After a decade with General Motors in Michigan, Dr. Annette Parker enrolled in the two-year drafting program at Lansing Community College. While at LCC, she became a lab assistant, completed her bachelor’s and master’s degrees at Ferris State University, and became a full-time instructor and administrator. After 17 years at LCC, she accepted a leadership position with the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) where she served for six years and completed her doctoral degree at Western Kentucky University. 

In 2013, she became the first woman and the first person of color to serve as President of South Central College, where her industry knowledge and broad higher education experience have helped build capacity to serve the college’s students and the community. Part of the Minnesota State system, South Central College (SCC) is a comprehensive community and technical college with campuses in Faribault and North Mankato, Minnesota. The college has a history of innovative industry partnerships and under Dr. Parker’s leadership has expanded its workforce development activities. 

Throughout her career, Dr. Parker has served as a civic-minded inspiration, particularly for minority and non-traditional students, demonstrating in her words and actions that education, combined with resiliency, can have a positive impact on the community as a whole. 

Michelle Burris is a fellow at The Century Foundation, focusing on racial and gender equity in workforce development. She helps to lead the Industry and Inclusion Cohort, where she works with twelve community colleges and eight community based organizations in diversifying the manufacturing pipeline. The cohort has been featured in the Manufacturing Report, and she and her colleagues, helped to champion equity language in the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022.

Prior to joining TCF, Michelle was a teacher at Truman High School in New York City working with African immigrant students. She also served in the United States Peace Corps in Rwanda, teaching English at a boarding school. Michelle participated in internships at the White House and was a congressional fellow in Congressman Jim Cooper’s office. She graduated from Spelman College with a BA in political science, and holds a MA in politics and education from Teachers College, Columbia University.

Dr. Mara Nohemi Lopez is a wife and mother of two children under the age of eight. She is a full-time Associate Director of the Center for Broadening Participation in STEM at ASU. In her work at the Center, she works to develop culturally responsive practices and increase the intentionality with which institutions work with Latinx students in STEM and works with STEM faculty and staff from 2-year and 4-year Hispanic Serving Institutions across the country. She is passionate about equity, access, inclusion, and diversifying the workforce. In addition to this full-time position, she is also a part-time faculty associate teaching undergraduate students and an education consultant helping institutions and educators create culturally responsive classroom environments. She has worked in research for over 15 years on NIH, NSF, DoD, and DoE grants. She earned her BA in Psychology from San Diego State University, her MA in Organizational Leadership from Point Loma Nazarene University, and her Doctorate in Education from Arizona State University. She hopes to continue to affect change within institutions of higher education, provide mentorship for students who have been historically marginalized in academia, and use research to be an agent of change. 

Shari Liss is the Executive Director of the SEMI Foundation, a nonprofit arm of SEMI that focuses on Workforce Development programs and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives supporting more than 2500 companies globally. Shari has more than 25 years of experience supporting education, career awareness and workforce development throughout the technology industry. 

Under Shari’s leadership, the Foundation has launched numerous national and global workforce development initiatives and secured millions of dollars to fund programs that support industry image and awareness, welcome more women and people of color to the industry, and help veterans and those transitioning out of the military find careers in microelectronics. Shari has been instrumental in developing large-scale cross-sector partnerships that are working to bridge industry, education, and the workforce to address the industry’s critical workforce needs. This past February, Shari testified before Congress at the House Research and Technology Subcommittee hearing titled “Strengthening the U.S. Microelectronics Workforce,” where she made the case for increased industry visibility, stronger investments in K-12 STEM education, and a greater focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion in the industry.

Shari was formerly the CEO of Ignited, one of the nation’s most successful STEM teacher professional development organizations. Their work connected companies to classrooms throughout Silicon Valley and gave over 4,000 teachers and 3.2 million students more insights into the skills and experiences needed to succeed in STEM-oriented professions and companies.

Prior to Ignited, Shari was a teacher and curriculum developer, serving in a variety of positions with a focus on mathematics and at-risk students. She has developed an alternative school on the East Coast serving at-risk high school students, created curriculum for NASA and established a mathematics program for both gifted and challenged students in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Jeannine Kunz is the Chief Workforce Development Officer at SME, including the leadership responsibility for Tooling U-SME, the learning and development arm of SME, a non-profit dedicated to strengthening the manufacturing industry. There, she leads a team dedicated to the ongoing education and training of the workforce. 

A recognized expert in the field of learning and development, Kunz is at the forefront of workforce management issues, providing forward-thinking learning and development solutions for companies, academia, and individuals. She is deeply knowledgeable about the challenges facing the manufacturing workforce, and provides guidance on best practices for designing, developing, and implementing performance-based development strategies in today's advanced manufacturing environments.

Her work directly addresses industry dynamics related to people's knowledge and skills in manufacturing. Under Kunz's direction, Tooling U-SME is an innovative pioneer in 21st-century learning, from online classes and virtual reality labs to traditional instructor-led training. 

Based on her expertise in workforce development, Kunz was recently appointed to a National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine committee responsible for developing a study on Options for a National Plan for Smart Manufacturing Technology and Deployment in the United States to ensure U.S. competitiveness.  She also co-chairs the national Smart Manufacturing Executive Council with CESMII.

Kunz served on the executive committee of America Makes and is a board member for the National Coalition of Career Development, Chair for National Defense Industrial Association’s Manufacturing Workforce Committee, and sits on the Manufacturing USA’s Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing’s Education & Workforce Advisory Committee. In 2020, she joined the industry advisory committee for Clemson University’s THINKER graduate program funded by the National Science Foundation, and in 2022, she was appointed as Board of Director for the Manufacturing Technology Deployment Group. “Crain's Detroit Business” recognized Kunz’s work when the publication selected her as one of its 2018 Notable Women in Manufacturing – in Michigan, as well as one of its 2019 Notable Women in Education.  

A keen industry observer and insider, she is frequently asked to provide insights and perspectives on manufacturing and learning and development at conferences, events, and caucuses across the country. 

Kunz earned a bachelor’s degree in business and marketing with a concentration in economics from Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, Michigan. She has served on EMU's Alumni Board and the Pittsburgh State University College of Technology Board of Directors.