The SME Member Council was created in the fall of 2003 to lead the member engagement activities of SME's volunteer networks. It is responsible for assisting SME in recognizing and meeting the needs of its membership in a rapidly changing environment, building on the long-term SME strategic goals, strengthening local activities and formulating recommendations relative to SME membership recruitment, retention and engagement.

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Chair

Gabriela Darras

Gabriela Darras has several years of experience in the manufacturing industry.  As an industry executive at Microsoft, she worked with manufacturing companies in the development of digital transformation strategies and introduction of cutting-edge technology. Prior to this role, Gabriela was a manufacturing engineering manager at Caterpillar Inc. where she led end-to-end value chain projects and manufacturing excellence workshops. Previously, as a director of operations at ITC Inc., she led a team of technical experts in delivering integrated business solutions for manufacturing and technology that helped customers thrive in their transformation towards flexible and digital manufacturing. Gabriela is pursuing an MBA, holds a master’s degree in manufacturing engineering, and bachelor degrees in industrial and production engineering. She was a recipient of the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award. Passionate about manufacturing, Gabriela was an active chapter officer for SME’s Chapter 31 (2013- 20), serving as chair in 2014. She was the co-chair of SME’s Chapter Enhancement Committee in 2020 and has been part of the Member Council since 2021. Throughout this time, Gabriela worked alongside SME teams to enhance membership value, supporting the development of local chapters and member communities. SME Member Since 2010

Chair-Elect

Dan Braley, FSME, CAM-T
Boeing Global Services

Dan Braley is a Boeing associate technical fellow and the Boeing Global Services additive manufacturing technical focal and initiatives leader. In this role, he serves sustainment of all Boeing military, commercial and derivative aircraft platforms through use of additive manufacturing technologies. Braley has more than 17 years of aerospace program and R&D experience in additive manufacturing, technical program management, materials and process engineering, composites, electromagnetic product development and manufacturing technology development. Prior to his current role, he was a USN/USMC air vehicle technical integrator with Boeing focusing on F/A-18 Flight Control Surfaces, wings, complex spares and repairs. Braley has held positions with Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, L-3 Communications ESSCO and the Air Force Research Laboratory at Eglin AFB as well. He is a past recipient of the SME Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award, the Boeing Meritorious & High Honors Invention Awards, the Northrop Grumman Innovation Award, the F-35 Lightning Rod Award and currently holds 28 U.S. and international patents. Braley received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Florida State University as well as a master’s degree in engineering management from Drexel University. He was elected an SME Fellow in 2022, is an SME Certified Additive Manufacturing Technician (CAM-T) and an advisor for SME's RAPID + TCT event. SME Member Since 2015

Immediate Past Chair

Gregory A. Harris, PhD, PE
Auburn University

Gregory Harris is the department chair and associate professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering at Auburn University where he teaches courses in advanced manufacturing and systems engineering; the director of the Interdisciplinary Center for Advanced Manufacturing Systems; and the associate director for digital strategy for the National Center for Additive Manufacturing Excellence. Before joining the ISE faculty at Auburn, Harris was with the U.S. Army, Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center and served as the government program manager for the Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute, a presidential initiative to increase innovation and competitiveness in U.S. manufacturing. His work includes research and application in advanced manufacturing systems, model-based enterprise, Industry 4.0, continuous improvement, sustainability and supply chain. Harris is the former director of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He has more than 30 years of experience as an industrial engineer, quality engineer, operations manager, plant manager, director of operations and consultant in manufacturing and supply chain. Harris holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from Auburn University, an MBA from St. Edwards University and his doctorate in industrial and systems engineering from UAH. He is a registered professional engineer. SME Member Since 2017

Council Representatives

Matthew Clegg
Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS

As a community and user advocacy manager at Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS, Matthew Clegg leads 500 elite SOLIDWORKS users from 54 countries in the Champions Program and 17 global YouTube creators in the Influencer Program and supports 22 commercial customers in the Sponsorship Program. A Washington native currently living in Ohio, Matthew graduated from Central Washington University with dual degrees in music performance and industrial engineering technology. His decade of industry experience spans extensive SOLIDWORKS certification, additive manufacturing, laser scanning, reverse engineering, foundry, machining, metal fabrication, construction and forestry equipment, and marine design. In addition to serving on the SME Member Council, Matthew co-chairs the SME Chapter Funding and Award working group and has previously served on the SME Emerging Professional working group. With a strong connection to his alma mater, he serves on the Central Washington University Technology Education Program Advisory Committee. In 2021, he received the SME International Award of Merit. During two terms as chair of SME Seattle Chapter 39, Matthew focused on bolstering local college engineering programs by supporting five student chapters, forming the SME Seattle Memorial Endowed Scholarship, and growing the Seattle senior chapter to be one of the largest in the nation. He now serves as chapter advisor and enjoys mentoring student chapter members. In the music world, he loves to play trombone in local orchestras and jazz bands, and coaches young musicians. SME Member Since 2014

Farhad Ghadamli

Farhad Ghadamli is a mechanical engineer who has devoted his professional career to advanced manufacturing, more specifically, the additive manufacturing industry. He has experience with numerous OEMs, as well as large corporations like DM3D Technology, Eaton doing 3D printing with metals, plastics, composites and sand. Ghadamli was the chair of the largest SME professional chapter, Oakland-Macomb Chapter 69. He has participated in SME technical and nontechnical committees. In 2021, Ghadamli was the chair of SME’s Additive Manufacturing Certification and Oversight and Appeals Committee. He has a huge passion for leadership and a drive for supporting the U.S. manufacturing sector and plans to continue being involved. In 2021, Ghadamli received the SME President’s Award for his service to Chapter 69. He has a master's and bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Davis. In 2013, Ghadamli started the SME student chapter at UC Davis, and soon after, led an additive manufacturing competition sponsored by Sandia National Labs, Livermore. He was recognized in 2015 as an SME 30 Under 30 Future Manufacturing Leaders and is one of the recipients of the 2021 SME Aubin AM Case Study Award. SME Member Since 2012

