IEEE-HKN Board of Governors

Jim Jefferies is a retired AT&T and Lucent Technologies executive who in 33 years rose from manufacturing engineer to vice president. He was responsible for teams that transferred glass technology from Bell Telephone Laboratories and developed fiber optic cables for AT&T. He also served as logistics vice president, responsible for worldwide supply chains, Quality Assurance, and export planning. He has led teams in major technology transfers, transitions of information technology, and organizational change. More recently, he teamed with fellow Stanford Business School graduates in an entrepreneur venture in San Francisco and served as Chief Operating Officer. . He was 2015 President of IEEE-USA supporting globalization of its policy initiatives and served as 2018 IEEE President and CEO.

He received his BSEE from the University of Nebraska and an MS in Engineering Science from Clarkson University and is a licensed professional engineer (Emeritus).  He attended the Stanford University Graduate School of Business as a Sloan Fellow earning an MS in Management.

Dr. Marcus A. Huggans is a proud native of St. Louis, Missouri, where he was educated in the University City and Lutheran Parochial school systems.

He earned a B.S. in Electrical Engineering, along with M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Engineering Management from the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri University of Science & Technology). Notably, Dr. Huggans was among the first African American males to receive a Ph.D. in Engineering Management from the university. His dissertation, titled “The Impact of Learning Styles Using Web-based Asynchronous Distance Learning to Enhance Instruction by Electrical Engineering Students,” explored the effectiveness of Internet-based study aids for students with different learning styles. He conducted this research under the mentorship of Dr. Halvard E. Nystrom, Dr. Harvest L. Collier, and Dr. Steve E. Watkins. Dr. Huggans is also an alumnus of the prestigious GEM Fellowship Program.

With over 25 years of experience in the STEM field, Dr. Huggans has worked with several major organizations, including 3M Company, AT&T Bell Laboratories, the U.S. Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Texas Instruments Inc.

Dr. Huggans also served as the Director of the Student Diversity and Academic Support Program at his alma mater, where he led transformational growth in the recruitment of underrepresented minority students in science and engineering. In 2006, he joined the National GEM Consortium, initially as a Senior Recruiter and Programs Specialist. Today, he serves as GEM’s Executive Director of Client Relations, where he leads national recruitment efforts and designs graduate-level programming to inspire students to pursue advanced degrees in STEM. He is also the primary author of the publications that support GEM’s student programming.

Dr. Huggans has played an instrumental role in securing more than $20 million in grant funding from organizations such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), 3M, Intel, Motorola, and the Simons Foundation to support GEM students and program initiatives. He has served as Finance Chair for IEEE-ITSC and has been appointed to the IEEE-HKN Editorial Committee and Board of Governors as Secretary.

An accomplished speaker, Dr. Huggans is regularly invited to share his insights at conferences, universities, corporations, and national laboratories, often highlighting the critical role of graduate education in STEM.

He currently resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife, Melanie, and their two children, Hannah and Ellis. In his free time, Dr. Huggans is active in his church and enjoys mentoring students at the elementary, high school, and college levels. He is also passionate about financial literacy, particularly in real estate, stock options, and entrepreneurship. He believes strongly in the importance of financial independence, stating: “It’s not the vehicle that makes you financially free — it’s your dedication to it.”

His Motto:
“If there is light in the soul, there will be beauty in the person.
If there is beauty in the person, there will be harmony in the house.
If there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the nation.
If there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the world.”

Sean Bentley completed his BS (1995) and MS (1997) in electrical engineering at the University of Missouri-Rolla (now Missouri S&T), where he was inducted into the Gamma Theta Chapter of IEEE-HKN. He was active in the Chapter, serving a term as president, and also held officer roles in the IEEE student branch, earning recognition as IEEE UMR Student Branch Outstanding Member for 1994–1995. During his master’s studies, he served as secretary for the Optical Society of Greater St. Louis. He went on to earn his PhD (2004) in optics at the University of Rochester.

From 2003 to 2009, Bentley was an Assistant Professor of Physics at Adelphi University in Long Island, NY, and since 2009 has served as Associate Professor. During his tenure, he was awarded a patent for an optical lithography process and has authored numerous publications and professional presentations. Over the past two decades, he has mentored the research of 55 undergraduates, including 29 from underrepresented groups in physics and engineering. His dedication to teaching has been recognized with the 2013 Adelphi University Tenured Teaching Excellence Award and the 2022 David Halliday and Robert Resnick Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Physics Teaching from the American Association of Physics Teachers—the nation’s highest honor for undergraduate physics teaching.

