STEMblazers 2021-22 Board of Directors
Get to know us!
Every year, our Board of Directors gets stronger and we would like to introduce you to the outstanding line up of professionals that comprise our board. We invite you to read through their short bios, you will be inspired.
Wendy founded Girls in STEM (now STEMblazers) with the express purpose of helping close the gender gap in STEM fields by bringing her enthusiasm, determination, and resources for encouraging and supporting girls to seek a STEM related career prior to post secondary education. Wendy graduated with a BS in Architectural Engineering from the University of Wyoming and is a licensed mechanical engineer. Her background includes 20 years of experience working in the Colorado design and construction industry as a consulting mechanical engineer designing building systems including; HVAC, plumbing, fire protection and building automation control systems.
In 2013, Wendy moved in a different direction following her passion to give back to the community founding the not for profit STEMblazers, formerly known as Girls in STEM, leveraging her talents, experience and extensive network of professional women working in STEM related careers, STEMblazers works directly with high school and middle school students to provide real world mentoring, career exploration, networking and job shadowing opportunities. In her free time, Wendy also enjoys being outdoors skiing, golfing, gardening, and spending time with her family.
Kristi Steinhilber currently serves as a Board Chair and Director of Events for STEMblazers.
She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology accompanied by a Minor in Mathematics from the University of Northern Colorado in 2007. Following graduation, she worked as a Meteorological Software Engineer for IPS Meteostar where she tested and documented leading weather software. She also spent time as a team member for Your Weather Network where she compiled, wrote, and recorded hourly broadcasts for multiple weather clients. Previous to her current position, she added to her skill set by working at GEI Consultants, Inc., an engineering and environmental consulting firm, as a Marketing Assistant.
Currently, she is a Meteorological Consultant for Applied Weather Associates where she performs meteorological analysis of extreme precipitation events for PMP studies.
Rachel started her career as a molecular and cellular biologist in the fields of pharmacy, genetics, and then surgery research in universities and hospitals. While earning her MS in Biotechnology from Johns Hopkins University, she took courses in patent law and health law and decided to combine her science career with law. Rachel currently works in patent and trademark prosecution, licensing, and counseling clients regarding protection and privacy of intellectual property portfolios. Rachel has also represented a diverse group of clients in corporate transactional law and litigation. She has represented clients in cases and portfolios involving medical devices, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, mechanical arts, and software.
When she is not helping sole inventors and companies get IP protection, Rachel assists low income inventors through the USPTO ProBoPat program, serves on the Board of Directors of Second Wind Fund and on the membership committee of Colorado BioScience Association, and spends time with her family living the Colorado dream.
Rachel also visits schools to share her STEM educational and professional background and experiences to inspire young girls and expose them to various career pathways in STEM. She also works on fundraising in the community to provide girls with access to STEM opportunities and experience.
Sravani Katamaneni is a first year student at University of Colorado Denver where she is pursuing a bachelors degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Marketing. She graduated from STEM School Highlands Ranch and was a member of the South Metro High School Chapter for two years. During her free time, she teaches and learns Indian Classical Dance & Bollywood while performing and competing in local competitions (!) Additionally, she works at Jefferson County Human Services on a Marketing & Communication work-study internship. Sravani looks forward to continuing to work with STEMblazers and supporting our community engagement efforts.
Kayla Opperman is the Owner of Snapology of Golden-Littleton. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Engineering and Applied Mathematics from University of Colorado at Boulder in 2011. She worked as an Electrical Engineer at consulting firms for six years, designing electrical systems for buildings like hospitals, schools, and sports stadiums and arenas. She left the industry in 2018 and went on to buy her first Snapology franchise. Snapology teaches STEM concepts to children ages 2-14, through interactive, hands-on play. She is passionate about spreading the love for STEM and make it fun at young ages. She has since expanded into five franchise territories, covering the north, west, and south Denver and Boulder Metro areas.
She spends her free time outside or traveling with her husband, 4-year-old daughter, and 1-year-old son.
Refugio “Kukis” Moran has been with Comcast, a leading connectivity and entertainment company, for over 20 years. In her current role as Executive Director of Communications Engineering, she is responsible for leading network design, implementation, and break fix of Comcast’s communications platform which supports residential, commercial, and wholesale voice products.
Kukis is passionate about developing leaders and advocating for the inclusion of women and minorities in technology fields. She has been involved with WICT (Women in Cable Telecommunications) since 2005. She served a two-year term as President of the Board for the Rocky Mountain Chapter (2019-2020). She also co-founded two mentoring programs at Comcast.
As a woman in technology, Kukis is passionate about supporting underrepresented groups to grow a more diverse pipeline of talent for cable and other STEM industries.
Kukis holds a bachelor’s degree in Management of Communications and Media Technology from Regis University and a master’s degree in Telecommunications from the University of Denver.
Kukis was born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico. She now lives in Denver with her wife Anna-Maria and their two daughters (8 and 19 years old). Kukis enjoys spending time with her extended family and friends and volunteering in the community.
Born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, and resident of Colorado since 1999, Ale has 20 years of construction experience. Throughout her career, Ale has held roles such as Project Engineer, Marketing and most recently in Business Development. Ale has been dedicated to developing and implementing strategies to obtain projects, promoting diversity and inclusivity, community connections and continued support for minority companies and small businesses throughout Colorado.
Ale’s role as Business Development Manager / Community Engagement is responsible for the development of targeted new client relationships and maintenance of existing clients relationships leading to project opportunities. Ale is also responsible for successfully executing community participation plans to maximize opportunities for small, women, minority and other diverse groups and workers on Mortenson’s projects.
Ale received her Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering from the Institute of Technology and Higher Studies of the West, in Guadalajara Mexico. In 2016 she became a member of the Latino Leadership Institute, a University of Denver leadership program. In 2020 completed the Diversity and Inclusion certificate program thru University of Cornell and in 2021 she finished the Colorado Governor’s Fellowship program.
Shelly Sousa is a Solution Architect with 20 years of high-tech experience. She began her career as a network analyst and technician, eventually managing corporate network operations. Shelly later transitioned from network service assurance to software development and designed international customer service applications as a lead architect at Viasat Inc., a satellite service provider. Today, Shelly is a Senior Software Engineer at CoBank, lending her system architecture expertise to new and exciting projects in the farm credit industry.
Shelly strives to provide students with access, opportunity, and mentorship to build successful STEM careers. She joined the STEMblazers team in 2015 as a volunteer and served two terms on the STEMblazers board from 2016-2020 as the Board Co-Chair and Board Chair. During that time, Shelly also developed multiple corporate STEM programs and led Women in Technology outreach efforts to improve diversity & inclusion in her community.
Technology changes quickly and Shelly made learning about computer science a lifelong personal habit. As of 2021, Shelly has attained 13 professional certifications. Most recently, she received an Application Architect credential from Salesforce. Shelly is currently enrolled at Western Governors University and will complete a Bachelor of Science in Data Management & Data Analytics in 2021. She intends to continue on her educational journey to pursue a Master of Science in 2022. Her focus is data analytics, machine learning, and artificial intelligence.
When she is not pondering the wonders of technology, you may spot Shelly on a Colorado trail. She is an amateur astronomer and loves to explore the night sky. Shelly lives in the Denver metro area with her wife Misty and their chatty Siamese cat Smudges.