Biographies of FY24 Officers
Jen Casta - President
phila_president@swe.org
phila_president@swe.org
Jen is currently a Business Integration Lead with Merck's External Manufacturing Operations department. In this role, Jen is responsible for integrating business process and systems across External Manufacturing Small Molecule platforms as well as across operational units with External Manufacturing Large Molecule and Global Pharmaceutical Operations. Jen joined the company in 1998 as a Chemical Engineer (Stevens Institute of Technology), supporting capital project planning and management, then transitioned to the West Point site in 2002 to support vaccine manufacturing including Rotavirus bulk production. In 2007, she moved into vaccine technical operations and broadened her knowledge of raw material and culture media requirements for the site, including the Quality, Technical, Procurement, and supplier relations collaboration. Following a certification course at Lehigh University and CSCP certification she transitioned to Supply Chain Management in 2014. Since then, Jen has developed SAP and Rapid Response expertise, has driven improvements in S&OP process leadership, and has supported several product launches and the transition to supply planning under standard work. Over the last 1.5 years, Jen embraced the challenge to lead NA SCM stand-up readiness for the Organon spin, as well as the unique US market supply transition. Jen and her husband, Lou, enjoy time outdoors including hikes, backyard firepit relaxation, bird watching, and visiting zoos and aquariums. A trip to local breweries and wineries is usually part of their vacation plans. Family is close by in PA and day trips to see parents and other relatives are an important part of their time. Jen is a lifetime member of the Society of Women Engineers, active in her church congregation and council, and enjoys a weekly yoga practice. After holding various leadership positions between 2002-2012, including co-chairing the Regional (Local) conference with Drexel in 2006, Jen is excited to continue leading as President for FY24, focused on section development in support of SWE's mission and its members' needs.
Emily Sneddon - Senior Vice President
phila_profdev@swe.org
phila_profdev@swe.org
Emily Sneddon graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology with a Bachelor and Master of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering. During her time at Stevens, Emily served as the K-12 Outreach Chair, Vice President, and then President of their section of SWE.
Currently, Emily is a Specialist, Engineering, at Merck supporting Vaccines as a part of the West Point Technical Operations Rotational Program. In her two years at Merck, she has supported the Rotateq and MMR vaccines. She is starting her last rotation supporting the Gardasil. Additionally, Emily is the US Talent Acquisition and Recruitment Lead for SWE at Merck, where she plans and executed the recruitment strategy for the SWE Annual Conference for Merck. She has been serving in this role since December 2021.
Outside of work, Emily enjoys sailing, reading, watching TV/movies, and hanging out with friends.
Currently, Emily is a Specialist, Engineering, at Merck supporting Vaccines as a part of the West Point Technical Operations Rotational Program. In her two years at Merck, she has supported the Rotateq and MMR vaccines. She is starting her last rotation supporting the Gardasil. Additionally, Emily is the US Talent Acquisition and Recruitment Lead for SWE at Merck, where she plans and executed the recruitment strategy for the SWE Annual Conference for Merck. She has been serving in this role since December 2021.
Outside of work, Emily enjoys sailing, reading, watching TV/movies, and hanging out with friends.
Alyssa Stecco - Vice President, Outreach
phila_outreach@swe.org
phila_outreach@swe.org
Alyssa graduated with her B.S. in Physics from University of the Sciences in 2020, and joined SWE shortly after starting as a Systems Engineer at Arcfield in King of Prussia. Alyssa decided to pursue a career in STEM after attending a SWE-sponsored engineering camp at 14 years old. Alyssa is passionate about science communication and outreach, and believes there is always a way to describe complicated topics in ways wide audiences can understand.In her free time, Alyssa enjoys knitting, yoga, spending time with her three cats, and tackling projects around her house with her husband.
Enya Hughes - Vice President, Professional Development
phila_profdev@swe.org
phila_profdev@swe.org
Enya Hughes serves as a Senior Engineer at JB&B in the Process Engineering team. She brings to the firm an extensive background in pharmaceutical development and manufacturing, with
a focus on small molecule, polymer, and cell therapy drug products.
