Winners of the Black Engineer of the Year Award for Community Service demonstrate leadership through volunteer work, contributions, and other activities outside their duties.

Kenneth Holley, a former staffing and recruiting specialist with Sandia National Laboratories, started the Historically Black Colleges and Universities program to attract Black students to Sandia. He also led the Black Outreach Committee and Science and Technology Alliance educational outreach program. In addition, Holley did community service with organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, March of Dimes, and NSBE Jr.

“Community service was never a goal for me,” he said in his acceptance speech. “It was and remains a result of life activities. My goal and the goal of the organizations where I participate have a focus on giving back to the community, both locally and nationally.”

Monique Smith, a professional engineer at Northrop Grumman, is a Delta Sigma Theta Sorority member and chairperson for Science, Engineering, and Everyday Experiences. She also assists in a mentoring program with The Harbor Area Links at Jordan and Millikan High Schools in Long Beach, California.

Charles Dean, a reliability engineer at Raytheon, leads events at universities and middle schools to engage students in STEM activities through the MathMovesU program. Dean has been actively involved in promoting STEM education in North Texas. He has organized several events in partnership with Jack & Jill of America and Boys & Girls Club chapters.

Dean has utilized Raytheon’s MathMovesU program to showcase how math and science can be fun for middle and high school students. He has led over 50 STEM initiatives at national conferences and in the community.

“Raytheon’s MathMovesU program has allowed me to show how math and science can be fun to middle and high school students,” Dean said. “I’ve been fortunate to lead more than 50 STEM initiatives in the community and at national conferences.”

Dean has also worked with Raytheon employee resource groups to capture diverse students at a younger age, making STEM classrooms more inclusive. He has held various positions in the Raytheon Black Employees Network (RAYBEN), including vice-chair of the North Texas chapter and finance director of the South chapter. Additionally, Dean serves as the campus manager for Southern University and A&M College.