Photo By David Stoehr | Marie Levada, head of the Business Office Operations Office in the Naval Undersea...... read more read more
NEWPORT, R.I. – Three Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport employees recently won Career Communications Group Women of Color magazine awards.
The winners are Marie Levada, head of the Business Office Operations Office Branch in the Undersea Warfare (USW) Combat Systems Department, who has won the Women of Color Top Women in Finance Award; Jennifer Caldwell, head, Network Development Branch in the USW Combat Systems Department; and Adilah Khan, an engineer in the Sensors and Sonar Systems Department. Caldwell and Khan are recognized with the Women of Color Technology Rising Star Award, which honors women with 21 years or less in the workforce who are helping shape technology for the future.
As a winner in the finance category, Levada, a resident of Middletown, Rhode Island, is considered a leader in her field who promotes diversity and serves as a role model. As head of the Business Office Operations Office Branch, she directs and assures the effectiveness of the department’s business execution with respect to financial management, funds acceptance, procurement, and program planning and analysis while providing day-to-day direction to a large team. She achieves this mission by fostering excellence in human resource management, teamwork, reliance, innovation, communication and motivation.
Levada manages a department technical execution budget of $290 million as well as an overhead budget of $4 million. While a level of tasking of this magnitude is difficult, what makes this so challenging is the fact that the department has more than 28 unique sponsors, 15 product line technical program managers, and numerous customer advocates.
“Under Levada’s leadership, the team developed and implemented a consolidated monthly report across multiple projects that provides relevant and timely information to sponsors,” the award states. “The new report provides interactive reporting metrics for Department of Defense benchmarks, reimbursable versus direct, and breakdown of financials to the lowest levels. This innovative approach saves time, standardizes reporting, and provides the program office with a one-stop-shop for the financial information they need.”
Caldwell, a resident of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, was hired at Division Newport in October 2016. She has 19 years of experience in logistics, planning and resourcing, pricing, and technical systems through both her career and military service.
As head of the Network Development Branch she leads a team of 70 employees and she is the line manager for the Consolidated Afloat Network Enterprise Services (CANES) project, the U.S. Navy’s next generation tactical afloat network. She is in charge of resources and ensures the CANES project meets its aggressive install schedules.
“Caldwell is a highly capable leader and considerate mentor to all personnel in her branch,” the Technology Rising Star Award states. “She actively mentors and guides employees to take advantage of career opportunities.”
For the past 18 years, Caldwell has been a member of the R.I. Air National Guard, where she has attained the rank of captain, and previously has served in the U.S. Air Force for two years. As part of the 143rd Airlift Wing in Quonset, Rhode Island, Caldwell is the officer in charge of logistics for the Medical Service Corps. Last year, she was awarded an Air Force Commendation Medal for her role in Rhode Island’s COVID-19 response.
Khan, a resident of Middletown, was hired as an engineer in Division Newport’s Sensors and Sonar Systems Department in December 2020. She has “proven to be a valuable, hard-working, and technically proficient engineer who has distinguished herself among the new hires,” the Technology Rising Star Award states. “Assigned to the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Program Team, she quickly learned the complex LCS Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Mission Package (MP) systems, made significant impacts to the LCS program, and became a crucial member of the team.”
During her first two years at Division Newport, Khan participated in transducer pressure test events where she was responsible for data collection efforts and supported several System Engineering Technical Reviews. She conducted multiple ASW MP Physical Configuration Audits on the equipment at Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc. in Huntsville, Alabama, and Raytheon Co. in Portsmouth, where she provided daily oversight of transducer engineering unit production and completed several critical warfare center actions in support of Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants.
“Upon return from these many test events, Khan led the analysis efforts, working with and mentoring her team members on how to conduct the required analyses,” the award states. “She then briefed these results to her department head, program office senior leadership, and NAVSEA 05.”
In parallel to her technical support, Khan is enrolled in Division Newport’s Academic Degree Training Program to receive her master’s degree in mechanical engineering.
The three women will be honored at the Technology Recognition Event being held Oct. 7, during the 2022 Women of Color magazine’s Science, Technology, Engineering, Math Digital Twin Experience Conference in Detroit, Michigan, Oct. 6-8. For more information about the event, visit: https://intouch.ccgmag.com/mpage/woc-stem-conference-home
NUWC Newport is the oldest warfare center in the country, tracing its heritage to the Naval Torpedo Station established on Goat Island in Newport Harbor in 1869. Commanded by Capt. Chad Hennings, NUWC Newport maintains major detachments in West Palm Beach, Florida, and Andros Island in the Bahamas, as well as test facilities at Seneca Lake and Fisher's Island, New York, Leesburg, Florida, and Dodge Pond, Connecticut.
Join our team! NUWC Division Newport, one of the 20 largest employers in Rhode Island, employs a diverse, highly trained, educated, and skilled workforce. We are continuously looking for engineers, scientists, and other STEM professionals, as well as talented business, finance, logistics and other support experts who wish to be at the forefront of undersea research and development. Please connect with NUWC Division Newport Recruiting at this site- https://www.navsea.navy.mil/Home/Warfare-Centers/NUWC-Newport/Career-Opportunities/ and follow us on LinkedIn @NUWC-Newport and on Facebook @NUWCNewport.
| Date Taken: | 08.19.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 08.19.2022 11:20 |
| Story ID: | 427632 |
| Location: | NEWPORT, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Hometown: | MIDDLETOWN, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Hometown: | PORTSMOUTH, RHODE ISLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 73 |
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