She has extensive knowledge regarding technology transfers, GMP manufacturing requirements, and process scaling challenges coupled with a comprehensive understanding of FDA, USP, and international regulations for finished pharmaceuticals. She has had the opportunity to work with CDMO's both based in the USA as well as in Europe, along with training teams in the nuances of formulating and writing SOPs for key product analyses.
Enya is passionate about supporting other women in their careers, and is an outspoken advocate for knowing your value and finding a healthy work environment!
Outside of the office, Enya enjoys gaming and spending time with her giant Golden Doodle! She spent many years as a professional horseback riding instructor before jumping into Biotech, and will gladly share her love of horses and knowledge of them with anyone interested!
a focus on small molecule, polymer, and cell therapy drug products.
She has extensive knowledge regarding technology transfers, GMP manufacturing requirements, and process scaling challenges coupled with a comprehensive understanding of FDA, USP, and international regulations for finished pharmaceuticals. She has had the opportunity to work with CDMO's both based in the USA as well as in Europe, along with training teams in the nuances of formulating and writing SOPs for key product analyses.
Enya is passionate about supporting other women in their careers, and is an outspoken advocate for knowing your value and finding a healthy work environment!
Outside of the office, Enya enjoys gaming and spending time with her giant Golden Doodle! She spent many years as a professional horseback riding instructor before jumping into Biotech, and will gladly share her love of horses and knowledge of them with anyone interested!
Julianne Kerwood - Recording Secretary
phila_secretary@swe.org
phila_secretary@swe.org
Julianne Kerwood graduated from Lehigh University with a B.S. in Bioengineering (concentration in Biopharmaceutical Engineering) in 2017, and is currently attending Villanova University part time to obtain her M.S. in Biochemical Engineering. She has been working at Merck since June 2017 in the Tech Ops Process Support Lab, supporting purification processes for recombinant protein-based vaccines, and was recently promoted to Senior Specialist, Engineering in March 2022. Throughout her 6 years in the lab, Julianne has supported franchise technical investigations, continuous improvement projects, technology transfers, and run-the-business activities, in addition to mentoring junior employees and interns. At Merck, Julianne has been the Point of Contact for Merck’s university recruitment at her alma mater since 2019. After officially joining SWE as a member in 2021 through Merck’s employee nomination process, she has also been acting as Co-Lead for US Talent Acquisition and Recruitment on the SWE at Merck’s Steering Committee since December 2022, after attending WE’22 in Houston, TX. During her time at Lehigh, Julianne was involved in Kappa Alpha Theta, Tau Beta Pi, Rossin Junior Fellows, and Biomedical Engineering Society (BMES). She was also part of the executive board for the campus radio station (91.3 FM WLVR), in addition to being a regular radio show host, and participated in undergraduate research in the chemical engineering department. Outside of work, Julianne enjoys running, biking on her Peloton (#WomenInSTEM), adding to her Pat McGrath collection, watching movies and TV shows, and hanging out with her fiancé (as of July 2023!) and their 2 cats, Ash and Misty.
Noelle Parisi graduated from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering and a minor in Sustainability Studies in 2021. During her time at Villanova, she was a student member of the Villanova SWE student chapter as well as the America Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Noelle is currently a Senior Staff Engineer with Engineering & Land Planning Associates in the Landscape/Resiliency Department. She works on site plans and water management design for land development projects with a focus on resilient design. Outside of work, she enjoys swimming, reading, traveling, and exploring Philly restaurants. One of her current hobbies is learning new paddleboard tricks.
Julie Williams - Treasurer
phila_treasurer@swe.org
phila_treasurer@swe.org
Julie joined SWE in college and has enjoyed the community at the local and national level since. She studied Material Science Engineering at University of Pennsylvania and minored in Mechanical Engineering. After graduating in 2010, she worked internationally for Schlumberger as a field engineer for four years before switching to software implementation and sales engineering. She’s currently a sales engineer at NICE, working with contact center software (“This call may be recorded for quality and monitoring purposes”). To improve her financial literacy and be more involved in the SWE Philly section, Julie has taken on the role of section treasurer. Outside of work and SWE, Julie loves to try new foods, travel, start projects but not finish them, and explore playgrounds with her toddler.
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