#TeamMITRE Spotlight: Richa Vyas

As we celebrate and reflect on Asian & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we’re spotlighting MITRE employees from our Asian and Pacific Island Business Resource Group (BRG) to learn more about their impactful work here and in the community. Meet Richa. ?

“MITRE’s Inclusion and Diversity (I&D) team has provided support from the beginning of my career here, from networking socials to learning about how to find a project, which led to task match tool, to being an I&D lead in Hawaii. Being part of the Asian and Pacific Island BRG, my professional and personal life has been enriched by learning about other Asian cultures. One of my favorite memories is the ‘dragon train’ that went from building to building on MITRE’s Mclean campus a few years ago, with fellow engineers dancing to the beat. The Asian and Pacific Island BRG has always hosted diverse events to share cultural awareness and bring people together.”

Richa’s role as a Pacific Air Forces deputy project leader supports MITRE’s Indo-Pacific Command Regional Operations department, which provides Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence systems acquisition, engineering, and integration support to the Department of Defense and U.S. Allies in the Pacific Theater.

“Every project at MITRE has its value but working in a theater takes it to another level. I am ecstatic to be working on my projects. I can see the impact we make.”

Currently, Richa is working on modeling data architectures for two commands to bring consistent data architectures from the Joint Combatant Command perspective. It also provides cross pollination of MITRE work across commands.

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Q: How can we be better allies to the Asian and Pacific Islander community?

RV: This year, I am truly inspired to add another flavor celebrating Asian American and Pacific Island Heritage month by doing more community events with our Honolulu team and sharing our experiences with campuses. As a site, we’re focusing on learning more about volunteer opportunities on the island and bringing local talent to MITRE.

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Q: Tell us about your volunteer efforts or service in the community.

RV: Recently relocated to Hawaii, I am learning more about the Pacific Islands and absorbing their culture by submerging myself in the community. I have signed up to volunteer with Mālama i nā honu organization to protect Hawaiian green sea turtles. It is interesting to me how they have tracked data on multiple turtles and their trends and patterns to show up on certain beaches. I also am a part of the University of Hawaii cultural diversity program that unites Asian cultures through music and traditional forms of dance.

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Q: Who’s an important figure from the Asian or Pacific Islander community that people should know more about?

RV: The list can be long but one of the first people who inspired me to follow my passion in aerospace engineering was Kalpana Chawla. She is well known as the first woman of Indian descent to go to space. But for me as a 10-year-old who went to an all-girls boarding school in Jaipur, India, it was aspirational. Watching Kalpana Chawla on the Columbia mission inspired a generation of Asian women to pursue STEM careers and break barriers.

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Q: What advice would you give to your younger self?

RV: Keep the utmost for the highest. Keep dreaming and be diligent.