Welcome to 2014 with AWIS DC! This year, we are taking the opportunity afforded by social media to give you a brief “introduction” to all of the AWIS DC officers. We are here to help you, and if you spot us at an AWIS DC gathering, please say hi!
For our next installment in the series, please welcome the Vice President of Communications, Mayra Montrose!
Ms. Mayra Montrose is the Program Manager of the Presidential National Medal of Science and the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award and serves as the NSF point of contact with the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy for all Presidential awards managed by NSF. She is also the Executive Secretary of the Committee on Science of the President’s National Science and Technology Council that coordinates science policy for the Federal Government. She joined NSF in January, 2006.
Ms. Montrose worked at NASA for seventeen years. Her last job at NASA was as Program Manager of the Energy and Water National Applications in the Applied Sciences Program in the Science Mission Directorate. Prior to that job, she was Program Manager for Education in the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, where she worked in Education and research policy issues. Ms. Montrose worked for five years as Executive Officer to the NASA Chief Scientist. She also worked for five years in the Life Sciences Division of the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications as the manager of the Life Sciences Small Payloads program. Ms. Montrose’s first job with NASA was at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where she worked as an experiment engineer, testing payloads before they flew in the Space Shuttle. While at Kennedy Space Center, she also worked as a VIP escort for the space shuttle launches, and as a mentor for disadvantaged elementary school students. She has received numerous achievement awards acknowledging her significant contributions, including two from the European Space Agency and the German Space Agency. In 1998, Ms. Montrose received the NASA Cooperative External Achievement Award for her efforts in serving as an interface with new prospective commercial partners of NASA.
Ms. Montrose was selected to participate in the 1996 LEGISfellows program sponsored by The Brookings Institute. She worked in California Congressman Esteban Torres’ office in Washington D.C. for nine months.
She earned Masters and Bachelor degrees in Computer Engineering at the University of South Florida in Tampa. Ms. Montrose was born and raised in Puerto Rico.
1. What do you do?
I work at the National Science Foundation. My job is to manage the National Medal of Science and the Alan T. Waterman Award ($1 million to an early-career scientist or engineer) and serve as liaison to the White House for all other presidential honorary awards managed by NSF. I am also the executive secretary of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Science, a policy and implementation group in the federal government.
2. What is your science “story?”
I stumbled into computer engineering after becoming disillusioned with chemical engineering. Literally stumbled: when I decided that chemical engineering was not what I envisioned, I decided to go down the list of engineering departments in alphabetical order. I skipped Civil and went into Computer and loved it! (I was ready to move on to Electrical and Industrial…). My areas of interest were chip design and fault testing. My first job was as an experiment engineer at NASA Kennedy Space Center, testing experiment hardware for the Space Shuttle. I mostly worked with materials science experiments. It was the best job ever! I moved to NASA Headquarters and managed research hardware for biological experiments. My career eventually delved into federal science policy, both at NASA and NSF.
3. Why did you decide to get involved with AWIS DC?
I have been a member for a long time. I love that AWIS is a society for women in all sciences and that it provides a network of support through all the stages of our careers.
4. What is one of your favorite things about AWIS DC?
I love that the members of AWIS DC come from so many interesting backgrounds! I also love the mission of supporting women by networking, mentoring and offering leadership opportunities. AWIS DC is a great community.
5. What new program or event at AWIS DC do you like the most? Why?
I think the Mentoring Circles is a superb program because it opens mentoring from the traditional one-on-one relationship to a group relationship. It is a winner! In 2014, I’m also looking forward to other activities such as kayaking (since I missed it last time).
6. In your new position, what do you hope you will help AWIS DC accomplish?
As VP for communications, I hope to bring the experience I have gained in my job as executive secretary of the Committee on Science to help expand the network of the organization. I am especially eager to expand the network to more Latinas in science and engineering.
7. Tell us something personal about yourself: when did you fall in love with science?
I grew up in a very small town in Puerto Rico. I have always loved science and mathematics and, as a child, spent countless hours working on math problems for fun. My nerdiness is genetic. My mom was a professor of nursing at the University of Puerto Rico. In high school, I loved chemistry more than any other science. My chemistry teacher was a very smart and beautiful woman who had worked as a scientist in a nuclear plant. She showed me the possibilities for women in science and engineering and was a great role model. My geometry teacher was another excellent role model: she went back to college and became an engineer after she had a successful career as a mathematics teacher. Although I did not have a specific “a-ha” moment in science, the exposure to these women opened my eyes to the possible careers for a little country nerd.