Bentley’s service to the physics and engineering communities includes membership on the National Council of the Society of Physics Students (2010–2014) and leadership as Director of the Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma at the American Institute of Physics (2014–2015). He was elected into the Academy of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Missouri S&T in 2016. Within IEEE-HKN, he served as Regions 1 & 2 Governor (2018–2019) and chaired the Faculty Advisor Committee (2018–2020), leading efforts to create and revise resources for Chapter advisors. He was elevated to IEEE Senior Member status in 2020. Most recently, Bentley has contributed to IEEE-HKN The Bridge as a member of the Editorial Board and guest editor for two issues.

Dr. Ashanthi Maxworth is an Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of Southern Maine. Originally from Sri Lanka, she earned her Bachelor of Engineering in Electronic and Telecommunications Engineering from the University of Moratuwa in 2010. She began her graduate studies at the University of Colorado Denver in 2013, completing both her Master’s (2014) and PhD (2017) in Electrical Engineering. During her graduate studies, she received the IEEE Life Member Graduate Study Fellowship (2013) and was inducted into the IEEE-HKN Theta Zeta Chapter in 2017, helping to revive the chapter after two decades of dormancy.

Following her doctoral work, Dr. Maxworth pursued a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada (2018–2020) before joining the University of Southern Maine in August 2020. She has been deeply involved with IEEE since her graduate years, holding multiple leadership roles within the IEEE Maine Section, including secretary, interim chair, vice chair, and currently section chair. She also serves as the interim Student Activities Committee representative for IEEE Region 1. As section chair, she revitalized the IEEE PES/IAS chapter, relaunched the IEEE Beacon newsletter, and organized major conferences, including the Southern Maine AI and Digital Science Conference—now an annual event—and the IEEE-USA Innovation, Workforce, Research and Development Conference. She also participates in the annual IEEE-HKN induction ceremony at the University of Maine Orono.

Dr. Maxworth is the author of One Hundred Applications of Maxwell’s Equations, which will serve as the textbook for her electromagnetic fields course beginning in fall 2025. She has published more than 12 journal articles and nearly 40 conference presentations. In addition to her academic work, she engages with the engineering community in Maine through her writing as newsletter editor and maintains a broad professional network across disciplines.

Melody Elliott Richardson is a distinguished leader in the IEEE community, renowned for her dedication to education and outreach. She is the founder and coordinator of STEM on the MOVE, a segment of IEEE’s MOVE Community Outreach program. Melody has developed engaging educational materials, including a custom STEM adventure book for children aged 5-11, which has been shared with over 10,000 students globally.

Melody is also actively involved in university activities, where she collaborates with academic institutions to promote industry engagement and professional development for university students. Her efforts include mentoring university students, organizing workshops, and facilitating industry-academia partnerships. She is committed to equipping students with essential skills in networking, resume writing, and interview preparation, ensuring they are well-prepared for their professional careers.

Her innovative approach and commitment to inspiring young minds have made a significant impact on pre-university and university education. Melody’s contributions continue to shape the future of education and foster a love for learning in students worldwide.

Colleen Bailey is an Assistant Professor in the Electrical Engineering Department at the University of North Texas and the PI of the Optimization, Signal Processing, and Control Algorithm Research Lab (O.S.C.A.R.). She received her PhD and MS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Buffalo in 2017 and 2012, respectively, after earning her BS in Electrical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 2010. Her area of research focuses on efficient and accurate machine learning algorithm design from the perspective of traditional optimization, signal processing, and control. She is an IEEE Senior Member.

Colleen is currently serving as the chair of the IEEE Fort Worth Section and the IEEE Fort Worth Computational Intelligence Society. She is an IEEE STEM Champion and an IEEE VoLT graduate. She also serves as the IEEE UNT Student Branch Counselor and IEEE-HKN Lambda Zeta Chapter Advisor. Colleen is the recipient of the 2019 and 2023 IEEE R5 Outstanding Branch Counselor Award as well as the 2022 UNT Advisor of the Year Eagle Award. She is the 2023 recipient of the UNT College of Engineering Faculty Teaching Award.

Dr. A. Matt Francis is founder and President/CEO of Ozark Integrated Circuits, Inc, where he leads development of high-temperature semiconductor computing solutions for energy, defense, aerospace and space applications. Under his leadership Ozark IC has been recognized as a leader in rugged computing devices with 37 Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) awards from DOE, NASA, Navy, USAF, DARPA and NSF, the MassChallenge Gold Award (2020), the Army XTech Hypersonic Manufacturing Prize (2022), the American Made Geothermal Prize (2021-2023) and the 2023 Arkansas Business of the Year Innovation Pacesetter. Dr Francis was a remote payload specialist for Ozark IC’s payloads on the International Space Station (2019-2021). He earned BS EE (’03), Physics (’04), MSEE (’07) and PhD (’09) degrees from the University of Arkansas.

