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Driven by Purpose: Sylvie DeLaHunt Honored for Leadership in Diversity and STEM Advocacy

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University of Maryland (UMD) alumna Sylvie DeLaHunt ’14, M.S. ’16 has built a successful career as a highly technical engineer at Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL)—where she is currently a Senior Guidance, Navigation, and Control Engineer and assistant supervisor of APL’s Discovery Program—but she has also become a leading voice for empowering women in STEM and an advocate at all levels to advance diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB).

Since her time at Maryland, when she was a founding officer and secretary of the Department of Aerospace Engineering’s Women in Aeronautics and Astronautics (WIAA) organization, she has taken on numerous leadership roles in service of others both through APL and national organizations like the Society for Women Engineers (SWE) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

This fall, DeLaHunt’s efforts will be recognized with not one, but three prestigious awards, honoring her contributions to both the field of aerospace engineering and her extensive advocacy for women and promoting diversity and inclusivity in engineering.

These awards include Women in Aerospace’s (WIA) Initiative, Inspiration, and Impact Award, SWE’s Emerging Advocate Award, and University of Maryland’s Elaine Johnson Coates Award.

DeLaHunt has been integral to developing new initiatives at APL to improve workplace culture, and helped implement policies that better foster inclusivity and retention of diverse talent, such as removing membership dues for APL’s Affinity Groups, which increased access and participation across the organization. She is also spearheading efforts to promote leadership development opportunities for affinity group leaders to help strengthen APL’s leadership pipeline.

Her leadership in the APL Women in Technology (AWiT) affinity group was particularly impactful. Her team organized professional development and community-building events aimed at empowering women and underrepresented groups in STEM, and SWE recognized the group’s efforts with their 2020 SWE Gold Mission Award.

Through her involvement with SWE, DeLaHunt is on their Awards and Recognition Committee, and was part of a task force to evaluate and re-vamp the organization’s awards program and make it more inclusive of both early- and mid-career professionals and SWE’s international members.

“We organized SWE’s awards into tracks and performed a gap analysis where we identified a need for additional early- and mid-career recognition,” explained DeLaHunt. “Now, there are clear award progressions, and we can recognize individuals earlier in their careers to encourage them to continue on to those higher-level awards.”

As a member of AIAA’s Diversity Working Group and the Leadership, Growth, and Retention Subcommittee, she made contributions to improving the rubric and selection process for applicants to their Diversity Scholars Program.

“It almost feels like an embarrassment of riches, but it is an incredible honor to be recognized when there are so many people doing really impactful things in this space.”

Alumna Sylvie DeLaHunt

Through her roles in APL, SWE and AIAA, DeLaHunt sets examples for what’s possible for industry-wide changes in the recognition and promotion of diverse talent in STEM, and she regularly speaks at national conferences on topics related to DEIB in STEM and leadership best practices, hosting workshops and giving presentations on a variety of topics around removing barriers, promoting belonging, and celebrating the contributions of women in engineering. She hopes to help engineers and engineering students from a variety of backgrounds and interests recognize their ability to meaningfully contribute to STEM fields.

Beyond her DEIB work, DeLaHunt has made significant contributions to concept development, guidance algorithms, modeling and simulation, and trajectory optimization for defensive systems. She has also held several technical and technical leadership roles for missile interceptor programs in support of the U.S. Navy, working on systems development and performance analyses while interfacing directly with government sponsors.

DeLaHunt points out that it is critical that individuals are recognized for both their technical achievements and broader impacts, which both the SWE and WIA awards support.

“There can be a perception that carving time out for broader impact activities can  take away from one’s technical ability and contributions,” said DeLaHunt. “Awards like these recognize that professional achievements and other valuable activities like mentoring, outreach, and DEIB work go hand-in-hand in expanding the reach and impact of STEM industries.”

In addition to her technical work, APL recently selected DeLaHunt as an Assistant Supervisor for APL’s Discovery Program, a rotational program for select recent STEM graduates. She is responsible for a cohort of new hires, including hiring, coaching and mentoring, and coordinating their rotations and final placements, as well as identifying opportunities to continuously expand the impact of the program.

While continuing her technical work, she remains committed to continuing efforts that enhance diversity within the engineering community, with a focus on creating environments where professionals from all backgrounds can succeed. She is a member of the department’s Committee on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and is still involved with outreach and engagement.

"I really enjoy doing my technical work–it's challenging and I get to make critical contributions to protecting the warfighter,” said DeLaHunt. “Simultaneously, the ability to positively influence recruitment, retention, and advancement of talented STEM professionals, regardless of their background, to contribute to our mission  also has a meaningful long-term impact."

DeLaHunt will receive both her SWE and WIA awards in October, while UMD will present her with the Elaine Johnson Coats Award during this November’s 2024 Celebration of Terps Award Ceremony. There, she will be joined by fellow aerospace engineering alumna and NASA astronaut, Jeanette Epps (M.S. ’94, Ph.D. ’00), who is the 2024 President Award recipient.

"These awards are a reminder that as I continue to grow in my career, I can help shape the next generation of leaders—advocating for them while seeking to be a role model through my own technical contributions."

Published October 25, 2024