Photo: Ford
Dr. Debbie Mielewski capped off 2020 on a historic note, becoming the first woman named a Ford technical fellow. Not only is Mielewski the first woman to earn the distinction, she’s also Ford’s first technical fellow for sustainability.
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Dr. Mielewski first started with Ford 34 years ago at a time where there wasn’t even a women’s restroom on the floor of the lab in which she worked. Beginning in paint durability, she worked her way up the corporate ladder to become the head of the company’s biomaterials program in 2001. In that role, she led the team that ushered in the use of soy-based foam in the seats of the 2008 Mustang. Since then, Ford has used soy foam in some 18.5 million vehicles in North America, cutting emissions by an estimated 228 million pounds.
Mielewski driven to make history
She told @FordOnline that she was spurred to become a technical fellow whenever she would walk through the lobby of Ford’s research and innovation center. Noticing that the wall with portraits of technical fellows consisted solely of men, she wondered: “Why isn’t there a single woman up on that wall?” And then she acted.
“I used to ask myself, ‘How can I get on that wall?’ It was a big motivator, wondering if the first woman up there could be me,” said Mielewski. “I am honored and excited to be recognized in this way, not so much for myself, but so others can see and think, ‘Yes, people of all kinds can be on that wall.’”
Achieving the title of technical fellow is no easy feat — only 16 people within the company have met the standards. In order to become a Ford technical fellow, one must be an engineer or scientist of some international renown in the automotive field and should be an expert in at least one technical area. They also have to excel in key skills like creativity and innovation, mentorship and teaching ability, and technical management and planning.
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Kyle S. Johnson lives in Cincinnati, a city known by many as “the Cincinnati of Southwest Ohio.” He enjoys professional wrestling, Halloween, and also other things. He has been writing for a while, and he plans to continue to write well into the future. See more articles by Kyle.