Aerospace SIG Leadership
Enanga Daisy Fale holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering with a focus on Aviation Operations from St. Cloud State University, and a master's degree in Systems Engineering with a certificate in Human-Computer Interaction from Iowa State University. She is currently pursuing additional graduate studies in systems engineering and leadership.
She works in the Aerospace and Defense Industry as a senior engineering manager with responsibilities in managing a Systems Engineering department, Visualization-Mixed Reality Lab, and systems integration capability for multiple products. Additionally, she has extensive aircraft and avionic applications experience in software development, systems design, integration, certification, and production of flight management, datalink communication, and electric power systems. Apart from the aerospace and defense industry, she has other experiences in architecting and implementation of the Internet of Things (IoT) in Industrial and biomedical applications as a program manager and engineering manager. In addition to work, Ms. Fale enjoys traveling, while relishing opportunities to drive technological advancement through engagement in non-profit engineering organizations, technical standards boards, and working as an educator in electrical and computer engineering programs.
As a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) advocate and aerospace-defense industry enthusiast, she serves as the Aerospace Special Interest Group (SIG) Director with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). Ms. Fale focuses on positioning the organization to serve as a strategic function to empower individuals in transforming the Aerospace Industry through Research, Professional Development, Outreach, and Advocacy. Ms. Fale has been a member of NSBE and the Aerospace SIG since 2012, when she joined to support and eventually lead the research on the development of an East African Spaceport. Additionally, Ms. Fale's STEM advocacy extends through the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). She has been a SWE leadership coach focused on coaching organizational units on maintaining vital sections and strategic program development. Her STEM advocacy has also included being a SWE college section counselor and section president that has led to launching state conferences to foster a female STEM network and speaking globally on Program Development and Aerospace Industry Navigation.
Ms. Fale is also involved in engineering educational review boards, while holding membership in the International Council of Systems Engineers (INCOSE), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and SAE International. She also shares her technical and leadership expertise through workshops or presentations on Systems Engineering, Engineering Management, Career Navigation, Product Line Management, East Africa Space Exploration, Managing Generations in the Workforce, Navigating the Aerospace Industry, Leadership, and other related topics either through SWE, NSBE, INCOSE, as a guest speaker for universities, or as a Coach.
She has been recognized for her work and achievements from St. Cloud State University through the 2018 Alumni Service Award; from NSBE through the 2018 Professional Leader Award, 2017 Technical Excellence Ambassador Award, and 2016 NSBE Space SIG Leadership Team Facilitator Award; from SWE through the 2014 Governor's Choice Award and SWE Chicago Regional Section Professional Development Award; from college institutions for Instructor Performance; and from employer recognition programs for Customer Focus, Performance, and Leadership on programs within the aerospace and defense industry.
Kojo Sarkodie is a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) advocate and aerospace-defense industry enthusiast. He engages in a number of engineering community service activities focused on technical development, research, and advocacy. Currently, Kojo serves as the Aerospace Special Interest Group (SIG) Deputy Director with the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and Founding Partner of the Zed Factor Fellowship
Prior to entering the Aerospace & Defense industry, Mr. Sarkodie was a summer research intern at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in 2019. While at BCM, Mr. Sarkodie would read about the different paths medical professionals can take in order to support NASA's mission of human spaceflight and research.
During Mr. Sarkodie's collegiate years his passion for space exploration propelled him into an unfamiliar space where he had the opportunity to serve as the Vice-Chair Board of Directors for Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS-USA), which is the largest student-run, STEM organization in the world. In his tenure, Mr. Sarkodie led SEDS-USA into a Space Act Agreement with NASA Office of STEM Engagement and co-created the SEDScast national podcast.
Kevin Dillon is a growing engineering professional who blends passion and professional experience in designing, testing and analyzing flight control systems and subsystems for commercial and military aircraft platforms with system requirements development, system integration, real-time simulation and system verification and validation.
Consistent in offering employers a successful track record of delivering innovative solutions accurately and efficiently with a strong customer and shareholder focus. Skilled in system architecture design, requirement development, system integration and simulation to produce high quality software and hardware.
