SPEAKING

Dr. Okolo is an internationally recognized aerospace engineer and an expert in STEM workforce diversity and inclusion. Her passions lie at the intersection of facilitating diverse pipelines for research, development and technology-focused organizations, enabling historically underrepresented groups to succeed in K-12 through postdoctoral STEM education and careers, and providing awareness of the importance of inclusion and equity in STEM research and development.

Drawing from her personal experiences and best practices as a rocket scientist, her interactive presentations will inspire your audience to innovate, dream big, and “learn to fly.”

Testimonials

  • "You told us stories, shared shocking statistics, and called the audience to a higher standard - for ourselves and our professions. This call to action was broken down into simplified, actionable items that we can each apply to our work and personal lives. You encouraged our audience to bring their full selves to everything they do, and I believe that this message is what will stay with our audience throughout their careers."

    – Shanice Bryce

    Professional Development Officer, Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta

  • "As the first female and the youngest keynote speaker at a Nigerian Bar Association Section on Business Law Conference, you were impactful in the way you dealt with the planning committee and your insightful session on July 14th, 2021 – “Reach for the Stars” left the attendees with renewed vistas for their future."

    – Ayuli Jemide

    Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Section on Business Law

  • "She was very professional and a joy to work with to plan a webinar. Also, very accommodating despite the complications on our end. Dr. Okolo delivered an effective and useful talk for all. The feedback from our group and within our organization has been positive. I hope we will be able to work with her again in the future. I cannot thank her enough!"

    – Dijonney Coffey

    New Jackson Employee Resource Group, Blue Origin

GET IN TOUCH

RECENT INVITED TALKS

1.     “In-Time Safety Management for Emerging Operations,” Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture Oshkosh, Oshkosh Wisconsin, July 28th, 2022.

2.     “What Drives Cutting-Edge Aerospace Research,” Keynote Speech, University of Oxford, Said Business School - Future of Major Program Management, Virtual Meeting, May 19th, 2022.

3.     “Planes, Drones, and Air Taxis: Safety Considerations for Autonomous Vehicle Operations,” University of Texas at Arlington, Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Seminar Series, Virtual Meeting, March 25th, 2022.

4.     “The Space Economy: What It Means for The Aerospace Sector and How It Benefits Us All,” Zonta International Amelia Earhart Fellow Panel, Virtual Meeting, January 25th, 2022.

5.     “Operational Sustainability in an Increasingly Congested & Heterogenous Airspace,” AIAA SciTech Forum 360 Panel, San Diego California, January 6th, 2022.

6.     “UAM in the NAS: Safety Above All,” Business of Automated Mobility Forum, Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) & Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) International, November 3rd, 2021.

7.     “Transforming the National Airspace: A UAS Safety Perspective,” UAS West Symposium, U.S. Department of Defense & Government, August 12th, 2021.

8.     “Code Switching & Innovation: Striking the Right Balance,” Blue Origin New Jackson Employee Resource Group, Virtual Event, August 13th, 2021

9.     “A Rocket Scientist’s Guide to Innovation Through Inclusion,” Association of Professional Engineers & Geoscientists of Alberta, Professional Development Conference, Keynote Speech, June 9th, 2021.

10.  “Fly Like a Bird: Unique Ways to Control Aerospace Vehicles,” NASA Ames Early Career Award Lecture at the NASA Ames Summer Series, August 11th, 2020.

11.  “Controlling the Uncontrollable: Development & Evaluation of Control Designs for a Mechanically Deployed Entry Vehicle,” City of Cupertino NASA Speaker Series, February 19th, 2020.

12.  “Leveraging Aerospace Solutions to Enable Change in Africa,” Keynote at TechPlus Digital Social Innovation Conference, Lagos, Nigeria, November 16th, 2019

13.  “Autonomy of Micro- and Nano-Satellites,” University of Tartu and Nordic-European Astrobiology Campus Summer School on Microsatellites and their Use in Planetary and Astrobiology Research, Tartu, Estonia, July 2019

14.  “Unconventional Control Techniques for Aerospace Vehicles,” Annual Conference of the National Defense Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship Program, San Diego, California, August 2019

15.  “Precision Targeting of Entry Vehicles,” NASA Engineering & Safety Center (NESC) Guidance Navigation & Control (GNC) Technical Discipline Team (TDT) Face To Face Meeting, Moffett Field, California, 2019

16.  “The Science of Failure: Systems Health Monitoring for Small Satellites,” University of Tartu and Nordic-European Astrobiology Campus Summer School on Microsatellites and their Use in Planetary and Astrobiology Research, Tartu, Estonia August, 2018

17.  “Identification of Safety Metrics for Airport Surface Operations,” System-Wide Safety (SWS) Technical Talks, Virtual Meeting, August 2018

18.  “Learn To Fly,” Keynote Speech

a.    World Science Day for Peace & Development, Corona Schools Lagos, November 10th, 2021

b.     Academic Convocation, University of Texas at Arlington, August 20th, 2019

c.     Lead The Way, Girl Scouts, Milpitas, California, February 2nd, 2019

d.     Silicon Valley Chapter of the National Coalition of 100 Black Women, CISCO, Mountain View, California, April 7th, 2018

e.     Design, Build, Code, Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California, October 2017

19.  “Evaluating and Augmenting Fuel-savings Obtained in Aircraft Formation Flight”

a.     MIT-Stanford Women in Aerospace Symposium, MIT, Boston, Massachusetts, 2016

b.     Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering Seminar, U.T. Arlington, Arlington, TX, 2015