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Female Leaders Share Career, Life Advice At TACOM Conference

By Edward Cardenas

WARREN (CBS Detroit) - Female leaders from business, government and social service organizations took the stage Wednesday at the U.S. Army TACOM Life Cycle Management Command for the "weaving the Stories of Women's Lives" panel discussion.

The six panelists shared personal stories with other professionals, and middle and high school students from the tri-county area, for the Women's History Month event.

"(The event) is really about encouraging those to pursue careers that might seem a little bit out of reach," said Katheryn Hammack, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment. "Sometime you call it dreaming. It could also be aspiring. If you don't know what kind of opportunities are out there, what can you dream or aspire to be."

Hammack, who drives strategy and execution of installation policy, oversight and coordination of energy security and management for the U.S. Army, joined with the other female professionals to encourage those in attendance to listen, speak up, volunteer to take leadership roles and work hard to find a work-life balance with their careers and families.

The other panelists included:

  • Dr. Jennifer Hitchcock, Executive Director for Research, Technology and Integration for the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center. She leads the research and integration of ground vehicle mobility, power and energy, for ensuring concepts, analytics, and analysis and system simulation to meet emerging Army battlefield challenges.
  • Sonya Sepahban, Senior Vice President, Engineering Development and Technology for General Dynamics Land Systems. She is the first female to be appointed to a senior executive position in the history of the company and is responsible for executing military ground systems solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense missions and General Dynamic Land Systems worldwide customers.
  • Angela Reyes, MPH, Executive Director and Founder of the Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation. She is known for her expertise in critical policy issues that impact not only Southwest Detroit neighborhoods, but common issues facing other urban areas.
  • Dr. Haifa Fakhouri, president and Chief Operating Officer for the Arab American and Chaldean Council.  She led the establishment of the Arab American and Chaldean Council.
  • Deidre Lambert-Bounds, Chief Operating Officer for Ignite Social Media. She manages the Client Services, Consumer Insights and Analytics, Finance Talent teams as well as general agency operations.

The women also shared some of their leadership principles and the importance of continuous learning. They also shared stories about how to be flexible in their jobs.

Sepahban shared a story about when she was working with NASA in the early 1990s she worked with Russian space agency to design a space craft. Despite the language barrier, her team was one of the most successful because she took time to listen.

By listening, she helps other be "as good as they can be."

Also, they should understand that the person who is talking the most, or the loudest, Lambert-Bounds said.

"Don't think the loudest person in the room is the smartest person in the room," she said. "Sometimes you have to listen to learn much more."

And in the end, gender does not play in the success of leaders. Results do.

"Anytime a time a non-traditional person steps into a role, you're viewed as a token for that position," she said. "You have to demonstrate you know what you are talking about, you know how to lead in that field, and after a while, people forget whether you are red, white, blue, male, female, old, young. They view you as a teammate."

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