The Art of Engineering

Episodes

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  041 - ISPE Midwest's Women in Pharma Leadership Workshop 07.08.2026 48m

  Recorded live at the ISPE Midwest Chapter’s Women in Pharma Leadership Workshop, Denise McIntosh is joined by Camille Fittell, Global Process Engineer at Zoetis, Richalle Ritts, Director of Engineering Midwest at IPS, Shannon Goodson, Validation Engineering Manager at MilliporeSigma, and Krishna Bell, Regional Sales Manager at L.B. Bohle USA. They discuss the moments that defined their career, finding mentors and sponsors that helped them grow, and how to maintain boundaries and a comfortable...
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  040 - Art of Engineering - Remembering Wally Funk 13.07.2026 20m

  In this special episode, we remember the life of Wally Funk, who passed away July 8th, 2026, at 87. When she was 21, Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk, was selected to be one of 13 women to train for space flight in 1959. By this time, she had been an experienced pilot for over 5 years. Wally’s love of aeronautics led her to a life-long career in flight training, giving thousands of young pilots their first taste of flight. She worked for the FAA and was the first woman to be a lead investigato...
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  039 - Art of Engineering - Jules Brinn 27.04.2026 25m

  Jules Brinn, segment manager for high purity OEM sales at American Air Filter, traces an unlikely path from sports medicine student at East Carolina University to a 20-year career in air filtration. Jules and Denise talk about navigating complex Department of Energy and pharmaceutical manufacturing projects, and what it's like to be the only woman on her outside sales team. She also reflects on the broader opportunity in manufacturing including the range of roles, the pay, and the message she...
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  038 - Art of Engineering - Katie Hubbard 16.02.2026 26m

  In this episode Denise McIntosh talks with Katie Hubbard, a rubber chemist and compounder at American Phoenix in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We learn how her high-school chemistry class put her on an exciting path and how she discovered a manufacturing company right in her hometown. You’ll discover how two American companies are discovering opportunities hidden within the confusion over tariffs, and how Katie’s team at American Phoenix has grown from making rubber for tires to now working on soles...
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  037 - Art of Engineering - Andrea Sousa 19.12.2025 27m

  Denise Mcintosh speaks with Andrea Sousa, Commercial Director at the PIAB Group, about growing up as the middle child, always being ready to change when life throws a curve ball, coming up in a male-dominated field, and how AI is transforming her role and company.
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  036 - Art of Engineering - Kirsta Scranton 22.10.2025 35m

  In this episode, Denise McIntosh speaks with Kirsta Scranton, Senior Construction Project Manager at the University of Iowa, about her three-decade career in construction and the path that led her into engineering. Kirsta reflects on her career journey from the West Coast to Iowa, the challenges of working in a male-dominated industry, and her role as both mentee and mentor to women entering the field.
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  035 - The Art of Engineering - Lauren Parker 04.09.2025 31m

  Lauren Parker, senior project designer at Stantec Consulting joins Denise McIntosh to discuss her love of engineering, how she found her way to her position, how being the only woman in some of her classes informed her professional life, and how she keeps it all balanced.
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  034 - Art of Engineering - Christa Myers 16.04.2025 28m

  Christa Myers is a Senior Fellow in Aseptic and Sterile Products at CRB Group, and visits with Denise to talk about how having broad experiences helped her hone into her specialty. She speaks about the importance of mentorship, accepting feedback, and approaching life with humility.
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  033 - Art of Engineering - Cristina Mendonça 07.02.2025 25m

  Cristina Mendonça is the Engineering Manager at Tekna in Ontario, Canada, and in this episode she tells Denise about her vast life experiences that brought her to where she is today. Including learning four languages, moving to Canada to take on a new challenge, and even being a seamstress for Cirque du Soleil. Learn who her influences have been and how she has risen to her current position in this fascinating episode of The Art of Engineering.
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  032 - Art of Engineering - Beth Brock (return visit) 06.08.2024 22m

  Beth Brock is the Technical Consulting Director at Environmental Resources Management. After spending 27 years at Eli Lilly, Beth has embarked on a new adventure while also looking forward to retirement in the near future. In this episode, she and Denise McIntosh discuss the value of networking and how to protect your personal time for a work-life balance.
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  031- Art of Engineering - Brittany Lutz 01.04.2024 31m