Mr. Dillion is known for creating and implementing continuous process improvement strategies that reduce time and reduce program costs. He is respected by team members for demonstrating an understanding of the program’s full life cycle goals, communicating effectively, and increasing customer satisfaction.
Mr. Dillon is eager and motivated to take on challenging engineering projects in a team atmosphere that provide growth and learning opportunities, like working with the NSBE Aerospace Special Interest Group.
Aerospace SIG Partnership Director
aerospace.partnership@nsbe.orgTwitter: @DrDexterJohnsonDr. Dex Consulting
Dr. Dexter Johnson is an Engineer, Educator, Entrepreneur, and Minister. He was born and raised in Buffalo, New York. Dr. Johnson is the NASA Technical Fellow for Loads and Dynamics, supporting the NASA Engineering and Safety Center. Technical Fellows are NASA's senior technical experts. They assemble and provide Agency Leadership for the Technical Discipline Teams, and as such, they sponsor discipline-enhancing activities and educate the Agency. His duty station is at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) at Lewis Field in Cleveland, Ohio, though employed by the NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. He previously served as the Chief of the Structural Dynamics Branch at GRC and worked there since 1990. He graduated from the City Honors High School (Buffalo, NY) in 1982, the University at Buffalo (UB) with a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering in 1987, and a M.S. and a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, in 1989 and 1995, respectively. His current engineering interests involve overseeing Structural Dynamics work focused on Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft Loads and Dynamics applicable to Flight and Ground Hardware Design, Development, Test, and Evaluation, as well as Aeronautics Research and Technology Development. As an Aerospace Research Engineer, he was involved in the development and application of Magnetic Suspension Technology to Advanced Aerospace Turbomachinery. He is the inventor of the Adaptive Variable Bias Control method for power-saving operation of Active Magnetic Suspension Systems.
Dr. Johnson received numerous awards and recognition, some of which are noted as follows: In 1998, Dr. Johnson was one of six individuals selected nationwide to participate in the prestigious NASA Administrator’s Fellowship Program. In the program, he served as a visiting professor at the Florida A&M University-Florida State University College of Engineering, worked at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and was a visiting researcher at several industrial organizations. In 1998, Dr. Johnson received the esteemed “NASA Honor Award - Exceptional Service Medal” for his magnetic suspension systems research and development. In 2003, he won the National Technical Association (NTA) “Technical Achiever of the Year – Technologist Category Award”. In 2006, he won the Science Spectrum Magazine “Trailblazer Award”. In 2006, he was selected as an UB School of Engineering and Applied Sciences “60 years of Excellence – Distinguished Alumni”. In 2008, he won the “NASA Honor Award – Group Achievement Award” for contributing to the design and development of the NASA Ares I-X Upper Stage Simulator. In 2010, he received the Inaugural “Celestial Torch Award – Aerospace Pioneer of the Year” from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Aerospace Systems Conference. He was awarded the 2012 UB Alumni Association Achievement Awards – “Clifford C. Furnas Memorial Award”, and the 2012 City Honors High School “Alumni Award”. In 2014, he was selected for the inaugural NASA Leveraging Agency Supervisory Excellence and Resilience Pilot Program, and was awarded the 2014 “NASA Honor Award - Equal Employment Opportunity Medal - For outstanding commitment to the diversity and inclusion values within the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields while executing the NASA mission.” Dr. Dexter Johnson, was awarded the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Associate Fellow status in 2018. AIAA Associate Fellows are individuals of distinction who have made notable and valuable contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics.
