2018 Conference Speaker information can be found below.
Keynote Speaker
Jim Fay
Dr. TJ Paskach is a principal at Frontline BioEnergy, a developer of renewable energy technology and projects based in Ames. He earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering in 1990 from ISU and spent 6 years at UOP, a Honeywell Company, developing petrochemical technologies and leading teams of field service engineers on new process unit startups. In 1997 he returned to ISU to pursue his Ph.D. in chemical engineering. While in graduate school he and Will Schroeder invented and patented the nitro freeze process and started Nitro Ice Cream, which has been a popular concession at the Iowa State Fair since 2000. Though still employed full-time at Frontline BioEnergy, Dr. Paskach returned to ISU again in the fall of 2017 and currently teach process and plant design in the CBE department. Dr. Paskach has a daughter, Dagney, who is a junior in Industrial Engineering and a son, Nathan, who is a freshman in Computer Engineering at ISU. Dr. Paskach lives in Ames with his wife Jeanne and his two younger sons, Eric and Ryan, both at Ames High School.
Dr. Mustafa Sagun
Dr. Mustafa Sagun is the Chief Investment Officer for Principal Global Equities. He oversees portfolio management and research for all international, domestic, and global equities strategies. Sagun has managed global equity portfolios since 2002 and he has also served as a member of the firm’s asset allocation strategy team. Sagun has been in the financial sector since 1991 and he joined the firm in 2000. Prior to his current role, Sagun was a Vice President and an Analyst for PNC Financial Services Group. He was also employed as an Equity Derivatives Specialist at Salomon Brothers. Sagun received his Ph.D. in finance and an MA in International Economics from the University of South Florida. He received his bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Engineering from Bogazici University of Turkey. Sagun has earned the right to use the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a member of the CFA Institute and the CFA Society of Iowa.
Session Presenters
Tom Alleven
Tom is a Senior in chemical engineering, graduating this Fall. He is originally from the Southwest suburbs of Minneapolis, MN. He has had a co-op with Valero Renewables, as a Process Engineering Intern. This past summer he had an internship with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources Pollution Prevention Program as an Environmental Engineering Consultant for STANLEY Engineered Fastening. He was a past Community Advisor for Friley Hall and a past president for Emerging Leaders in Engineering. He is one of the founders of Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow and is the current Programming Director. He has presented on various topics, some technical and some leadership based, throughout his many experiences.
Dr. LeQuetia Ancar
Dr. LeQuetia Ancar is from New Orleans, LA by way of Iowa City, IA. She has served in academic and student affairs for over 16 years in both the College of Agriculture & Life Sciences and the College of Engineering at Iowa State University. As the Assistant Director of Student Services and the Multicultural Liaison Officer for the College of Engineering, she currently coordinates diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and services to aid in the success and retention of multicultural and female undergraduate engineering students. With a focus on building today’s leaders through community, connection, and collaboration, she oversees the Leadership through Engineering Academic Diversity (LEAD) program which provides various academic, professional, & social-cultural development opportunities. These include, but are not limited to the LEAD Living & Learning Community, professional development seminars, mentoring & networking workshops, and academic advising & support. Dr Ancar earned her Ph.D from the Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering in Industrial and Agricultural Technology at Iowa State. She has received numerous awards for her dedication and support of student and believes her professional purpose is to help all students reach their limitless potential.
Xander Apponi
Xander Apponi is currently a sophomore in Computer Engineering at Iowa State. He has experience working as an undergraduate research assistant in the Computer Science department where he worked with political tweets and YouTube ad collections for machine learning analysis. He also thoroughly enjoys programming in python and developing websites. He is very interested in productivity, career readiness, and personal growth. Outside of professional work, Apponi enjoys playing the guitar, competing in triathlons, reading books, and searching for the next best cup of coffee.
Olivia Carrasco
Olivia Carrasco is a recent graduate from Iowa State in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in business. She was very active on Iowa State’s campus from being a Community Advisor, Mechanical Engineering Peer mentor, Being on Engineering Student Council, Emerging Leaders in Engineering, National Residence Hall Honorary, and being an active sorority member. She strives to try and improve the lives of everyone around her. She currently works at Vermeer Cooperation as a Product Specialist for their Tree Care line.
Holly Dunlay-Lott
Holly Dunlay-Lott has worked as the Associate Classification Officer and Honors Liaison in The College of Engineering at Iowa State University since September 2013. Holly’s role in the college includes enforcing and communicating college and university policies, advising Honors students, co-advising the student organization Emerging Leaders in Engineering and recently co-leading a group of students to Australia. Prior to working at ISU, Holly worked at DMACC and in finance. Holly earned her B.S. in Finance and International Business as well as her M.Ed. in Higher Education from Iowa State University. Holly is originally from Waterloo but now calls Ames home. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, attending musicals/plays and cheering on ISU athletics.