Matt believes we all must serve when we can and how we can, to truly advance humanity. He is an elected official, as a 3-term City Council Member for the City of Elkins, AR, and founder/board member of several non-profits including the Elkins Community Network and SURGE Arkansas.

Within IEEE, Matt has served as a number of roles. He is a senior member, having joined IEEE in 1999. His roles include as IEEE Director, Region 5 (2024-2025) – which includes service on the boards of IEEE-USA and IEEE MGA. He is a member of the IEEE Audit, Industry Engagement and Employee Benefits Committees, Past Chair, MGA Chapter Operations Support Committee, and serves in a number of committees within MGA and IEEE-USA. Matt believes we all must work to provide career paths to the next generation – he is an Educational Activities STEM Champion and co-founder of the Ozark Section Elkins Electronics and Robotics Club (EREC). He is a past Section Chair of the Ozark Section, Secretary of the Ozark Computer Society Chapter and started his volunteering for IEEE as a Vice Chair at the University of Arkansas Student Branch and President of the Gamma Phi Chapter of HKN at the University of Arkansas (2002-2003).

As Director of Region 5 (the US Southwest), Dr. Francis has supported innovation in HKN’s mission as a home of Scholarship, Character and Attitude within IEEE. As Director and with HKN volunteer and staff support, he led the creation of Region 5’s first HKN Professional Induction Ceremonies as part of annual regional meetings, starting in 2024. In 2025, this was expanded to include a historic IEEE R5 joint chapter professional induction ceremony between Gamma Theta, Epsilon Mu, Epsilon Epsilon and Lambda Zeta at the annual meeting in Wichita, KS. This dedication to HKN has not been unnoticed. For his work in support of their chapter, he was recognized as an ‘honorary member’ of Lambda Zeta earlier this year. And it is seen in the numbers; as of June, Region 5 alone accounts for 47% of the increase in global growth in HKN members this year.

John D. McDonald, P.E., is Founder & CEO of JDM Associates, LLC. John has 50 years of experience in the electric utility transmission and distribution industry. John received his B.S.E.E. and M.S.E.E. (Power Engineering) degrees from Purdue University, and an M.B.A. (Finance) degree from the University of
California-Berkeley. John is a Life Fellow of IEEE (member for 53 years), member of IEEE-HKN (inducted 53 years ago) and Tau Beta Pi (inducted 51 years ago), member of the Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity, and was awarded the
IEEE Millennium Medal, the IEEE Power & Energy Society (PES) Excellence in Power Distribution Engineering Award, the IEEE PES Substations Committee Distinguished Service Award, the IEEE PES Meritorious Service Award, the 2016 CIGRE Distinguished Member Award, the 2016 CIGRE USNC Attwood Associate Award, the 2021 CIGRE Honorary Member Award and the Smart Energy Consumer
Collaborative (SECC) Lifetime Achievement Award. John is Past President of the IEEE PES, the VP for Technical Activities for the US National Committee
(USNC) of CIGRE, the Past Chair of the IEEE PES Substations Committee, the IEEE Division VII Past Director, and a member of the National Academy of Engineering. John was on the Board of Governors of the IEEE-SA (Standards Association); is an IEEE Foundation Director, Chair of its 50 th Anniversary
Celebration Committee, and Vice President of its Development Committee; and is a Founding Board Member of the SECC. John received the 2009 Purdue University Outstanding Electrical and Computer Engineer Award and the 2023 Purdue University Distinguished Engineering Alumni Award. John teaches Smart Grid courses at the Georgia Institute of Technology and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Smart Grid courses for various IEEE PES local chapters as an IEEE PES Distinguished Lecturer (since 1999). John has published one hundred fifty papers and articles, has co-authored five books and has one US patent.

Kathy Hayashi has been involved in the semiconductor industry her entire career — developing, deploying, and analyzing advanced software tools used to create computer and mobile phone chips. She has led teams in semiconductor EDA software development for Unisys, Cadence Design Systems and Syntricity, a local startup. She is now at Qualcomm, working with semiconductor workflows in large-scale compute environments. She is currently the IEEE Director of Region 6 (Western Region of the United States) and a member of the IEEE Board of Directors. She is a senior member of IEEE and IEEE-HKN.

