2010 Automotive News 100 Leading Women

Why did you want to work in the auto industry? I was born and raised in southeastern Michigan. My father worked at and retired from General Motors, so I thought there was nothing cooler than to be in the automotive industry.First automotive job: A seat engineer on the GM J-car [Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird] for Lear in 1994.Proudest professional achievement: It goes back to my first job, because my proudest may not have been my biggest. I don’t know if I was ever prouder than when I was working on those seat projects. In my first six months I went from seeing a design on a tube to being at the tool shop watching the parts get produced, to our seats being built in our plants, to going over to GM Lordstown. You walk into that and you really get an appreciation of what it takes to put a car together and that you were a part of that, that what you did is a part of that product. I don’t think I’ve ever been more proud than that.