Paula is a Pre 9/11 Veteran of the United States Navy and a Post 9/11 Veteran of the North Carolina Army National Guard. Paula is a seasoned leader and has over 20 years of experience in Defense, Aerospace and Engineering. Wanting to pursue a degree in math or science she applied to Purdue University and was accepted into the Math and Science School. Unable to pay for school and reluctant to take out four years of student loans for an out of state tuition, Paula enlisted in the military as an aviation machinist mate due to high mechanical aptitude scores on her Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) Test. While stationed in Virginia, one day while working in the shop with a Field Service Engineer she was discussing with him how math was always easy and that she had already completed Calculus before joining. He replied to her, “You should be an Engineer, Have you ever considered that?” to which she replied “I haven’t been told that ever before, what do engineers do?” 

While enlisted in the Navy Paula became a product of her upbringing a young unwed mother to two boys by the time she was 22. Paula left the Navy after her enlistment and worked at Lockheed Martin as a Quality Assurance Analyst while pursuing an Associates degree in Industrial Engineering with a concentration in Quality Assurance. She moved back to North Carolina to be near family for support after a Reduction in Force after 9/11 and took odd and end jobs to make ends meet and was able to finish her associate degree magna cum laude. She joined the North Carolina Army National Guard working as a Heavy Equipment Operator and Recruiter. After 13 years of military service she decided to finally pursue her engineering degree. 

Math was 15 years rusty and the first two years of engineering school were taxing and at one point a professor mentioned that she should pursue a less demanding degree. Persistence paid off as she completed her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering in five years and while at the 2014 Society of Women Engineers conference and job fair was offered a position with Sikorsky Aircraft as an Engineering Lead in Product Support Engineering where she was tasked with saving over $5M+ in this role with aircraft part/repair savings. She was tapped on the shoulder to consider a customer facing position in Aftermarket Sales, where she was responsible for over 65 accounts totaling over $2B for VIP customers, including the 45th President of the United States, Fortune 50 companies, Search and Rescue, Emergency Management Service. After another RIF after the purchase of Sikorsky from UTC. Paula was laid off as a result. UTC Aerospace Systems in Minnesota hired her to manage the Business Development of Boeing Defense where she was responsible for $30M+ a year in sales of aircraft sensors. Her next role was to manage a team of configuration management specialist in engineering services. She is an alumni of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Leadership Minnesota Program. She has volunteered 100’s of hours each year since starting engineering school in 2010 in STEM and Veteran outreach to include:

Paula is passionate about solving the moral issuing facing Military/Veterans, their spouses specifically minorities, and STEM in underemployment and unemployment challenges.