Fourteen GM employees were honored at the 2020 BEYA STEM Conference in February.  The scientists, engineers, and technologists were among a stellar group recognized for their accomplishments in the automotive industry.

Marcos Purty (second from left), executive director for global manufacturing strategy & planning received the Career Achievement Award, and Eric Fonville, the virtual design, development, & validation (VDDV) development engineer for propulsion structures, sealing & fastening, received the Research Leadership Award at the BEYA Gala.

“Years ago my single mother made a leap of faith to create better opportunities by moving us from a small town in Tennessee to Pontiac, Michigan—a city with a GM presence,” said Purty during his remarks. “It opened my eyes to what I wanted to be and excelling in math and science set me on my engineering path.”

During his remarks, Fonville (center) said he was thirteen years old when he knew he wanted to become an engineer.

“I wanted to be an engineer and attended my father’s alma mater, The University of Michigan. With the assistant dean’s guidance, I became the Society of Minority Engineering Students President, the first black in the Engineering Honorary and its vice president, and a first-year student mentor for the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program.”

David Albritton (right) president and general manager of GM Defense LLC presented the awards at the gala. Gerald Johnson (standing left), executive vice president for global manufacturing, presented the Edward T. Welburn Legacy Award to Corey Randolph, R&D engineer, Nissan Technical Center, North America Nissan.

Johnson and Purty conducted a fireside chat with nearly 100 k-12 Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program students who are pursuing interests in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Fonville also mentored a team of students from Norfolk State University, which developed a solution centered around autonomous wireless charging during the Advancing Minorities Interest in Engineering (AMIE) Design Challenge at BEYA.

Also recognized for their contributions were GM employees from locations across North America. They were honored as Modern-Day Technology Leaders and Science Spectrum Trailblazers.

Fitsum Ejigu, Senior Software Developer, Austin, Texas
Quanya Jefferson, Launch Manager, Flint, Michigan
Lynne Moore, Engine Maintenance Manager, Spring Hill, Tennessee
Will Morris, Senior Manager Information Security Engineering, Austin, Texas
Michelle Stoutermire, Product Owner, Owners Center and OnStar.com, Detroit
Bradman Taylor, Engineering Group Manager – CEI GCCX Retail Experience, Detroit

Science Spectrum Trailblazer Awardees:

Opeyemi Alabi, Process Engineer, Warren, Michigan
Talona Johnson, Assistant Program Manager, Warren, Michigan
Phillip McQuirter, Shift Leader – Transfer Press Operations, Parma, Ohio
Darrell Rounds, Facility Engineering – Electrical/Mechanical, Warren, Michigan
Richard Salmon, Quality Engineer Manager, Lansing, Michigan
Susan Sewell-Cary, Electrical Engineer, Parma, Ohio