Virginia
Master Black Belt, Cardiac Rhythm Disease Management
(CRDM)
Phoenix, Arizona USA
Past President, Society of Women Engineers
Grew up in: Scottsdale, Arizona
Education: Arizona State University, bachelor's in Mechanical Engineering and master’s in Industrial Engineering
What attracted you to engineering: I was exposed to it growing up, because my step-father worked as an electrical engineer. But I think what sealed it for me was that a family friend had his own civil engineering firm and owned a Ferrari. I thought I could have a secure future as an engineer. My mom was single for awhile after a divorce, so being self-sufficient was important to me.
What attracted you to Medtronic: I’ve been active with the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) since college, and the connection helped me get into Medtronic. I had been working as a Lean Sigma Black Belt at an aerospace company, and knew several Medtronic employees through SWE. They all spoke so highly of the company, which has an outstanding reputation in Phoenix, and the Mission is hard to beat. I knew someone in HR, so when an engineering position opened up, she recommended me.
How you got involved in SWE: My mom actually found it for me. I started college early, and was struggling, because high school was a breeze and suddenly I was faced with really tough classes. I wasn’t used to failing. At the time, the entire student body was less than 15% female, and much less in the mechanical engineering program. SWE saved me. I was able to connect with people who had been through the same struggles and gotten through them.
Your career progression: I’ve really been able to grow and develop here. I’ve deployed several Lean Sigma teams — in manufacturing, inventory, and demand planning. The team members were so good that company leaders hand-picked many of them to move into other areas of the organization. When the opportunity to become SWE president opened up, I was worried about having the time I needed to lead effectively, which meant traveling to talk with students and engineering professionals. I also wanted to make sure Medtronic took advantage of me in this role.
So I talked with company leaders about how I could be most effective to both SWE and Medtronic, and we came up with a temporary role working in the Office of Workplace Inclusion. I’m working to improve our culture of diversity to help increase retention. You find a lot of Caucasian women in engineering, so we need to make sure we welcome women engineers from other cultures.
What you do for fun: Scuba dive with my husband. Our most memorable dive was to The Blue Hole off the Belize coast. It’s the largest underwater sinkhole, a collapsed freshwater cave. At 130 feet, you could feel the change in buoyancy. And to make it more exciting, there are sharks.
How you give back: I ride my bike to work when I can, which is good for the environment and for me. It’s 20 miles one way, so I usually ride the bus home.
Medtronic is committed to providing accessibility to employment opportunities for people with disabilities. If you need technical assistance with the on-line application process, please call Medtronic at (800) 328-2518 (toll free within the US) or (763) 514-4000 (worldwide).
Medtronic is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer committed to cultural diversity in the workforce.
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