SMSS Announces Its Inaugural Leadership Team

September 1, 2016 – The Society of Military Spouses in STEM (SMSS) selected the following individuals for the inaugural leadership team:

Michelle Aikman, Co-Founder and Director
Anna Flores de Remick, Co-Founder and Director
Kimberly Robertson, Director
John Hunzeker, President
Beth Komives, Vice President
Olguitza Guzman-Valdes, Treasurer
Tiffany Miller, Secretary
Emily Stallings, Marketing & Public Relations Committee Chair
Vivian Vralsted, Fundraising Committee Chair
Yvonne Oden, Budget & Finance Chair

This is a team that brings together many different skills, experiences, and ways of thinking. It is a team that will lead SMSS with passion and commitment. This is a team that is representative of the tremendous diversity and talent within our military spouse community.

The team consists of a Scientist / Phlebotomist, Immunologist, Teacher, Biologist, Neurobiologist, Electrical Engineer, Chemical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Biomedical and Materials Engineer, and Marketing / Graphic Designer in  Architecture/Engineering/Construction.

Two individuals have bachelor’s degrees (one is preparing to start a master’s program), five have master’s degrees , and two have doctorate’s (PhDs).

The military spouses are married to service members in the Air Force, Navy, and Army and currently live in Arizona, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Minnesota, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Virginia and South Korea.

On top of academia research and professional work experience with employers like Merck, Bayer, Syngenta, Sigma-Aldrich, Schlumberger, Conoco, Cargill, and General Electric, a few of the team members have had experiences as stay-at-home parents, some have changed careers, many have endured multiple moves and employment changes, and most have extensive volunteering experience.

Please join us in congratulating and welcoming this new leadership team! Together, they will set the foundation for long-term success as an organization.

Find out more about SMSS’s leaders on the Founders, Board of Directors, Executive Board and Committees pages.

About Society of Military Spouses in STEM (SMSS)

SMSS is a member-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. SMSS’s mission is to support active and retired military spouses in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields reach their full potential to create a positive impact by advocating for military spouses with technical interests; creating a network to connect military spouses in STEM with each other and with mentors and advocates to guide them through their academic and professional career; raising awareness of the challenges encountered by career-oriented military spouses and families; and increasing job, internship, education, and scholarship opportunities for military spouses in STEM fields. For more information, visit www.smsstem.org

Contact:
Anna Flores de Remick, SMSS Co-Founder and Director
1-800-242-0784