Dr. Dexter Johnson served on the Board of Directors of the NTA as the National Treasurer from 2002 through 2004. He is also an active member of the NSBE and AIAA. Recently, Dr. Dexter Johnson was elected as the AIAA SDTC Vice Chair in 2018, which automatically progresses to Chair in 2020. The technical areas addressed by the SDTC are the interactions among aerodynamic, dynamic, elastic, damping, inertial and control forces acting on vehicles and structures. Included are response and stability investigations of linear and nonlinear systems using analytical, empirical and experimental techniques. The SDTC, through its various subcommittees, participates in organization and planning of national technical conferences and conference sessions, development of education and training aids, information gathering, assessment, and distribution, promotion of cross-disciplinary activities, and promotion of candidates for awards and recognition in the structural dynamics field. The SDTC also produced an award winning outreach DVD for which he was a contributor. He initiated SDTC engineering outreach programs for their annual conference. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the NSBE Professionals Space Special Interest Group (SIG) as the Proposals and Collaborations Director. His NSBE involvement spans 30 years inclusive of membership, student leadership, professional leadership, mentorship, and corporate recruitment. He was a founding member of the UB chapter. He served on the Engineering Dean’s Advisory Council (DAC) at UB from 2009-2015. In 2015, the UB DAC received the Alumni Association “Dr. Philip B. Wels Outstanding Service Award” which is given to an individual or group that has contributed to and advanced the UB for a specific purpose, or served UB in a voluntary capacity for a significant period of time. He was selected to the serve on the UB Alumni Association Board of Directors beginning July 1, 2017.
Dr. Johnson is the co-founder, along with his wife, of PHIDEX Enterprises, LLC. PHIDEX is an educational research and professional development company whose mission is to “Passionately Help Individuals Develop Excellence”. PHIDEX is famous for their popular “Cost of Success TM” workshop. They have conducted numerous workshops promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) career exploration. In 2013, they launched the “Brilliant Mind Marriages and Relationships TM” conference. They are Certified Prepare-Enrich Marriage Coaches/Instructors. His involvement in the Buffalo-area Engineering Awareness Program (BEAM), at UB, as a junior in high school led him to pursue a career in engineering. He has the distinction of being the first BEAM student to graduate with an engineering Ph.D. from the UB. He and his wife previously served as the Family Life Pastors at Church on the Rise, in Westlake, Ohio, and are extensively involved in ministry leadership development. He led prison ministry outreach programs and was recognized as the Grafton Reintegration Center, Grafton OH, “Volunteer of the Year” for 2013. Dr. Johnson is a frequently requested Keynote Speaker as “Dr Dex” focusing on a range of topics involving STEM, faith and inspiration, personal excellence, building healthy relationships, and career success.
He and his wife are graduates of the International School of Ministry and were ordained through the Commission Ministers Network. They also are licensed foster/adoptive care parents who advocate support for foster, adoptive, and kinship care parents and families. Dr. Johnson is happily married to Mrs. Philomena M. Lucas-Johnson, whom he loves dearly.
Jacqueline A. Long is not an engineer. She promotes science, technology, math and engineering education (STEM) every chance she gets as the advisor for the collegiate chapter of The National Society of Black Engineers at the University of Texas at Dallas. UTD NSBE sponsors and supports five (5) PCI – Junior chapters as well was partners with the other four (4) collegiate chapters and three (3) NSBE Professional Chapters in the Dallas – Fort Worth, TX area. She was selected as Region V Advisor of the Year for 2018 – 19.
Her special interest in aerospace began in elementary school in the Washington, D.C. area watching Mercury astronauts paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue; followed by staring out the window during junior high school math class watching weather balloons launched daily from Goodard Spaceflight Center which was across the field from the school.
Ms. Long is presently employed at UT Dallas as a Project Supervisor for The Academic Bridge Program (ABP) in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies. The Bridge Program recruits and transitions high school seniors into college and graduates them from UTD. During her 20-year career as an educator, Ms. Long has served in all grades and levels of education from special ed to adult ed. She taught art to high school students and speech communications to college students. She worked as a Transfer Advisor for five years with the Office of Academic Assistance Programs at Louisiana State University at Eunice.