  Brittany Lutz is the Senior Research and Development Scientist in Nutraceuticals at Ortho Molecular Products. In this episode, she shares with Denise about how growing up tag-teaming with her dad working on cars lead to a lifelong curiosity about science. She talks about her day-to-day duties working in the nutraceutical industry and being involved in the creation of new products for Ortho and why it's important for young women to pursue a career in science and manufacturing.
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  030 - Shannon Goodson 06.03.2024 27m

  Shannon returns to The Art of Engineering in her new position as the Life Science Leader at The Design Group in St. Louis. Shannon and Denise discuss the book Everybody Matters, and how treating people like a family in the workplace improves culture.
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  029 - Art of Engineering - Tyler Courtney 07.02.2024 35m

  In this episode, Denise is joined by Custom Powder’s Senior Vice President of Products, Scott Heffern, and Sales Executive Austin Hill speaking with Tyler Courtney, Pharmaceutical Account Manager at ChargePoint Technology. They’ll discuss the advances that have been made in powder transfer, important safety issues that have been solved, and how companies are able to scale-up their processes for both efficiency and profit.
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  028 - Zen Zen Yen 06.12.2023 17m

  Denise visits with Zen Zen Yen, Head of Engineering at Bayer Supply Center in Germany. Denise caught up with Zen Zen at the ISPE Annual Meeting and had a chance to discuss what it was like growing up in Germany, switching from studying medicine to engineering, and the importance of finding a community of peers like ISPE.
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  Art of Engineering - Wally Funk 09.10.2023 20m

  At the age of 21, M. Wallace “Wally” Funk was selected to be one of 13 women to train for space flight in 1959. By this time, she had been an experienced pilot for over 5 years. Wally’s love of aeronautics led her to a life-long career in flight training, giving thousands of young pilots their first taste of flight. She worked for the FAA and was the first woman to be a lead investigator at the NTSB. Her dream of space flight finally came true in 2021 when she accompanied Jeff Bezos on the fi...
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  Art of Engineering - Ann Rhodes 01.06.2023 26m

  Ann Rhodes is the founder of People Ink and author of Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition. Ann and Denise discuss how a positive culture and employees who share the same values as a company is the missing piece for most organizations. Ann shares storeis from her time with Southwest Airlines and JetBlue, and explains the steps needed to form a solid culture to make your company proud and profitable.
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  025 - Art of Engineering - Women of CPS 22.03.2023 35m

  Denise introduces us to several of the women who work at Custom Powder Systems. We learn what they do, how they started, and ideas from their point of view on how we can encourage and recruit more women into the industry.
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  024 - Art of Engineering - Pack Expo 2022 25.01.2023 29m

  This roundtable discussion was recorded at the Pack Expo International in Chicago as Denise and her guests discuss how to encourage a more diverse workforce, and why that is so vital to business growth. These four experts will share tips on how they are proactively bringing new talent to the table and setting their companies up for success in the future. Guests: Jill Miller, CEO of Lunum, Derick Jiwan, Innovation and Business Development at WinField, Cimberly Weir, Instructor of Packaging Sc...
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  023 - Art of Engineering - Carson Riutta 30.11.2022 22m

  Returning to the workforce after an absence doesn’t have to be scary. Carson Riutta learned that through networking and discovering that she already has more than enough skills and knowledge to jump in provide great value to a company. In this episode, Denise and Carson discuss why it’s so important to network, ask questions, and stop telling yourself stories about what you can’t do…instead, discover what you CAN. Guest: Carson Riutta, Project Engineer with Jacobs Engineeri...
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  022 Art of Engineering - Guest: Jennie Taveras 24.08.2022 40m

  Before she was 18, Jennie Tavares found herself in a new country, learning a new language and culture. By the time she was in college, she was excelling in engineering and had picked up a Brooklyn accent. In this episode, Denise talks with Jennie about her remarkable career path, her infectious optimism, and the importance of good networks and mentoring. Guest: Jennie Tavares, Director of Global Growth and Sales for Jacobs.