Three outstanding Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific (SSC Pacific) employees, Jovanna Henry (Code 5451), Sharita Lea (Code 5523), and ITC Denise Brannen (Code 4221) were honored as Technology All Stars during the national 2015 Women of Color STEM Conference held in Detroit, Michigan, Oct. 16.
The Women of Color Conference honors the significant achievements of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) professions. The conference ensures that the accomplishments and leadership of outstanding women in technical fields are highly visible to industry professionals, government officials and students.
SSC Pacific Commanding Officer Capt. Kurt Rothenhaus said the award winners and their efforts are a key element of the Center’s success supporting the warfighter.
"We are extremely proud of our award winners ... The brilliant leadership and hard work they demonstrated is an inspiration to the whole team."
Henry was honored for excellent business, financial, and project reporting during her 35-year career. She consistently demonstrated the highest degree of dedication and technical expertise in providing data engineering and analysis to deliver financial systems to the Center that were accurate, current, and authoritative. Henry is widely known, and highly respected, throughout the system's command community as the subject matter expert in all things related to Navy ERP Business Warehouse, data engineering, analytics, and reporting. She contributes to, and influences, the efforts of the Navy-wide Business Intelligence Community of Excellence.
Lea was recognized for her role as the lead test engineer for the Navy Time Division Multiple Access Interface Processor program, conducting testing of military satellite communications (SATCOM) hardware and software which will provide layer 2 bridging of existing protected military SATCOM payloads, while adding access to higher data rates provided in the latest satellite payloads currently being deployed. Lea became a representative on the Women of the Workforce Committee. Prior to this participation, she participated in the recruitment of women and minorities to the organization as a New Professional recruiter. Lea embodies an excellent mix of technical, management and leadership skills which contribute significantly to the delivery of critical systems to the warfighter and STEM outreach.
Brannen was honored for her instrumental leadership and technical expertise in the successful deployment and installation of the Naval Tactical Command Support System (NTCSS) PATRIOT system across the Pacific Fleet area of responsibility during specified maintenance availabilities for the Navy's ships and afloat commands. Chief Brannen conducted seven NTCSS PATRIOT system upgrades delivering over 150 hours of in-depth training on the specific differences and configuration changes of the new software version to 35 system administrators, and provided critical systems support to U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet ships. As a lead fleet support specialist, she personally resolved hundreds of trouble calls using the Navy's newest distance support technologies, greatly enhancing U.S. Navy ship readiness and avoiding travel costs associated with onboard technical assistance.
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific provides the U.S. Navy and military with essential capabilities in the areas of command and control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR). SSC Pacific provides the full spectrum of C4ISR capabilities from basic research and prototype development, to extensive test and evaluation services, through systems engineering and integration, to installation and life-cycle support of fielded systems. SSC Pacific is a recognized leader in the cyber domain and for autonomous unmanned systems, and is providing the technological and engineering support critical to ensuring the Navy’s information dominance.
The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific public affairs office can be reached at 619-553-2717.