JRC is excited to announce, Senior Proposal Management Specialist, Gayla Suddarth, has been nominated as Professional of the Year by Women in Defense’s TN Valley Chapter (WID-TVC). Women in Defense (WID) is a national organization comprised of professional women supporting the defense and space community. Women in Defense has numerous chapters across the U.S., including Gayla’s local TN Valley Chapter comprised of approximately 266 members. The organization provides opportunities for networking, professional development, mentorship, scholarships, and STEM outreach activities. Women in Defense’s STEM outreach initiatives provide K-12 and college students exposure to various STEM topics and career paths.
Each year the organization nominates one of its members for Professional of the Year. Gayla was selected as WID Professional of the Year for her TN chapter and nominated for Professional of the Year to The Huntsville Association of Technical Societies (HATS). The winner of this nomination will be selected fall of this year. Gayla was nominated due to her involvement in the technical community (as a defense contractor) combined with her continuous community support efforts in the Huntsville area. Gayla serves as Director of STEM Initiatives for WID-TVC. She formed a committee of ten representatives, including support from various government and elite industry partners, including Missile Defense Agency (MDA), National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), Blue Origin, Deltek, Avion, Intuitive Research & Technology, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Booz-Allen. The committee supports the local community with monetary and hands-on volunteer support. Gayla specifically oversees the STEM volunteer work, managing the organization’s “Call to Action” distribution list of over 45 local professionals. The organization is also responsible for appointing industry professionals to support various STEM outreach activities including high school mock interviews, career fairs, industry STEM presentations, science fair judging, youth STEM mentorship, and STEM coaching for local Cyber Patriots (The National Youth Cyber Education Program created by the Air Force Association to inspire K-12 towards careers in cybersecurity or other STEM disciplines) robotics teams.
Congratulations to JRC employee, Gayla Suddarth, on her WID TN Valley Professional of the Year nomination.
About Gayla Suddarth
Gayla Suddarth has over 30 years’ experience in multi-industry project management, business development, and team leadership. She is skilled in DOD business capture and proposal management, organizational process development/improvement, marketing, quality assurance/engineering, organizational change and efficiency optimization. She’s experience with multiple technology and business environments from classified DOD military projects to FDA-regulated industries, and commercial industries ranging from transportation/logistics to financial and eCommerce.
