STEAM Dreamers January Panel

Join us as we host our monthly virtual panel with our amazing STEAM Dreamer features! Ask questions live and have them answered so that you can walk away with some more inspiration on how to make your STEAM journey more fulfilling. 

Our January Panelists:

Elizabeth Clark Ph.D. :

Sensory & Consumer Scientist, McCormick & Company

Career: Food Science

Elizabeth Clark is a Sensory Scientist at McCormick and Company. She has conducted and published research on the impact of human emotions on food choice. She is an active member of the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) and has previously served as President of the IFT Student Association as well as on the IFT Board of Directors and on the Feeding Tomorrow Board of Trustees. She is a member of the Maryland Section of IFT and presently holds a Member at Large role on the section's Executive Board. She is a member of the Sensory and Consumer Sciences Division where she previously served as a Student Representative. Elizabeth completed her Doctoral degree in Food Science & Technology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (i.e., Virginia Tech) and her Bachelors as well as Masters degrees in Food Science at Kansas State University.

Hajara Kabeer Abdulfatah:

Petroleum/ Gas Engineer, Girls in STEM Initiative

Career: Sustainable Energy

"A recent graduate of B.Eng Petroleum and Gas Engineering (First Class Honours) currently in transition into the Sustainable Energy space. My interests lie at the intersection of energy, environmental sustainability, and a low carbon future. I am curious about energy governance and policy, decarbonization pathways, access to affordable, efficient, and clean energy up to the last-mile consumer, and structuring financing for cost-competitive energy solutions.

My high academic standards and broad internship experience in upstream & downstream Oil and Gas has geared me towards gaining profound knowledge in multiple disciplines of petroleum engineering and across the energy value chain. I have gained industry experience as a petroleum engineering intern in diverse roles at companies such as Shell Nigeria, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), Oriental Energy Resources, and Duke Oil Company Incorporated.

I am a Girl in STEM activist who’s passionate about encouraging, inspiring, and coaching young girls to pursue and develop an interest in STEM careers. My advocacy on #GiveGirlsRoleModels, a movement aimed at normalizing female role models in STEM, earned me the first-ever Girl-in-STEM leadership award in recognition for my outstanding work in STEM advocacy by SPE Nigeria, Women Development Program (WDP). More than anything, I am driven by an insatiable desire to encourage and inspire young girls and women to break through the ceiling of possibility and make a positive and lasting impact in the world of STEM, STEAM & STREAM.

I devote much of my time volunteering for the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and apply myself productively as an active member of Student Energy (SE), Energy Institute (EI), Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE), and the prestigious Global Thinkers Forum (GTF)."

Shannon Clark:

DoD Lead, Palantir

Career: Technology

"Shannon works for the Silicon Valley-based technology company, Palantir.  In her role, she is responsible for R+D strategy and implementation with many of their US Government clients.

Prior to joining Palantir, Shannon was a Director for Counterterrorism Policy on the National Security Staff at the White House. While at the White House, she worked closely with former Deputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, to plan, direct, coordinate, and analyze the development of counterterrorism strategies in Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Before joining the National Security Staff, Shannon was a special assistant to the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. She helped plan and execute the Vice Chairman’s daily professional responsibilities and engagements and leveraged her expertise as an intelligence officer to provide analytic support to the Vice Chairman on intelligence matters.

Prior to working for the Vice-Chairman, Shannon was a counterterrorism analyst with the Department of Defense, focusing on Central Asia and Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Her time in the intelligence community included deploying with a Special Forces unit in Afghanistan.

Shannon holds a B.S. from Georgetown University and an MPA from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.