Kathy has supported the IEEE-HKN Student Leadership Summit for several years both as an individual and an industry sponsor. She has hosted IEEE-HKN alumni events with industry, been a judge at local university HKN hackathon events and always enjoys attending and congratulating new members at IEEE-HKN induction ceremonies. As a Region 6 Director, she has also worked to inform and engage the region members about the value and importance of IEEE-HKN.

Over the years, Kathy has won many awards including 2023 Qualcomm Global Above and Beyond Award recognizing philanthropy and community service to support society initiatives with impactful outcomes, 2021 Women of Influence in Engineering– San Diego Business Journal and 2019 IEEE Member and Geographic Activities (MGA) Innovation Award for outstanding innovation and leadership.

Sorel Reisman is Professor Emeritus of Information Systems and Decision Science at California State University, Fullerton. His career has blended academia and industry, largely with a focus on educational technology.  Before transitioning to academia, his industry experience included management and executive positions at IBM Canada, IBM USA, Toshiba America, and the British multinational EMI.  He served as Managing Director, overseeing the development of the digital library system, MERLOT (Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching) at the California State University Office of the Chancellor.  His work with MERLOT has significantly influenced how educational resources are shared and accessed globally, benefiting countless students and educators.

Dr. Reisman has been actively involved in many IEEE initiatives. He served as the 2011 President of the IEEE Computer Society, and. his contributions have been widely recognized with many prestigious awards, including the IEEE Computer Society’s Outstanding Contribution Award and the Richard E. Merwin Award for Distinguished Service. He was elected an IEEE Fellow for his contributions to computing education and digital learning technologies. He has been an IEEE Education Society governing board member and is currently the IEEE Technical Activities Board (TAB) representative to the IEEE Education Activities Board.  Reisman has served multiple terms on the IEEE Publications Board and on the editorial boards of IEEE Software, IEEE Multimedia, and ITPro magazine, and is currently co-editor of the Education Department in the Computer Society’s IEEE Computer Magazine.  Since 2015, Dr. Reisman has been the Standing Committee Chair of the Computer Society’s signature Computers, Software, and Applications Conference (COMPSAC).

Dr. Reisman is internationally known for his numerous publications and keynote speeches as a strong advocate for open educational resources and technology-enhanced learning.  He has been a vocal advocate for improving STEM education through technology, and as a Fulbright Open Education Resource Specialist, he has further advanced the cause of open education and technology-enhanced learning internationally.  More recently, he has focused his attention and writing on AI in K-College education

Dr. Reisman holds a B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering and an M.A. and Ph.D. in Computer Applications to Education, all from the University of Toronto.

Serena’s journey with IEEE-HKN Mu Nu Chapter began with her role as Head of the Communication Committee from 2022 to 2023. During this period, her engaging character and charismatic personality enabled her to revitalize the chapter’s brand identity and foster diplomatic exchanges with professionals and administrative offices. Her efforts elevated the chapter’s prestige on campus, attracting new members and increasing overall interest in the organization.

In 2023, Serena was elected President of the Mu Nu Chapter, where her visionary leadership and commitment to philanthropy brought about remarkable achievements. Serena’s leadership was instrumental in organizing the chapter’s first institutional open day, securing funding, and establishing an office to support the chapter and other student organizations.

Serena’s dedication to the chapter extended beyond campus boundaries. She spearheaded efforts to increase funding from the Polytechnic to support events and expanded collaborations with major European tech companies and startups, such as NXP Semiconductors. These partnerships provided members with valuable opportunities for internships, thesis projects, and career advancement.

Her initiatives also included launching a mentoring program that connected alumni with current engineering students, fostering a network of professionals committed to guiding the next generation of socially conscious engineers and leaders. Serena’s efforts culminated in proposing and taking part in the organization of the first international hackathon at the Student Leadership Conference (SLC), where she represented her chapter in Houston, Texas, in November 2023.

Serena’s academic achievements complement her leadership roles. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Computer Engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin, where she ranks in the top 1% of her class. Notably, she developed a VR exposure therapy application in collaboration with the Department of Psychology to aid patients with social anxiety phobia.

Serena also holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Turin, graduating in the top 5% of her class. Her academic journey began at Liceo Classico Massimo D’Azeglio, where she excelled in classical studies, graduating with a final grade ranking in the top 3% of students.

She was selected on a merit basis as a teaching tutor at the Polytechnic of Turin, where she assisted students in the Computer Architecture course, helping them navigate laboratory sessions. She also worked as a private tutor, supporting high school students in Mathematics, Physics, Ancient Greek, Latin, and English.

Serena’s language skills include native proficiency in Italian, fluency in English (Cambridge English Certificate of Proficiency, Level C2), and basic knowledge of French and German.

