ALEXANDRIA, Va.—Three top Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) executives—CEO James Schenck, CFO Roderick “Rocky” Mitchell, and COO Kevyn Myers, joined some of the nation’s leading scientists, engineers and mathematicians in New York City for a gala celebration of the 40th anniversary of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME).
NACME was founded in 1974 in order to contribute to American competitiveness through leadership and support of the national effort to expand U.S. capability through increasing the number of minority young men and women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education, and careers.
"Don’t mistake PenFed’s support of NACME for a simple act of charitable giving,” said Schenck. “We are investing time and money as a way of paying it forward. STEM grads keep America competitive in the global landscape and are key to maintaining the U.S. military as the best in the world. They are also, in many cases, on the front lines in the battle to protect our financial networks from cyber-attacks. The greater presence of minority men and women in STEM can result in powerful examples to those who might otherwise see the pursuit of a technical degree as unattainable.”
Mitchell, who serves on NACME’s board of directors, explained the significance of corporate support for organizations that expose minority youth to the STEM disciplines. “There are young people here tonight who are excelling under very heavy and very technical course loads. There are also young people here who are gainfully employed in STEM fields. Giving back to help cultivate talent in these critical disciplines is a small investment that delivers big returns for both industry and the nation.”
At right, from left to right, Vice President of GE's healthymagination business strategy on global health, Michael J. Barber speaks with PenFed’s CFO, Roderick “Rocky” Mitchell (center) and CEO, James Schenck during a gala event in NYC to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering.