Conquering Challenges in Your Career

Dr. Paige Brown, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility officer, Office of Workers Compensation Programs, United States Department of Labor

Dr. Paige Brown is originally from Ahoskie, a small rural town in Northeastern North Carolina. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 2011 from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University, an HBCU located in Greensboro NC. After graduating she immediately began her career as an electrical engineer with the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) in Patuxent River, Maryland. In addition to her professional work at NAVAIR, Dr. Brown was an active member of the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). She served as the NSBE Jr. Coordinator and Advisor where she worked with pre-college students on a regular basis by helping to provide them with the tools and resources necessary to develop a positive attitude towards academic excellence. For her work with NSBE she received the Black Engineer of the Year Award for Community Service (2014) and the NSBE Golden Torch Award for Pre-College Director of the Year (2014).

Her love for working with students prompted her to pursue a master’s degree in Education (M.Ed.). While pursuing her M.Ed. Dr. Brown transitioned to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a lead scientific reviewer and electrical engineer in 2015. At the FDA, Dr. Brown led multidisciplinary review teams and performed the regulatory review of medical devices in the Office Product Evaluation and Quality (OPEQ), Office of Health Technology III (OHT3), Obstetrical and Reproductive Health Devices Team.
While still working at FDA, Dr. Brown completed her M.Ed. in 2016. But she still had a desire to position herself in a role where she could support underrepresented students and professionals in engineering and STEM fields. In 2018, Dr. Brown took a leave of absence from the FDA to begin a Ph.D. program in Engineering Education where her research focused on Black women in engineering and diversity, equity, and inclusion in engineering contexts. She began her program at Purdue University as residential student in West Lafayette, Indiana in August 2018. During her first year at Purdue, Dr. Brown published her first book, Conqueror: A Black Woman’s Guide to Conquering Challenges in the Workplace. Her experiences in the engineering workplace prompted her to write this book. It serves as a resource for Black woman and other minoritized groups in navigating challenges found in exclusionary workplace environments. After completion of her first year, she returned to the FDA to resume her role as lead scientific reviewer and electrical engineer, but she also continued her doctoral studies virtually.

Dr. Brown completed her Ph.D. in Engineering Education and graduated on May 16, 2022. She recently began a new position in September 2022 as the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility officer for the Office of Workers Compensation Programs, a federal agency within the United States Department of Labor. Dr. Brown is a change agent and advocate for equity and inclusion in the workplace, engineering, and STEM community at large. In her spare time, Dr. Brown is actively involved in her community, participating in STEM activities, mentoring and tutoring, and social justice efforts. Dr. Brown enjoys spending time with family, including her husband Alex and two toddler children, Ethan and Aria.

Kameelah S. Majied, PMP, Global Virtual Plant Manager & Operations Lead, Merck & Co., Inc.

Meet Kameelah Samar Majied, who currently works for global pharmaceutical company Merck & Co., Inc. In her current role as Global Virtual Plant Manager & Operations Lead, she leads focus factory teams responsible for one of the largest Contract Manufacturing Organizational partnerships, in the Merck Manufacturing Division (MMD) Diversity & Inclusion Taskforce. She previously led multifunctional global teams to articulate the value chain management strategy to optimize supply chain nodes. In over 22+ years, she has worked for Fortune 100 companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, L’Oreal USA, Limitedbrands (Bath & Body Works division), Astor & Black Custom Clothiers, Johnson & Johnson, and now Merck & Co., Inc. Kameelah is a sixteen (16) year holder of her Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification. She earned both her B.E. (Mechanical Engineering) and M.S. (Management Science) from Stevens Institute of Technology (Hoboken, NJ)

Kameelah is an avid community service advocate as an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and previous volunteer English as a Second Language (ESL) Instructor for Literacy Volunteers of New Jersey. Her professional affiliations include the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) – where she served as the 2020-2021 National Professionals Chair and current strategic advisor for the New York City XL Professionals chapter. She is a twenty-four (24) year plus member of Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and is an active speaker and workshop presenter for the SWE engagements. Kameelah has the distinct honor of being both a lifetime member of both NSBE (Lifetime member #322) and SWE. Other professional affiliations include Project Management Institute (PMI) member and Blacks in Retail Action Group (BRAG) supporter.

Kameelah’s advocacy and active role in STEM includes being creator of public speaking workshop track for the Raritan’s Introduction for Minorities to Engineering (RIME) based in New Jersey. She is an active workshop presenter and keynote speaker for NSBE, SWE, PMI, the NAACP as well as a host of other professional & civic organizations. She is a highly sought after executive speaker & moderator across numerous corporations and civic organizations. Her topics cover Diversity S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics); Technology & Arts; Career Development, Corporate Strategy and more!

Kameelah enjoys traveling globally, mentoring students, being the favorite aunt to her niece/nephews, supporting friends, her music passion and living out her life’s purpose.