She received a Master’s in Mass Communication from The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (USL) and has doctorial coursework in Curriculum & Instruction from the University of New Orleans that included certifications in Adult Education and Educational Program Evaluation. She calls herself a “science fictionist” as another term for Star Trek fan! She is a published Star Trek author and wrote her Master’s thesis on how watching science fiction affects young people’s attitudes toward NASA and the real space program. Originally from Lanham, Maryland,(a suburb of Washington, D. C.) she now lives in and loves Dallas, Texas. Her favorite quote is from her father: “Don’t do things because you want to, nor don’t want to, but do things because they need to be done.” James B. Long, May 2006
Ernest D. Levert has the position of Lockheed Martin Fellow for Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Dallas, Texas. He works in the Production Engineering Department where he functions as the corporate welding engineering and materials joining technologies subject matter expert. He is Member of the Production Technical Excellence Staff. The Lockheed Martin Fellows Program provides a unique opportunity to celebrate technical excellence in the individual contributor career path while inspiring an esprit de corps designed to promote technical achievement within the Corporation. Some of the programs he supports include the International Space Station Thermal Control Units Program, Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3), Army Tactical Missile System (Army TACMS), Line-of-Sight Antitank Weapon System (LOSAT), Joint Strike Fighter Program (JSF-F35), Advanced Missile Programs, Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) project, and the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS). Previously, Mr. Levert worked for General Dynamics, Convair Division, in San Diego as a welding engineer where he supported the Atlas Space Vehicle program, Tomahawk Cruise Missile Program, Ground Launched Cruise Missile Program, and the Space Shuttle program. Mr. Levert has over forty years of welding experience in the aerospace and defense industries. He received his Bachelor of Science in Welding Engineering from The Ohio State University and currently enjoys a position as an Ohio State University College of Engineering Distinguished Alumni. Mr. Levert was recognized as the 2015 Black Engineer of the Year for Career Achievements in Industry.
Along with his heavy corporate load, Mr. Levert divides his time between various community (Scoutmaster), Director Scouting Ministry at Westside Baptist church, and family obligations. Away from work Mr. Levert is proud to serve as Chairman of the International Institute of Welding (IIW) Commission IV, Power Beam Processes (56 countries), and serves as the United States delegate at the IIW annual assemblies. He was elected the IIW Board of Directors (BOD) July 12, 2014, again the first African American elected to this BOD Position.
He served as President of the Federation of Materials Societies (FMS) 700,000 members 2006-2008. Mr. Levert is the first African American to serve in each of these esteemed positions. He is a frequent speaker at schools to lands across both oceans when he is hosted by government officials and Chief Executive Officers of companies in industrialized and developing countries.
Mr. Levert is an internationally recognized Welding Engineering Subject Matter Expert (SME) who specializes in Power Beam Technologies (Laser and Electron Beam Welding). He joined Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control in Dallas, Texas in 1986 as a Welding Engineer in the Manufacturing Engineering department.
For the past thirty, he has singularly written procedures and developed policies and processes that provide essential structural integrity and allow verifiable and secure access to foreign markets for many Lockheed Martin products. As a result of his innovative solutions, he has helped to put Lockheed Martin in the forefront of welding sciences.
Mr. Levert was not only the first African American to serve as President of the American Welding Society in 2002-2003 but also the first Ohio State University Welding Engineering graduate to achieve that position. The American Welding Society is the largest organization in the world dedicated to advancing the science, technology and application of materials joining. AWS serves over 65,000 members in the United States and around the world and has it’s headquartered in Miami, Florida. For his continuous efforts in support of AWS’s mission, he is now recognized as an AWS Counselor, Distinguished, and Lifetime Member.
Obinna “Obi” Anyadiegwu is a Project Engineer at the legendary Lockheed Martin Skunk Works. Mr. Anyadiegwu spends his free time acting as a STEAM advocate and collaborating with organizations such as the National Society of Black Engineers - Aerospace Special Interest Group, LA County / Antelope Valley High Schools, NASA Office of Stem Engagement and The Texas Space Grant Consortium. Using lessons learned from his own experiences as a student to facilitate more opportunities for students interested in Aerospace. Obi holds a B.E in Mechanical & Energy Engineering from The University of North Texas.
Jaylen Wilson is an incoming Bombers and Fighters Mission Systems Electrical Engineer for Boeing in Hazelwood, MO. He received his Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Kansas in 2022. While at the University of Kansas Mr. Wilson served as Pre-College Initiative (PCI) chair and President of the NSBE chapter. In his free time, Mr. Wilson enjoys spending time with family and friends, in addition to, playing games such as NBA 2k or Destiny 2. Mr. Wilson is glad to be apart of the team and can’t wait to have an impact on young engineers like his self.