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MITRE Employees Honored at Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MITRE Contacts: Jennifer J. Shearman Karina H. Wright MCLEAN, Va., February 21, 2011 — Five employees from The MITRE Corporation received awards at the 25th annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards (BEYA) Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) Global Competitiveness Conference held in Washington, D.C., from February 17-19. Lashon Booker was honored for Technical Innovation; Javita Everhart, Oluseyi "Yemi" Fashina, and Jorge Rodriguez were named Modern-Day Technology Leaders; and Devon Rollins received the Graduate Degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science (GEM) Student Leadership Award. A national awards program, BEYA was established in 1986 to recognize Black Americans who demonstrate excellence in engineering or science and leadership in the workplace and in the community. The conference has evolved over the years to recognize individuals of other ethnicities who are making significant contributions to the STEM fields. "I am delighted to see BEYA recognize Lashon, Javita, Yemi, Jorge, and Devon for their outstanding contributions, both at MITRE and in their communities," said Lisa Bender, vice president and chief human resources officer at MITRE. "Their technical expertise is highly valued by the company and by our government sponsors working to solve some of the country's most complex challenges—from preventing cyber threats to updating critical infrastructure." Lashon Booker Booker is a leading researcher and practitioner in artificial intelligence with expertise in machine learning techniques (data mining, text mining, etc.) and computational models of social networks and behaviors. Since joining MITRE in 1990, Booker, a senior principal scientist in the company's Computing and Information Technologies Technical Center, has led research on network intrusion detection, malware classification, modeling and simulation, and decision support on behalf of various military and civilian government sponsors. His current research in cybersecurity supports the Intelligence Community in identifying threats to critical IT systems. In his 30-plus year career, Booker has authored and edited numerous books, articles, chapters, and conference papers. A mentor to junior staff and a longtime volunteer in activities supporting Catholic schools and youth sports, Booker is a member of the board of directors of the Northern Virginia Junior Catholic Youth Organization. He holds a doctorate in computer and communication sciences and a master's degree in mathematics, both from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor's degree from Columbia University. Javita Everhart A senior multi-discipline systems engineer, Everhart is the task manager of MITRE's work program for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Infrastructure Security Compliance Division (ISCD), established to reduce security risks at chemical facilities. She leads a 10-person team that provides developmental testing and evaluation support to the Department's implementation of the chemical facility anti-terrorism standards regulatory framework. Her team also provides evaluation of and process improvements for the geospatial capabilities of the IT tools the ISCD is developing. With MITRE since 2006, Everhart is an active participant in MITRE's annual Young Women in Engineering Day event and in the company's Take Your Children to Work Day, for which she developed a forensics exercise to teach crime-solving skills. She holds a master's degree in biohazardous threat agents and emerging infectious diseases from Georgetown University and a bachelor's degree in biology from Howard University. She is pursuing a master's degree in systems engineering from Johns Hopkins University. Oluseyi "Yemi" Fashina Fashina has more than 20 years of experience in implementing information technology solutions in the public and private sector. As a lead information systems engineer in MITRE's Center for Connected Government, he helps various government agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), assess and modernize their IT infrastructure to more effectively carry out their missions. He was the network lead in support of the FDA's Information and Computing Technologies for the 21st Century program to modernize the agency's data centers across the country. Fashina, who joined MITRE in 2005, mentors junior staff and volunteers as a soccer and basketball coach through the Catholic Youth Organization. He holds a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of the District of Columbia. Jorge Rodriguez A lead systems engineer in MITRE's Center for Advanced Aviation System Development (CAASD), the Federal Aviation Administration-sponsored federally funded research and development center, Rodriguez has expertise in airspace design and air traffic control modeling and simulation. He currently directs the CAASD team working to optimize airspace and procedures in the eastern U.S., which includes the airspace redesign of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia Metropolitan area. Rodriguez joined MITRE in 2007. He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the California Polytechnic State University. Devon Rollins Rollins is a senior information systems engineer and technical subject matter expert in cyber crime. As a member of MITRE's Cyber and Investigative Technologies Department, his work focuses on developing and integrating leading-edge technology and techniques to support cyber investigations with a national security emphasis. Rollins, who came to MITRE as an intern in 2008, has been a mentor and tutor for at-risk youth and served as the director of Alumni Relations for SponsorChange, a nonprofit organization that forgives student loan debt in exchange for civic service. He holds a master's degree in information security policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University, for which he received a GEM Fellowship, a master's degree in information assurance, and a bachelor's degree in computer science, both from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University. About The MITRE Corporation The MITRE Corporation (www.mitre.org) is a not-for-profit organization that provides systems engineering, research and development, and information technology support to the government. It operates federally funded research and development centers for the Department of Defense, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Homeland Security, with principal locations in Bedford, Mass., and McLean, Va.
Page last updated: February 21, 2011 | Top of page |
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