Great Minds in STEM Announces New Board Officers

    MONTEREY PARK, CA, July 25, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Great Minds in STEM (GMiS), a national leader in keeping American technologically strong by promoting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math careers in underserved communities, announces the re-election of GMiS Founder Ray Mellado as Chairman of the Board. Mr. Mellado is honored to announce the additional newly elected Officers for the GMiS Board of Directors:

Election of Juan Rivera, Ph.D. as Vice Chair

Dr. Rivera is currently the Director of Mission 1Advanced Technologies and Applications at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems Sector. An active member of the Northrop Grumman Management Club, Dr. Rivera is a Board Member and Advisor on Adelante, the Northrop Grumman Hispanic Employee Resource Group. Dr. Rivera graduated from The University of Texas at El Paso with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and both a master's and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from The University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Rivera was honored with a Professional Achievement Award during the 2003 HENAAC Conference, and joined the GMiS Board of Directors in 2009, and has previously served as Board Treasurer.

Election of Rudolf Montiel, P.E. as Treasurer

Mr. Montiel is President of Metropolitan Capital Partners, LLC. Previously, Mr. Montiel served as President and CEO of the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles (HACLA). He also served as the President and CEO for the Housing Authority of the City of El Paso (HACEP). In 1994, while working at General Motors as a Senior Manufacturing Project Engineer, he was honored with the Most Promising Engineer Award at the HENAAC Conference. Mr. Montiel earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso. He joined the GMiS Board of Directors in 1999 and previously served as GMiS Chair of the Audit Committee.

Re-election of Doreen Mercado, Esq. as Board Secretary

Doreen Mercado, Esq. is a Litigation Attorney in Whittier, California, and proprietor of the Law Offices of Mercado and Associates. Ms. Mercado's practice focuses on civil litigation including business law and defense of workers' compensation claims. Her clients include individuals, professional firms, private business owners and self-insured entities. Ms. Mercado earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California at Los Angeles and a J.D. from Loyola Law School. She joined the GMiS board in 1999 and will continue as Board Secretary, for another term.

Election of Robert Amezcua as Chair of the Audit Committee

Robert Amezcua is President & CEO of Amezcua Global Enterprises, LLC. Mr. Amezcua retired from IBM in June 2008 after a 35-year career that included hardware and software development, product management, business development and executive operational management responsibilities. He received a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at El Paso and attended the Carnegie Mellon Graduate School Program for Executives. Mr. Amezcua joined the GMiS Board of Directors in 2004 and previously served as Vice Chairman. He was honored with an Executive Excellence Award during the 1999 HENAAC Conference.

Additional members of the GMiS Board of Directors include the following:

Alejandro Lopez, Vice President of Advanced Network and Space Systems at The Boeing Company; H. Keith Moo-Young, Ph.D., P.E., Chancellor of Washington State University - Tri Cities; Anthony Ortega, Assistant Superintendent of El Monte Union High School District (Retired) and President & Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Foundation's, Pasadena/San Gabriel Valley Chapter; Anna M. Park, J.D., CEO of Great Minds in STEM; Patt Romero Cronin, General Manager of GTS Strategic Outsourcing Delivery, Growth Markets Unit at IBM; and Maria E. Ruess, Vice President of International Business Development at Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company.

Great Minds in STEM is a national 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in Los Angeles County. GMiS is proud to celebrate 26 years of keeping America technologically strong through the delivery of national science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) awareness programs for students, parents and teachers in underserved communities.

For more information, visit the Great Minds in STEM website at www.greatmindsinstem.org.

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