Featured Speaker(s)

Mar Vaquero received a Ph.D. Degree in Astrodynamics and Space Applications from Purdue University under the guidance of Professor Kathleen Howell. Her research is focused on developing ways to fly around the solar system using little to no fuel. Mar is currently a Mission Design Engineer at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she has worked on multiple projects, ranging from developing early mission concepts to navigating Cassini through its Grand Finale.

Maureen Rowbotham has more than 25 years' experience in Aerospace, including Program and Project Management, Engineering Management, Risk and Communication Subject Matter Expert and Proposal Capture Strategy. Currently Maureen is the Project Manager for the RKV (Redesigned Kill Vehicle) system which is in development as a near term defense weapon Throughout her career, Maureen has managed over 50 complex and strategic development programs from conception, development, transition to production and through the production effort. Her customers have included DoD, MDA and International customers with platforms on land, air and sea. As a proposal specialist, Maureen generated >120 cost and technical proposals from start to finish with a value of $65M. Maureen is also a published technical author and keynote speaker at multiple SAWE conferences and at the AIAA International conference.

In addition to her career in Aerospace, Maureen is a double gold medalist in Ladies Figure Skating (United States Figure Skating Association) and has bred, trained, and shown multiple AKC Champion Golden Retrievers.

Maureen earned her MS in Structural Engineering and Engineering Management from California State University @ Northridge (CSUN) and her BS in Civil Engineering, also from CSUN.

Jovita Jenkins is a personal and professional reinvention expert who transformed her career from aerospace engineer to corporate executive to serial entrepreneur. Beginning as a pioneer and west coast hidden figure, Jovita forged a stellar career in the male-dominated aerospace industry, starting as an engineer, and culminating as an executive. In her second act career, Jovita serves as an executive coach and consultant specializing in leadership development for aspiring and seasoned corporate leaders, small business owners, and their teams. Jovita leverages first-hand experience to help her coaching clients reorient their thinking, shift their perspectives to overcome roadblocks to success, and focus on critical steps to accomplishing their goals. Passionate about STEM education for women, Jovita serves as a community leader for the L.A. Chapter of the Anita Borg Institute which is dedicated to helping women transform technology. Jovita is a dynamic speaker on topics of success and personal reinvention, and the author of the best-selling book, Get Out Of Your Own Way - Create The Next Chapter Of Your Life. An avid golfer and Toastmasters Area Director, Jovita holds BS and MS degrees in Math, an MBA from UCLA, and is certified as a professional coach.

Leah Sobel is a mission assurance engineer in the Acquisition Risk and Reliability Department at The Aerospace Corporation. In her current position, she supports NASA Headquarters as a mission analysis engineer where she interfaces with NASA customers, engages in mission reviews and completes independent technical and programmatic risk, cost and schedule analyses. She is also a key member of the reliability team supporting NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she is performing fault tree analyses (FTA) for the Mars 2020 rover mission. In past years, Leah has worked on the United Launch Alliance and SpaceX new entrant launch vehicle certification team.

Leah is currently the President of the Aerospace Women's Committee and has spent years supporting the group and its mission to create a stronger and more inclusive engineering workplace. She received a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Maryland.

Dr. Stephanie Goldfarb is working as a Project Leader in Strategic Initiatives at the Aerospace Corporation. In this role, she develops strategic planning guidelines for engineering and science departments throughout the company, communicates the corporate value proposition to stakeholders and customers, and administers the corporate strategic initiative financial portfolio. Previously, she served on the technical staff at Aerospace and contributed to control analyses for several national programs.

Professionally, she has assumed broad responsibilities, including work as a corporate strategist, controls engineer, and cognitive neuroscientist. Prior to Aerospace, she completed a postdoc at HRL Laboratories in Malibu, CA and internships at General Motors Research and Development in Warren, MI and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in Gaithersburg, MD. She earned a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University and a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Cornell University. Her awards include the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, the National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, and the HRL New Inventor Award. Outside of work, she completed two marathons and is currently pursuing hang gliding certification.