Laura Hanks

Laura is senior director of brand marketing. Prior to joining Mercury, she was director of strategy business development at ITT Interconnect Solutions and Ducommun Inc. Laura began her career as a software engineer and later moved into program management and product marketing roles. She holds a BS and MS in computer science from the University of Southern California. 

What is your advice to young women entering the STEM field? 

·         Don’t be afraid to speak up, not everyone will hear you, but no one will if you stay silent. 

·         Take risks and have the courage to push yourself and see how far you can go. 

·         Look out for and bond with other women on your team and across your organization. 

·         Identify a few colleagues (male or female) that you can really trust and be each other’s coaches and confidants. 

·         Actively seek and leverage mentors. 

·         Keep a positive outlook, even ‘mistakes’ are learning experiences. If you’re not making mistakes, you’re probably not taking risks and pushing yourself. 

Cynthia Amaya

Cynthia is a desktop systems analyst at Mercury. Formerly, she was the head of technology for Quadrant Inc. Cynthia began her career as a Windows system administrator at Network Solutions, LLC. and holds a BS in information technology from George Mason University. 

What notable changes/advances have you seen over the years for women in tech? 

Back in 2009 when I was an intern, if I were to Google “women system administrators,” you’d see images of 20th century women phone switchboard operators. However, things are changing and despite the challenges, more women are now choosing to pursue a career in the technology industry.  

Sophie Marini

Sophie is senior manager of software engineering, MMS. Before joining Mercury, she held software engineering roles with Thales, Cobham, Barco and Richland Technologies (acquired by Mercury in 2017). She holds MS in mechanical engineering and aerotechnics. 

When did you know you wanted to be an engineer, and why STEM? 

Engineering was a fallback plan for me. I initially hoped to become the 21st century heir to famed Nobel Prize winner physicist Marie Curie after reading her life story in one of my grandmother’s “Reader’s Digest” volumes. Unfortunately, my brain refused to process bundles of light that can be both particles and waves, cats that can be both alive and dead, or anything resembling advanced calculus. Algebra and logics were my stronger suits, which is how I ended up in software engineering, where there is 1 or 0 and nothing in between, unless the hardware people mess it up!