Kayla Jordan
L3Harris

Kayla Jordan is working in the Information Security and Systems Engineering group at L3Harris, a global aerospace and defense technology company, leading risk management framework, information assurance, and bid/proposal efforts. Since being appointed to this role in 2022, she has acted as an ethics advisor providing guidance to employees about L3HARRIS' integrity standards while striving to create a safe and respectful environment for all. Additionally, she has more than five years’ experience in automotive manufacturing and audio DSP industries. She is co-host of the “SheTooSTEM: Black.STEM.Queens” podcast, a venture she started in 2018 with two colleagues from the National Society of Black Engineers. She was featured in SME’s 30 Under 30 publication in 2022 and is a SME Membership Series webinar speaker. She holds a bachelor’s in electrical engineering and an MBA in international business, both from Wayne State University. She is currently pursuing a master’s degree in information and cybersecurity at the University of California - Berkeley and expects to graduate in December 2023. SME Member Since 2022

Susan Kolinski

Susan Kolinski has over 25 years of technical sales experience in the global automotive and commercial vehicle industries, and currently works within the manufacturing industry focusing on making connections with people and products using core values and fundamentals to ensure the best products are used for suitable applications. Her career advancement is a process of learning, finding the value of a person, product, or technology, and then working with others to put that to practical use. Susan’s career in the industry started as an applications engineer and then as a technical sales engineer, progressing to focus on new business development of manufacturing products and services for companies including Schaeffler, Stoneridge and Agrati. She is currently an automotive electronics business development manager at PennEngineering. She has a bachelor’s in material science and mechanical engineering from Michigan State University. SME Member Since 2022

Stephen Marth, CMfgE, LBC
Toyota

Stephen Marth is a production engineer with Toyota. Prior to Toyota, Marth was a senior manufacturing engineer on Precor Inc.'s manufacturing team, a division of Peloton Interactive. Before joining Precor, he worked for a diverse range of organizations, including Energizer and Honda of America Manufacturing. In addition to his work at Precor, Marth is passionate about lean manufacturing and has served on the executive boards of both SME Seattle Chapter 39 and SME Northern Piedmont Chapter 82 in North Carolina. As chair of Chapter 39, Marth hosted a Pacific Northwest Chapter regional meeting in 2016 and helped the chapter receive/achieve its second Platinum Award for the SME Annual Chapter Recognition. Marth served on the SME Chapter Enhancement Committee and the Chapter Revitalization Committee. He is an SME Certified Manufacturing Engineer, Lean Bronze Certified and holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. SME Member Since 2007

Brock T. Strunk
Epic Aircraft

Brock T. Strunk is currently chief engineer at Epic Aircraft, working on the FAA certified E1000GX all composite aircraft. He joined SME in 1999 as a student at Oregon Institute of Technology (OIT). He currently serves on the board of directors for the Oregon SME Chapter 423. Additionally, he has held multiple leadership roles as a SME member on both the international and chapter level including, co-chair of the Technical Community Network, chair and vice-chair of the Member Council, vice-chair of the Plastics, Composites & Coatings Community; an advisor for the Composites Manufacturing Tech Group, vice-chair and treasurer of the Denver Senior Chapter, and vice-chair of the OIT Student Chapter. In 2008, Strunk was awarded SME's Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award. He has presented at multiple SME conferences on composite repair and manufacturing. Strunk has worked on numerous aircraft certification programs during his tenure in the aerospace community. Previously, he worked as a senior engineer at Erickson Helicopters, a level three engineer at Spirit AeroSystems, an engineering manager at Adam Aircraft and a senior engineer at Lancair Aircraft. Strunk earned a bachelor’s in manufacturing engineering and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from OIT. SME Member Since 1999

Tara Thomasson
Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co.

Tara Thomasson is a fellow at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. She is a subject-matter expert in the areas of advanced materials and processing, thermoplastic additive manufacturing and manufacturing technology and strategy. In Thomasson’s current role as aeronautics operations digital transformation lead, she is focused on collaborative efforts across the Lockheed Martin Corp. design to bring the benefits of operating in a model-based environment to manufacturing. Previously, Thomasson served as the manufacturing technology contract research and development/small business innovation research manager where she was responsible for collaborating with Navy ManTech and Air Force ManTech organizations to shape development programs to solve manufacturing challenges while enabling forward-thinking innovation on future production systems. In addition to Thomasson’s work at Lockheed Martin, she serves as an adjunct professor at Texas Christian University in the College of Science & Engineering, teaching manufacturing and mentoring up-and-coming engineers. Over the past five years, Thomasson has supported SME as an AeroDef Conference advisor and as an SME Education Foundation scholarship reviewer. She is passionate about increasing formal mentoring of college students to broaden their knowledge of opportunities in manufacturing. SME Member Since 2018

Krishna Vuppala
John Deere

Krishna Vuppala is a lead manufacturing engineer at John Deere where he oversees new product introduction programs, capital equipment acquisition, project management, strategic sourcing, continuous improvement, production planning and control, OSHA and EPA regulations, quality control and customer relationship management. Vuppala was previously the co-chair of the SME Chapter Enhancement Committee, past chair of SME Waterloo (IA) Chapter 186 and is the bulletin/advertising volunteer lead for Chapter 186. He obtained his MBA from the University of Northern Iowa in 2016, master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 2011 and bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University in 2008. SME Member Since 2017