Date: March 12, 2015
Time: 10:30 am – 12:00 pm
Location: INQU 004 – Amphitheater
A doctoral degree is a credential signifying largely that you are capable of doing independent research at the highest possible level. Furthermore, it is not a guarantee of a job opportunity after its completion. As a PhD student you will need to transform to an academic, semi academic or industrial business professional. As a future employee you most learn about the opportunities available and which skills are required for a succesful career.
Preparing for your next career move, whether it is a faculty or non-faculty position, is not a trivial task and will require a significant portion of your time. Lorena is looking to share her experience to help you identify those skills you have developed through your PhD journey that can be transfer to an industry job. In addition, she will talk about what other skills need to be obtained by industry experience, how you can adapt to be a preference candidate who can work in the corporate world. Lorena, a NPI & Lifecycle Staff Scientist, will talk about the current opportunities for a PhD and how you can make an impact with passion for improving the health and well-being of people around the world through a Johnson & Johnson Career Pathway.
The speaker is Lorena Padro-Cortes, PE, PhD. Lorena holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering specialized in Bioengineering from University of Puerto Rico, Mayaguez Campus. Lorena is a high performance innovation-management professional with expertise in new product introduction. She is happily married to Jose David and has 3 beloved and creative kids (Kamille, Yosef, and Gabriel). Lorena has 11.5 years of professional experience (8.5 as Sr. Process Engineer, NPI & Lifecycle Sr. Scientist/Staff Scientist in Medical Device Industry; and 3 years of professional experience as Process Engineer in Printed Circuit Boards Industry). As a Process Excellence expert (Six Sigma Black Belt candidate), she delivers optimal results in high growth environment through initiatives that reduce cost; improve process and product performance; enhance productivity and introduce meaningful new product to manage human health through prevention, diagnostic and treatment globally. Lorena is award winning of Leadership award/Employee of the year 2011 (LifeScan Product, LLC), Leadership award/Employee of the year 2011 (SWIA-Southwestern Industrial Association), NASA Space Grant 2005-2006, Fomento Industrial de Puerto Rico 2004-2006, Alliance for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) 2003-2004, and AGEP 2002-2003. Lorena is also an Executive Organization Coach and Talent development Leader who embraces the development of the new breed of leadership necessary to achieve sustainable high performance in today’s global and multicultural environment.