The Burlington County Women’s Advisory Council and the Burlington County Board of Chosen Freeholders host an awards ceremony every year honoring women who have made a difference in the Burlington County community. The council annually honors women who have made significant contributions and have demonstrated support for other women through mentorships, education, law and community service, among many other subjects.
Kendra Biggi, the principal engineering project manager at Lockheed Martin in Moorestown, is one of the recipients who will be honored on Tuesday, June 11 at The Merion in Cinnaminson. Biggi will receive her award for her efforts in providing mentorship and coaching for women in the engineering field, as well as within the community.
“It’s very exciting for me,” said Biggi. “I often feel that because my work includes working on government contracts that are mostly classified information, it restricts the ability of people knowing exactly what I do. Working in a large corporation like Lockheed Martin, I come across hundreds of engineers that are seeking guidance, and that guidance isn’t necessarily readily available so it’s flattering to me to get an award for mentorship.
“A lot of the mentorship that I do is very day-to-day,” Biggi continued. “Whether it’s spending time with junior engineers in the shipyards or labs, it gives them a chance to grow with the team, especially the younger ones.”
Reaching out and being a reliable resource to female engineers is something that is very important to Biggi. Not only has she participated in the 2018 Junior Achievement Women’s Future Leadership Forum at the Virtua Health Education Center to mentor students from Camden on STEM career opportunities, she has also been a mentor during the 2018 Burlington County Women’s Advisory Council mentoring events at Rowan College at Burlington County for high school and college students.
The 2018 Rancocas Valley Regional High School hostess and Lockheed Martin Technical Leadership Panel speaker at the Women in Engineering Day, originally placed her interest in the STEM field because of her father who always surrounding her with military engineering.
“At an early age, I was exposed to military museums, a lot of air shows even World War II videos,” said Biggi. “My grandfather fought in the war, so I was raised in a family that really appreciated military defense technology. My father’s encouragement helped me get into this field, and it’s honestly a dream that I’ve been able to work for this long is this field.
“I’ve spent 24-years in this industry,” Biggi continued. I’ve watched many young people come in government contract industry and get frustrated. Especially women, because they struggle and feel like it’s hard to succeed. They end up moving to different areas in the field, but that’s why I try to be a strong mentor. I want to help them navigate through their career easier. The pressure of the engineering and tech field is not necessarily the type of environment that most women choose to work, but it’s important for women to get interested in this field and have success in the field.”
According to Biggi, she is one of only a few women in the Chief’s Engineering Organization leading combat system development and ship integration programs at Lockheed Martin. Biggi is currently the technical leader for a team of approximately 100 engineers who are responsible for development, integration, deployment and support of state-of-the-art industry command, control, communications, computers and intelligence. Biggi believes her ability to mentor younger generations will encourage women to get into the field as her father encouraged her.
Those who want to attend the ceremony can purchase tickets on Eventbrite or go to the Burlington County Women’s Advisory Council Facebook page.
