and Computer Science in college to explore both sides of the software/hardware divide, graduating from the University of Southern California.

During college, I interned for Boeing working on avionics, the computers of planes, before starting a full-time job at Microsoft. I started by working on the Office 365 admin portal, moved on to the Windows Storage Sense tool, and now work on the NTFS file system, the base of how data is saved and read on your computer.

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Marlene Cota

Originally from Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, I moved to the United States at 14 when I got a student visa to attend High School. This was when I was first introduced to organized women’s sports and I loved it. Took a little convincing, but my mom let me join the softball and soccer teams. After graduation, I attended the University of Arizona where I got a B.S. in Computer Science with a minor in Math. During this time I served as the President of the University’s ACM chapter, Vice-President of WICS (Women in Computer Science), and worked as an undergraduate TA.

I got an internship at Microsoft the summer before graduation and that led to the full-time job I have now. I currently work on React Native for Windows which is one of Microsoft’s open-source projects.

Connect with Marlene Cota on LinkedIn!
Check out her GitHub site!

Last Updated February 28, 2022