Her honors and awards reflect her academic and extracurricular excellence. Serena has been an inducted member of IEEE-Eta Kappa Nu (Mu Nu Chapter) since December 2022 and is a member of IEEE-Young Professionals, IEEE-Women in Engineering, and IEEE-EMBS Biomedical Engineering. She achieved first place for Piedmont in the regional phase of the Olympics of Classical Languages and Civilizations, issued by the Italian Ministry of Education and Merit in March 2019. Additionally, she won the Meritorious High School Students Initiative by the Italian Physical Society (SIF) in 2019-2020.

Serena’s determination, thirst for knowledge, and self-discipline drive her to apply her engineering expertise for societal benefit. Her passion for leadership and her ability to build consensus are evident in her successful tenure at the Mu Nu Chapter.

Logan M. Wilcox is a Ph.D. candidate in Electrical Engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T), with an anticipated graduation date of May 2027. He is also pursuing a graduate certificate in Explosives Engineering, expected to be completed in May 2025. Wilcox earned his B.S. in Computer Engineering from Missouri S&T in 2020 and subsequently worked as an associate engineer at Tech Electronics in St. Louis, MO. Originally slated to commission into the U.S. Air Force, the COVID-19 pandemic altered his path, leading him back to Missouri S&T to pursue doctoral studies. His research was highlighted in the May 2024 issue of The Bridge in the Graduate Research Spotlight section.

Wilcox brings extensive leadership and service experience to his role as a candidate for IEEE-HKN Student Governor. He currently serves as Treasurer for the Gamma Theta Chapter of IEEE-HKN and is a Graduate Student and Young Professional Member of the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society (IEEE I&M) and IEEE Antennas and Propagation Society (IEEE APS). He is also a Student Member of the American Society of Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) and a member of the Technical Committee on Nondestructive Testing and Industrial Inspection (TC-01 NDE&II) within IMS. His leadership extends beyond IEEE, having held multiple executive board positions in Sigma Phi Epsilon (SigEp) and the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC), including roles such as President, Wing Commander, and Vice President of Risk Management.

At Missouri S&T, Wilcox mentors his local SigEp chapter, where he previously served as chapter counselor and now as chapter advisor. In this role, he guides students on time management, healthy coping mechanisms, and study habits, while also spearheading initiatives to recruit younger alumni into the alumni corps. His efforts have strengthened professional networks, increased internship and job opportunities, and enhanced student preparedness for life after graduation. Within AFROTC, he oversaw the successful implementation of a networking program connecting cadets with military officers, enlisted personnel, and contractors.

Academically, Wilcox has authored 14 conference proceedings or presentations (10 as first author) and five journal articles that are published, accepted, or under review (four as first author). He is the recipient of the Kummer Innovation and Entrepreneurship Doctoral Fellowship, the IEEE I&M Graduate Fellowship, and student travel grants from IEEE I&M and ASNT. He also serves as a reviewer for multiple technical journals, including the IEEE Open Journal on Instrumentation and Measurement and IEEE Microwave Theory and Technology Society Letters.

Dr. M. Ryan Bales is a Principal Research Engineer in the Sensors and Electromagnetic Applications Lab (SEAL) at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). He serves as Chief Scientist of the Sensor Systems Engineering Division, and specializes in FPGA and embedded system design for electronic warfare applications. His work has been the subject of 19 scholarly refereed publications, and he is an IEEE Senior Member and a professional engineer licensed in the state of Georgia.  He received the 2019 GTRI Award for Outstanding Performance in Research and Development.

Dr. Bales is passionate about community and professional service. He has served as an officer of the Atlanta IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society / Geoscience and Remote Sensing Society joint chapter since 2013, and is engaged with the leadership of the Atlanta Section. He is a member of the Association of Old Crows, Eta Kappa Nu, and the Order of the Engineer. He was a very active member of the Gamma Theta chapter of Eta Kappa Nu for four years as an undergraduate and graduate student. He received the Gamma Theta Advisor’s Leadership Award and the Founder’s Award for Service for his work in these roles. He continues involvement with HKN today, having served on the Professional Membership Committee since 2017, as Governor-at-Large from 2020-2022, and as the 2022 chair of the Graduate and Professional Activities Committee. He regularly volunteers in K-12 and collegiate STEM activities. Since 2006 he has served as a judge at more than 40 local, regional, and state science fairs in three states. Dr. Bales is certified by the state of Georgia to test and report water quality in Georgia watersheds, and collects data on the Etowah River.

Dr. Bales received his Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering as an Honors Academy Fellow in 2004 and his Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering in 2006, both from the University of Missouri – Rolla. He received his Doctor of Philosophy degree in Electrical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2011.