Katherine Friesen
Katherine is a leadership studies instructor for the College of Engineering at Iowa State University. She teaches in partnership with the Leadership Studies Program, which offers a certificate and minor. In addition to teaching, Katherine is a co-advisor for Emerging Leaders in Engineering and the Engineering Leaders of Tomorrow conference. She conducts leadership development workshops for many groups, including engineering student organizations. She has presented at the Iowa State Leadership Experience, Cardinal Leadership Scholars Recognition Program, and Spaceflight Operations. When not being passionate about leadership, Katherine likes to hear about the impact her students are having on the world, watch sports and Netflix, travel, and eat gluten and dairy free foods.
Carley Fulcher
Fulcher is a senior in Civil Engineering and is also working towards her minor in leadership and Master of Business Administration degree. She is passionate about leadership and developing the soft skills that are often overlooked in lecture-style classes. Last academic year, she was the President of a student organization called Emerging Leaders in Engineering. Through this experience and her leadership classwork she learned the do’s and don’ts of running a student organization. Her biggest take away was how to “motivate the middle”. Keeping your club members engaged in the club’s vision is crucial to being successful in the long term. In her free time, she loves to take pictures, disc golf, and go to any and all Iowa State Athletic events.
Mindy Heggen
Mindy Heggen has worked at Iowa State for over 12 years and recently became an academic advisor for the Mechanical Engineering Department. She has spent the last 5 years working as the Program Coordinator for Special Registrations in the Office of the Registrar’s Scheduling and Fees area. She earned her M. Ed in Higher Education in May of 2018. Her research has focus has been underrepresented populations in American higher education. She is a member of the NCORE-ISCORE PD Academy and has presented at several events on Iowa State’s Principles of Community. She spends most of her “after-hours” time with her two active children. In her free time, she enjoys cooking.
Rick Roquet
Rick Roquet is a Talent Acquisition Partner at Principal Financial Group. He is currently in the last few months of a 2-year rotational assignment where he is assisting with recruiting for IT and Data Science roles. He has spent the majority of his 26-year career at Principal in the IT space – starting out as a Software Engineer and progressing to various IT Team leader roles in our Principal Global Investors business unit where he worked closely with our IT intern program. He is a 1992 graduate of Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.
Cameron Rayburn
Originally from Chicago, Cameron Rayburn went to Tuskegee University to pursue a B.S. in Aerospace Science Engineering at the age of 16. Upon graduation, he went back home to the Chicago area to work as a counselor in a TRIO Upward Bound program helping students from low-income areas get into college with ACT/SAT prep, math & science instruction, and other services. Next, he spent 4 years teaching mathematics courses at Prairie State College (Chicago Heights, IL) and South Suburban College (South Holland, IL). After moving on from those positions, he spent 3 years as a QA Software Analyst at Applied Systems, Inc. in University Park, IL. Cameron then made a decision to come to Iowa State University for graduate school to further his Aerospace education. While a graduate student at ISU, Cameron worked as an academic advisor in the Aerospace Engineering department. Upon graduation, he accepted an offer to join the faculty and is currently a Lecturer within ISU’s Aerospace Engineering department teaching Aerodynamics, Aerospace Systems, Introductory Aerospace courses, and more. He also serves as the Academic Coordinator for the Make-To-Innovate (M:2:I) program/course which has students from a wide array of majors and engineering disciplines. Cameron has presented for many programs and institutions including Notre Dame University, Woman in Science and Engineering (WiSE), Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Black Graduate Student Association (BGSA), and many middle schools and high school around the United States.
Dr. Nora Ryan
Dr. Nora Ryan serves as the Inclusion Services Coordinator within the Office of Equal Opportunity. Her responsibilities include assuring compliance with various Federal and State laws & regulations pertaining to people with disabilities. She also coordinates religious accommodations requests and serves as the lead person for operations and dissemination of the CampusClimate Response Team. Prior to her career at ISU, Ryan worked for the Executive Office of the President while pursuing her Ph.D. at GWU in Washington, D.C. Her research focused on the racial and ethnic classifications utilized by the federal government. Ryan is an ISU alumna.
Robert Rydberg
Robert Rydberg is currently a senior at Iowa State University pursuing a major in Aerospace Engineering with a minor in Astronomy. Rydberg has helped multiple leadership positions in Freshman Leaders in Engineering (FLiE) and Emerging Leaders in Engineering (ELE). He has also recently participated in the Spaceflight Operations which emphasized operational thinking with engineering disciplines. During his free time, Rydberg enjoys golfing, hiking, and fishing.
Tony Andenoro
Tim Reuter
Tim Reuter currently serves as the Student Organizations Resource Coordinator for the Student Activities Center. Along with helping student organizations navigate the event authorization process and connecting them with various resources, he also serves as a system administrator for the Co-Curricular Transcript. Prior to his role in the Student Activities Center, Tim worked at the University of Houston as an Activities Coordinator where he advised the Student Programming Board and Homecoming. Tim also earned both his B.S. in Journalism and International Studies and his M.Ed. in Student Affairs from Iowa State University.