WIA : Events : Annual Awards Ceremony : Award Criteria

Women in Aerospace Award Criteria

Achievement Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
International Achievement Award
Leadership Award
Aerospace Educator Award
Aerospace Awareness Award
Outstanding Member Award

The Achievement Award

The Achievement Award is presented for:

Noteworthy achievement on or contributions to a single aerospace project or program that represents a breakthrough or milestone in the aerospace field. The achievement or contribution could have been made at any time within the nominee's career.
Commitment to professional growth.
Service as a role model or mentor that shows dedication to the advancement of women in aerospace.

2007 Recipient: Elizabeth T. Thorn, Technical Director, 308th Armament Systems Wing, Eglin Air Force Base, FL, for outstanding leadership in developing and implementing the Probability of Program Success (PoPS), a management breakthrough affecting aerospace acquisitions across the Air Force Portfolio.

The Lifetime Achievement Award

The Lifetime Achievement Award is presented for:

Noteworthy contributions to aerospace during a career spanning at least 20 years.
Commitment to professional growth.
Service as a role model or mentor that shows dedication to the advancement of women in aerospace.

2007 Recipient: Marlene D. Nelson, Director - Aviation Safety, The Boeing Company, Seattle, WA, for more than 33 years of profound commitment to commercial aviation and aviation safety, and for serving as a pioneer in many of her positions - including first female ground school instructor, one of the three first women production pilots, first woman in commercial sales, and first female director of final assembly production.

The International Achievement Award

The International Achievement Award is presented for:

Noteworthy contributions to aerospace in the international arena on a single project, over several years, or during a career.
Commitment to professional growth.
Service as a role model or mentor that shows dedication to the advancement of women in aerospace.

2007 Recipient: Debra Facktor Lepore, President, Air Launch, LLC, Kirkland, WA, for facilitating international partnerships, opening the playing field for entrepreneurial space companies, and for successfully paving the way for women to succeed in the aerospace industry.

The Leadership Award

The Leadership Award is presented for:

Exemplary leadership abilities demonstrated in the aerospace field.
Noteworthy contributions to the aerospace field on a single project, over several years, or during a career.
Commitment to professional growth.
Service as a role model or mentor that shows dedication to the advancement of women in aerospace.

2007 Recipient: Linda A. Brisnehan, Vice President and Deputy, Military Support Programs, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Denver, CO, for effectively leading and growing a program of the highest national security, and for unabashedly seeking opportunities for colleagues in the workplace.

The Aerospace Educator Award

The Aerospace Educator Award is presented for:

Excellence as a full-time educator teaching aerospace topics (at least in part) at the K-12, collegiate, or graduate levels.
Commitment to professional growth.
Motivation of students to excel in aerospace-related educational endeavors.
Service to colleagues and community.
Service as a role model or mentor that shows dedication to the advancement of women in aerospace.

2007 Recipient: Freda Deskin, CEO and Founder, Advanced Science and Technology Education Center (ASTEC), Inc., Oklahoma City, OK, for being a leader in education for more than 30 years, and for founding and directing the state's first aerospace camps and the state's first charter school with more than 600 students.

The Aerospace Awareness Award

The Aerospace Awareness Award is presented for:

Excellence in outreach and building public awareness of aerospace programs and developments through the completion of a single project or program, over several years, or during a career.
Innovative approaches to increasing public understanding of aerospace development and activities.
Commitment to advancing and defining the roles that aerospace plays in all aspects of society.
Service as a role model or mentor that shows dedication to the advancement of women in aerospace.

2007 Recipient: Renee Martin-Nagle, Vice President-Legal Counsel, Airbus North America, Herndon, VA, for raising awareness of the aerospace industry within the legal and financial communities, and for creating new opportunities for women seeking entrance into the industry.

The Outstanding Member Award

The Outstanding Member Award is presented to give recognition to an individual member of WIA who has shown particular dedication to the interests of the organization by making significant and continuing contributions. Current officers or directors are not eligible for this award. The recipient must be a WIA member in good standing for at least two (2) years.

2007 Recipient: Erin Neal, Senate Relations, ATK, Arlington, VA, for unparalleled energy and enthusiasm and for being instrumental in moving WIA from a local networking group to a national, broad-based organization.