SWE Space Coast Leadership 2021-2022
President | Yeshani Wijesekara (she/her)
Yeshani Wijesekara is a Project Engineer at Collins Aerospace. She is the project lead for Collins Aerospace's Commercial VHF Products. In this role, she manages a team of engineers and a multi-million-dollar budget to design and maintain one of the company's important products. Yeshani received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) in May 2016 and May 2018, respectively. Yeshani is an active member of SWE Space Coast. She is the outgoing Director of Professional Development. In this role, Yeshani planed and lead professional development and social events for members. She and her team developed their first virtual professional development series with speakers from across the country. Prior to that she has been an avid volunteer with SWE for Introducing a Girl to Engineering Workshop and WOW That's Engineering events. Outside of SWE, Yeshani has been organizing Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day activities for the past two years with Collins Aerospace, Melbourne, FL. She is a frequent volunteer at events in local high schools and universities that advocate for women in STEM. While at Purdue she held a variety of leadership positions in SWE aligned organizations such as IEEE - HKN (Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society of IEEE). Her main focus for the year is to work on increasing the membership of our section. She plans to extensively advertise our section within the local community and coordinate with local companies to sponsor events and membership. She also looks forward to collaborating with other local organizations on professional development and outreach events to provide more rewarding and engaging experiences to the SWE Space Coast members.
Yeshani Wijesekara is a Project Engineer at Collins Aerospace. She is the project lead for Collins Aerospace's Commercial VHF Products. In this role, she manages a team of engineers and a multi-million-dollar budget to design and maintain one of the company's important products. Yeshani received both her bachelor's and master's degrees in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Purdue University (West Lafayette, IN) in May 2016 and May 2018, respectively. Yeshani is an active member of SWE Space Coast. She is the outgoing Director of Professional Development. In this role, Yeshani planed and lead professional development and social events for members. She and her team developed their first virtual professional development series with speakers from across the country. Prior to that she has been an avid volunteer with SWE for Introducing a Girl to Engineering Workshop and WOW That's Engineering events. Outside of SWE, Yeshani has been organizing Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day activities for the past two years with Collins Aerospace, Melbourne, FL. She is a frequent volunteer at events in local high schools and universities that advocate for women in STEM. While at Purdue she held a variety of leadership positions in SWE aligned organizations such as IEEE - HKN (Eta Kappa Nu, the honor society of IEEE). Her main focus for the year is to work on increasing the membership of our section. She plans to extensively advertise our section within the local community and coordinate with local companies to sponsor events and membership. She also looks forward to collaborating with other local organizations on professional development and outreach events to provide more rewarding and engaging experiences to the SWE Space Coast members.
Vice President | Christine Mills (she/her)
Christine Mills has a B.S. and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Florida Tech and Georgia Tech respectively, and has worked at 3 different companies over her 9 year professional career. She is currently a Materials Engineer at NASA supporting the commercial crew program. She resides in Rockledge with her husband Jason and their dog Duet. She and Jason are both originally from the beautiful Caribbean island of Barbados. Christine has been an active member of this SWE Space Coast Professional chapter since relocating to Florida in 2015 and has held numerous positions: Director of Professional Development, Membership Chair and FIT-SWE Student Counselor. In addition, she is a regular volunteer for both Introducing Girls to Engineering Workshop (IGEW) and WOW! That’s Engineering! which are the chapter’s two flagship outreach programs. Notably, for IGEW, she has co-lead the angry test pilot module and for WOW! She has led the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) module. Christine is committed to the chapter’s continued growth and success and looks forward to working alongside the President to see the chapter succeed.
Christine Mills has a B.S. and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from Florida Tech and Georgia Tech respectively, and has worked at 3 different companies over her 9 year professional career. She is currently a Materials Engineer at NASA supporting the commercial crew program. She resides in Rockledge with her husband Jason and their dog Duet. She and Jason are both originally from the beautiful Caribbean island of Barbados. Christine has been an active member of this SWE Space Coast Professional chapter since relocating to Florida in 2015 and has held numerous positions: Director of Professional Development, Membership Chair and FIT-SWE Student Counselor. In addition, she is a regular volunteer for both Introducing Girls to Engineering Workshop (IGEW) and WOW! That’s Engineering! which are the chapter’s two flagship outreach programs. Notably, for IGEW, she has co-lead the angry test pilot module and for WOW! She has led the Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) module. Christine is committed to the chapter’s continued growth and success and looks forward to working alongside the President to see the chapter succeed.
