The manufacturing community has taken steps towards building a diverse and inclusive culture. Meet the individuals who started this movement and view the people and programs leading the charge today.
Celebrating Black History Month
Manufacturing Leaders
Meet just a few of the innovative thinkers within the Black Community who’ve contributed over the years and continue to support advancements in manufacturing.
Dr. Camille Wardrop Alleyne
Aerospace Engineer
Craig Arnold
Business Executive
Guion Bluford
Aerospace Engineer
Walt Braithwaite
Engineer and Business Executive
C.W. Chapelle
Aviation Pioneer and Electrical Engineer
Alicia Boler Davis
Manufacturing Engineer
Etta Falconer
Educator and Mathematician
Evelyn Boyd Granville
Mathematician and Computer Science Educator
Mae Jemison
Engineer
Gerald Johnson
Business Executive
Gerald “Jerry” Lawson
Electronic Engineer
Jan Ernst Matzeliger
Inventor
Elijah McCoy
Inventor
Charles Richard Patterson
First African American Automobile Company
Frederick McKinley Jones
Inventor and Entrepreneur
Madame C.J. Walker
Entrepreneur and Philantropist
Cardinal Warde
Electrical Engineer
Granville Tailer Woods
Inventor
A Statement from SME CEO Bob Willig
"I believe that manufacturing is at its best when we hear voices and receive contributions of all community members.”
Meet the Diverse Group of Volunteers Leading SME
SME Officers & Directors
The SME Board of Directors is elected by the entire voting membership of SME. It is made up of industry and academic leaders whose diverse backgrounds represent years of experience from a wide array of manufacturing disciplines.
SME Education Foundation Board of Directors
The governing body of the Foundation, the board is comprised of leaders from industry and academia as well as community leaders. This group will assist and support Foundation staff in executing a five-year strategic plan, including its commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion for students across all activities and initiatives.
What are SME Leaders Saying About Diversity, Equality and Inclusion within Manufacturing?
In Support for Justice and Equality for All
By Sandi Bouckley - Leadership Transition Consultant, former CEO and Executive Director, SME
New Scholarship Fund Is Key Element of SME Education Foundation’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy
By Rob Luce - Vice President, SME Education Foundation
Opening the World of Manufacturing to Kids
By Jeannine Kunz - Vice President, Tooling U-SME
How to Include More People of Color in Management
In this Smart Manufacturing magazine roundtable, five experts outline ways companies can help existing employees of color move into management roles.
SME Education Foundation
New Strategy Targets Scholarships and SME PRIME
The SME Education Foundation's renewed and focused commitment to a diversity, equity and inclusion strategy is designed to fully integrate diversity and equity opportunities in every program, effort and initiative undertaken by the Foundation.
Discussing Diversity and Inclusion in Manufacturing
The Power of Positivity
Manufacturing helped Victor Driver Jr. rise above a hard life and achieve a successful career in the skilled trades.
Changing Lives, One Credential at a Time
Montez King, executive director of the National Institute of Metalworking Skills (NIMS) are upskilling the manufacturing workforce.
The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
The NSBE is one of the largest student-governed organizations based in the United States. Founded in 1975, the NSBE supports and promotes the aspirations of collegiate and pre-collegiate students and technical professionals in engineering and technology.
Why do we celebrate Black History Month?
The Society of Women Engineers talks about the importance of Black History Month and its connection to manufacturing and STEM.
Increase Black Participation in Apprenticeships
Women in Manufacturing share insight for a more equitable path for our country's future of apprenticeships and how manufacturers can improve workforce development.