What was your first job and what did you learn from it?

My first job was teaching and I wanted to do the best job I could, which included earning the respect and trust of the students. The most valuable lesson I learned was that you cannot know the answer to every question. What is important is admitting when you do not know the answer and committing to work with the questioner to find that answer.

Who is your hero, mentor or person you most admire? Why?

To me, my hero, mentor, and person most admired are three separate individuals. I will talk about the person I most admire Ð my maternal grandmother, who was the oldest of three daughters. No, she was not a pioneering scientist or technologist, in fact, her mother pulled her out of elementary school to help run a boarding house when her father died and the remaining family needed to fend for themselves. Neither was my grandmother a businesswoman or writer or other professional. She was, however, a genuinely "good person," in fact, the most caring person I've ever known, who always looked for the best in others. She was also a very real person with a terrific sense of humor; her favorite holiday was April Fool's Day and every year she worked at tricking each member of the family.

What are you most proud of (either professionally or personally)?

I am proud to have my accomplishments recognized by my peers, for example an IEEE Senior Engineer of the Year Award, or a patent in satellite communications, or a best paper award. What is more important to me is that I've been fortunate to work with some tremendously talented individuals and have had some wonderful job opportunities. I have also been fortunate to have some very close, dear friends and a wonderful family. For these I am thankful, not proud. Another part of me hopes that my most significant accomplishment is still to come and so I strive to improve.

What advice would you give to young women who want to enter your field?

My advice is, "Don't do it unless you really enjoy the work and it matches well with your set of skills and traits. Don't go into any field just because it is a rapidly growing field or because the salaries are good or because your best friend is studying it. Do it because you have a passion for your chosen field É whatever it is. It is that passion which will get you through the long work hours and the frantic deadlines and all the other issues."

What is your favorite book?

My favorite book is usually the last murder mystery I've found time to read. However, to cite a non-fiction book, it would be "Think to Win: The New Approach to Fast Driving" by Don Alexander. It not only helped me in my amateur racing time trials, but the thoughts on visualization, anticipation, concentration, and prioritization are applicable to the board room as well as the race track.

What is your favorite Web site?

Of course, I like the DON CIO/DASN site:
http://www.doncio.navy.mil/

as well as the Navy and Marine Corps sites:
http://www.navy.mil/
http://www.usmc.mil/

However, another particularly cool site is:
http://liftoff.msfc.nasa.gov/

From this NASA page, you can find information on satellites and other space vehicles, and see the orbits of MIR and the Space Shuttle.

What do you see as the single most interesting element of your work?

It is a combination of two elements: the people who are incredibly diverse and dedicated and the perspective which is incredibly broad. We have enormous challenges because the Navy and Marine Corps literally must cover the globe and must be responsive to a variety of missions.

We have information systems deployed all over the world, so we have to think globally. We have to provide timely, secure, interoperable information services (ashore and afloat ) while working with a myriad of other systems, those from the other military services, from our allies, and our own legacy systems.

What was your darkest moment (professionally) and what did you learn from it?

Several years ago I was re-assigned positions, which required transferring a team of 65 talented folks to another senior manager. I had grown this team from an initial group of two: yours truly and a technician. What did I learn? For one thing, that it is difficult to part with a truly terrific team which shares a common vision, work ethic and dedication to customer satisfaction. The other thing I learned is that different levels of management have different perspectives and that I needed to better understand the perspectives of others and to remain flexible.

What do you do to relax?

Since 1980, I have raised Scottish deerhounds and borzoi (Russian wolfhounds). They are a constant source of joy, reminding me that a walk in the woods or a game of "tag" in the back yard is important to well-being. It has been observed that many people live on the world, not in it. The hounds keep pulling me "in" when I start to venture "on."