Advisory Board

Marie Daquiz

Marie was recruited to join the MESA program as a high school student when MESA had just started in Seattle. She says about his experience, “ I knew nothing about engineering or computers (a new thing for high schools back then), though teachers always said I was good at math, so why not join?”

Through MESA, she participated in a summer program at the University of Washington that included physics, math, chemistry, public speaking, business, and marketing. There was a competition to see who could build the best model bridge, which was about more than the science—it taught how a major project comes together. She adds, “Not only was it inspiring and cool —ok, nerdy—to be on a college campus, taking classes with college students, but it also sparked my curiosity about engineering.” This propelled her into earning her bachelor’s degree in Aeronautics & Astronautics and led to her first job as a Boeing engineer. Today, we are happy to have her as an advisory board member!

                                                                     Advocate Director & Consultant, Unify Consulting


 

Stephen Green

Stephen is a chemical engineer who has worked in the food industry for the past 20 years at Frito-Lay, Kellogg’s, and General Mills before coming to nutpods. Originally from Cincinnati, Stephen attended Purdue University in Indiana before embarking on a career taking him through Texas, Michigan, and Minnesota before landing in his current Seattle home three years ago. At Continental Mills, Stephen primarily works to guide a team of scientists in developing new product offerings across dry mix baked goods and snacks.

Stephen began working with MESA in 2015 as a guest speaker and organizer of a Saturday Academy visit to Continental Mills to further Academy participant’s knowledge of food science and product development processes.

                                                                     Senior Director, Research & Development, nutpods


 

 Eugene Onishi

Eugene Onishi has worked for leading information technology companies for over 30 years, including over 25 years in the Seattle area, most recently with Microsoft. He has been a member of the Seattle MESA Advisory Board for over 15 years, and is a past board chairperson. He is acutely aware of both the great career opportunities available in the technology sector and the need for strong STEM education to open these opportunities to students. He continues to serve Seattle MESA because he knows MESA’s innovative, hands-on approach is a great way to deliver the education needed to prepare students for higher education in a STEM field.

Retired


 

Camila Simons

Camila (she/her) is a Wind Turbine Engineer with DNV Energy Systems working mainly on wind turbine due diligence projects. In this role, Camila authors turbine technology reviews, conducts site suitability reviews including extended life operations, and audits wind turbines during construction and operations. Camila has a BA in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University where she was involved in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Civic Engagement Program. Camila understands the need for increased representation and innovation in the renewable energy field and hopes to encourage leadership in students through her work in the MESA Advisory Board.    

Engineer, DNV Energy Systems


 

Jeremy Williams

Jeremy has worked with General Mills as a web application and infrastructure developer since receiving his BS in Computer Science from Washington University in Saint Louis in 2008. Raised in Louisiana and Arkansas, he was connected to the Minnesota-based company through NSBE while at WashU, and he now telecommutes for his role since moving to Seattle with his wife in 2014.  He has been afforded many opportunities to expand his leadership and community engagement outside of his daily job, ranging from college campus and NSBE recruiting to leading an annual “Discovering IT” day on GMI’s campus with local high school students. When introduced to MESA, Jeremy knew that its focus on diversity and STEM was right up his alley.

Sr. IT Specialist, DevOps Automation, General Mills