Secretary | Sunita Ramnarinesingh (she/her)
Sunita Ramnarinesingh is currently a Project Manager for ARES Corporation, a NASA Contractor, at the Kennedy Space Center. She graduated from Florida Tech with both M.S. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering and is also a UCF certified Full Stack Web Developer. Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Sunita now lives in West Melbourne with her husband and mini-Sheepadoodle. Her hobbies include web development, gardening and Agility Dog training. Sunita served as the President of SWE Space Coast for FY21 and has been an active SWE member since college. She enjoys being involved in SWE as it provides networking opportunities with other professionals and has a positive impact on local youths through outreach programs.
Sunita Ramnarinesingh is currently a Project Manager for ARES Corporation, a NASA Contractor, at the Kennedy Space Center. She graduated from Florida Tech with both M.S. and B.S. in Electrical Engineering and is also a UCF certified Full Stack Web Developer. Originally from Trinidad & Tobago, Sunita now lives in West Melbourne with her husband and mini-Sheepadoodle. Her hobbies include web development, gardening and Agility Dog training. Sunita served as the President of SWE Space Coast for FY21 and has been an active SWE member since college. She enjoys being involved in SWE as it provides networking opportunities with other professionals and has a positive impact on local youths through outreach programs.
Treasurer | Heather Wiest (she/her)
Heather Wiest is a Mechanical Engineer for Blue Origin, where she designs launch pad fluids systems. She moved to the Space Coast in 2017 after completing her PhD in Aerospace Engineering at Purdue University. Heather has been an active member of SWE since 2007. At the Societal level, she is finishing her term as a SWE Senator and has also served as the Chair of the Leadership Coaching Committee, member of the Governance Task Force, and scholarship volunteer to the SWE Board of Trustees. At the section level, Heather is currently the SWE Space Coast Scholarship Chair and was a collegiate section treasurer in her undergraduate studies at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Heather is also a member of the Women of the Wild, a women's conservation group at the Brevard Zoo.
Heather Wiest is a Mechanical Engineer for Blue Origin, where she designs launch pad fluids systems. She moved to the Space Coast in 2017 after completing her PhD in Aerospace Engineering at Purdue University. Heather has been an active member of SWE since 2007. At the Societal level, she is finishing her term as a SWE Senator and has also served as the Chair of the Leadership Coaching Committee, member of the Governance Task Force, and scholarship volunteer to the SWE Board of Trustees. At the section level, Heather is currently the SWE Space Coast Scholarship Chair and was a collegiate section treasurer in her undergraduate studies at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. Heather is also a member of the Women of the Wild, a women's conservation group at the Brevard Zoo.
Director of Professional Development | Laura Poliah (she/her)
Laura Poliah has been a test engineer for Orion Production Operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for five years, where she manages spacecraft systems testing on the Orion spacecraft. Laura graduated with a Bachelor degree in aerospace engineering and a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Central Florida where she assisted in teaching fluid mechanics and participated in Sigma Gamma Tau to organize a Future of Space summit. Laura has a strong passion for growing her and others professional and leadership skills within engineering; she’s participated in Launching leaders Program at NASA as well as numerous other development training activities. Laura additionally has been acting as the Member chair for the Society of Women Engineers, as well as is a member of the AIAA and ASME organizations.
Laura Poliah has been a test engineer for Orion Production Operations at NASA's Kennedy Space Center for five years, where she manages spacecraft systems testing on the Orion spacecraft. Laura graduated with a Bachelor degree in aerospace engineering and a Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Central Florida where she assisted in teaching fluid mechanics and participated in Sigma Gamma Tau to organize a Future of Space summit. Laura has a strong passion for growing her and others professional and leadership skills within engineering; she’s participated in Launching leaders Program at NASA as well as numerous other development training activities. Laura additionally has been acting as the Member chair for the Society of Women Engineers, as well as is a member of the AIAA and ASME organizations.
