A Mentorship Night is for women students to participate in a roundtable mentorship opportunity with working professionals form leading engineering and IT companies. The focus of this event is networking tips and tricks. Attendees will learn: how to prepare for networking events, networking online (e.g. LinkedIn), and the dos and don’ts.
Who can attend the event?
We encourage women from all backgrounds and identities to join this Candid Conversation, especially women students in a Carleton University Bachelor, Master’s or Doctoral program, of: engineering, IT, applied science, computer science, mathematics, or physics. We are committed to creating spaces that are welcoming and supportive to women of all backgrounds, intersecting identities, and experiences – including racialized women, women with disabilities, Indigenous women, etc.
Mentors
Learn about the mentors you will meet at the event! Click on the photos to read a brief description about who they are and where they work. Stay tuned! More mentor bios are coming soon.
Michelle Guzman is the mechanical lead of the research group at Gastops. Michelle and her team focus on the design, fabrication, and testing of new concepts that aim to push forward new technologies which have the potential to drastically improve Gastops current product capabilities. She also mentors junior engineers and mechanical designers, to help them develop and expand their skill set. Michelle completed the Aerospace Graduate Program at Carleton University in 2019 after acquiring a couple of years of industrial experience working for companies like Nidec Corporation and GE.
Kassidy is a fourth-year Aerospace Engineering student at Carleton University currently on a 16-month work term with Gastops’ mechanical design team in the research department. She initially joined Gastops after being awarded a Gastops endowed entrance scholarship in her first year, leading to a 4-month summer term in 2022.
At Gastops, she contributes to developing innovative technologies to enhance the service life of gas turbines across aerospace, marine, and land applications.
Before Gastops, Kassidy worked as a dispatcher at a local aviation company and served as a student ambassador for Carleton’s Faculty of Engineering and Design. She’s a licensed pilot and proud Newfoundlander, hailing from Torbay, NL. Besides flying, Kassidy enjoys debate, hiking, and connecting with fellow women in engineering.
Britney Baker is currently a Software Engineer Systems at Ciena. She is responsible for RLS Security and co-leading Women at Ciena Canada. Prior to working full-time at Ciena, Britney was an intern student who had the opportunity to experience Web-development, DevOps, and Security at Ciena. Britney earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Software Engineering at Carleton University in 2021.
Based in Ottawa, Britt Hayman works in Talent Acquisition focusing on Early in Career Programs for North America at Ciena. Having completed two undergraduate degrees from McMaster University, she later returned to school to complete her graduate studies in Human Resources. She spent many years working in the health care industry, before making her transition to tech in 2021.
Lori Smigelski is a Software Engineer Associate at Lockheed Martin. She is currently working for the Command and Control team on the Canadian Surface Combatant project, where they develop design solutions to integrate the various combat systems onto the warship platform. Lori has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Dalhousie University, and is currently working towards becoming a Professional Engineer.
Zoë MacDonald is a software engineer at Lockheed Martin Canada doing interoperability testing, data analysis, and managing unruly Python scripts. She lives in Halifax Nova Scotia, where she runs Dungeons & Dragons campaigns and does infrared photography.
Lina Triana is a Project Manager at PCL Construction on the
largest rehabilitation project in Canadian history at Centre Block.
Lina holds a Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch) and a certificate as a Bioclimatic and
Sustainable Architecture Specialist from the Universidad del Valle in Colombia, and a
diploma in Construction Management from George Brown College.
Lynn Walsh has 21 years in construction, 15 of which she has spent with PCL Construction.
During her time with PCL she has worked in both Calgary and Ottawa on a wide
variety of projects with scopes ranging from retail, through mechanical and aviation
facilities.
Lynn holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering – with second class honours – from the University of New Brunswick, and has been a LEED Green Associate since
2018.
Yvonne Hale is a McGill graduate whose career in talent acquisition has spanned over 16 years. She currently manages two teams at CGI that cover Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto.
Yvonne is passionate about leading and fostering her team’s development and loves working with hiring managers on strategies to facilitate the best in diverse and inclusive hires.
In her spare time Yvonne loves to travel and on weekends is often walking the trails with her dog.
Priyanka Gupta is project management professional with more than 15 years of experience, exhibiting sharp focus on: project delivery, customer requirements, process improvement, stakeholder management and client communication. She is passionate about achieving project goals on time and within budget with focus on maximum business values. She has a knack for meticulous planning, risk mitigation and efficient resource allocation.
Diane Watson is an accomplished professional with several years of extensive experience in the hi-tech telecommunication industry. She holds a pivotal role as a Research & Development Manager within Nokia’s Cloud and Network Services (CNS) organization, leading the innovative iSIM Secure Connect product team specializing in iSIM and eSIM RSP solutions. Diane’s leadership is evident as she skillfully manages a diverse team of software developers, architects, testers, and documentation specialists. Her adept guidance ensures the seamless execution of product releases, driven by her commitment to excellence, adherence to budget, and uncompromising quality. She also holds an MSC in Computer Science from McMaster University.
