Personal and Powerful: Women of Influence

Bezzette Travis

Bezzette Travis is currently the Security Design & Integration Specialist at The Boeing Company in Information Protection & Assurance.  In this capacity, Bezzette is responsible for the management of authentication services and systems. Bezzette Travis joined the Boeing Company 1980 to work as a Materiel Clerk for Boeing Commercial Airplane Company in Renton, Washington.  During her first few years with the company, her attention was drawn to computing which led to a position as an Electronic Data Processing Analyst.  Twenty-six years later, Bezzette has accumulated 5+ years of leadership experience through managing computing, network and security analysts, and architects and over 22 years of technical experience in the areas of network and security technology.  She is a member of Women Of Color in Technology (WOCT), Black Achievers and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE). She received bachelor and master degrees in Computer Science from City University.  

Julie Rorabaugh

Julie Rorabaugh is a Program Manager for Boeing's 787 Dreamliner airplane program and prior to that was the manager of several employee development programs in Boeing Commercial Airplanes Finance. She started her career at Boeing as a participant in the Business Career Foundation Program with rotations in International Business Administration, Aircraft Contracts, Financial Accounting, Marketing Communications, Cost Management and Estimating, and spent several years as a contracts negotiator working with international customers for Boeing's Commercial Aviation Services and Intellectual Property organizations.

Julie received her Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Marketing from Pacific Lutheran University in 2000 and her MBA from Seattle University in June 2005.

Jan Lawrence

Jan Lawrence is a Senior Project Accountant for Skanska USA Building Inc. where she spends most of her time on construction sites.  Currently she has been on the Lincoln Square project in Bellevue, which was the largest mixed use project being built in the country during 2005-2006. Jan has worked on a variety of projects since starting in the industry in 1999 ranging from seismic upgrades to a four building complex.  Her career has changed and evolved as the various projects have grown in size and intensity.

When not at work Jan is President of the Puget Sound Chapter of the National Association of Women in Construction.  As an industry advocate she works to introduce women to career opportunities in the world of construction. 

Jan has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Organizational Leadership from the University of Washington and a Certificate in Construction Management also from the University of Washington.

Suzette McClintock

Suzette is the Executive Vice President of Allyis (pronounced “ah-LY-us”) and has been responsible for Allyis’ strategy for growth since she joined in 2003.  Company revenues have grown approximately 40% year-over-year and headcount has grown over 100% since Suzette developed and began managing Allyis’ business development efforts including account management and recruiting. In addition Suzette is responsible for strategic client relationships, including the Microsoft vendor program. 

Prior to joining Allyis, Suzette had a 14-year career at Microsoft as a senior program manager.  During her time at Microsoft, Suzette managed the development of many internal sales tools as well as customer-facing Web sites and product features within MSN and the Windows client. 

As a member of the executive management team, Suzette has helped the company earn numerous honors, including being named one of the “Best Companies to Work For” by Washington CEO magazine and being recognized by the Puget Sound Business Journal as one of Washington’s 100 fastest-growing private companies for the last three years.

Suzette holds a B.A. in Communications from Washington State University.

Helen Taylor

Moderator

Dr. Helen Taylor received her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Pomona College, her Master’s degree in Counseling from Seattle University, and her Doctorate degree in Counseling Psychology from the University of Washington.   She began her work at Bellevue Community College as a counselor, and has been a member of the psychology faculty for the past 17 years.  During this time she served as department chair and Director of Faculty Professional Development.  In addition to her work at BCC, she has worked at the UW Counseling center, Youth Eastside Services and in a part-time private practice.  Dr. Taylor teaches both on campus and online courses as well as in the interdisciplinary studies program. Her areas of interest include abnormal psychology, cross-cultural psychology, and the psychology of gender.