Director of Outreach | Erin Mitchell (she/her)
Erin Mitchell is a Manufacturing Engineer in New Product Introduction at Collins Aerospace in Melbourne, FL. She graduated from Iowa State University in 2018 with her Masters in Business Administration and Bachelors in Industrial Engineering and is currently enrolled at Johns Hopkins University working on a Masters in Systems Engineering. Even after graduation from Iowa State, she remains heavily involved with the Program for Women in Science and Engineering there, serving as the coordinator for WiSE's semi-annual GoFurther Conference, introducing 8th-10th grade girls to Collins/STEM through hands-on engineering activities, serves on industry panels for WiSE students, and more. She is also a part of Leading Inspired Females in Technology (LIFT) at Collins, serving as the Community Connections lead, where she is connecting technical women from across Collins to provide a strengthened sense of belonging and leads the Melbourne New Hire Employee Network Employee Resource Group. Erin also serves on the Steering Committee for Melbourne's Introduce a Girl Day in February and has traveled to Washington D.C. on behalf of Collins to speak to government officials about the importance of encouraging young girls to pursue STEM. She found her passion and commitment to volunteering and mentoring through the K-12 FIRST Robotics programs and works with a team out of Viera High School, as well as judging at competitions across the country.
Erin Mitchell is a Manufacturing Engineer in New Product Introduction at Collins Aerospace in Melbourne, FL. She graduated from Iowa State University in 2018 with her Masters in Business Administration and Bachelors in Industrial Engineering and is currently enrolled at Johns Hopkins University working on a Masters in Systems Engineering. Even after graduation from Iowa State, she remains heavily involved with the Program for Women in Science and Engineering there, serving as the coordinator for WiSE's semi-annual GoFurther Conference, introducing 8th-10th grade girls to Collins/STEM through hands-on engineering activities, serves on industry panels for WiSE students, and more. She is also a part of Leading Inspired Females in Technology (LIFT) at Collins, serving as the Community Connections lead, where she is connecting technical women from across Collins to provide a strengthened sense of belonging and leads the Melbourne New Hire Employee Network Employee Resource Group. Erin also serves on the Steering Committee for Melbourne's Introduce a Girl Day in February and has traveled to Washington D.C. on behalf of Collins to speak to government officials about the importance of encouraging young girls to pursue STEM. She found her passion and commitment to volunteering and mentoring through the K-12 FIRST Robotics programs and works with a team out of Viera High School, as well as judging at competitions across the country.
Director of Communications (Website Admin) | Sunita Ramnarinesingh
SWE Space Coast Chairs
2021-2022
WOW!
IGEW
Scholarship Chair
Science Fair
Engineering Awards Banquet Chair
Engineering Awards Selection Chair
Membership Chair
Florida Tech Student Counselor
Embry-Riddle Student Counselor
Bylaws Coordinator
IGEW
Scholarship Chair
Science Fair
Engineering Awards Banquet Chair
Engineering Awards Selection Chair
Membership Chair
Florida Tech Student Counselor
Embry-Riddle Student Counselor
Bylaws Coordinator
Volunteer Opportunities Available!
Email hello@swespacecoast.org for more details.
Ways Volunteering Can Make You a Better Leader
- Accelerates problem-solving abilities
- Broadens your horizons by boosting your diversity and cultural fluency
- Develops your leadership capabilities
- Teaches you new skills
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About Us
Founded in 1989, the Space Coast Section serves engineers in Brevard, Indian River, and Volusia Counties.
We empower women+ to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders; expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.
We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Founded in 1989, the Space Coast Section serves engineers in Brevard, Indian River, and Volusia Counties.
We empower women+ to achieve their full potential in careers as engineers and leaders; expand the image of the engineering and technology professions as a positive force in improving the quality of life, and demonstrate the value of diversity and inclusion.
We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.