North American Operations Board

The North American Operations Board (NAOB) develops policy and provides strategic direction for the effective operation of IISE's regions and chapters in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The International Operations Board is responsible for IISE regions and chapters in the rest of the world.

NAOB Chair
Senior Vice President – North American Operations, 2024-2027
Joel Brock
Partner Operations Excellence
West Monroe Partners
Chicago, IL
jbrock@westmonroe.com

Assistant SVP
Kazuo Takeda  
Founder
Kaz and Effect Solutions, LLC
Washington
naob-asvp@iise.org

Vice President for Student Development, 2024-2027
Emmett Hull
Manager, Robotic Process Automation
Blue Cross & Blue Shield
Topeka, KS
edh.bigkee@gmail.com

Assistant Vice President for Student Development, 2024-2027
Satya Aditya Akundi (Aditya)
Assistant Professor
University of Wisconsin
Milwaukee, WI
akundivy@uwm.edu

President of Young Professionals, 2025-2026
Helen Siegrist
Continuous Improvement Engineer
Qualitrol       
Rochester, NY
hmsiegrist123@gmail.com

U.S. Northeast Region Vice President (Region 1), 2025-2028 
Thomas Mazzone
Industry Professor
New York University
New York, New York
region1-rvp@iise.org

U.S. Mid-Atlantic Region Vice President (Region 2), 2023-2026
William Ferrell       
Professor     
Clemson University      
Clemson, South Carolina
region2-rvp@iise.org

U.S. Southeast Region Vice President (Region 3), 2025-2028
Mary Ellen Skeens
Workforce Innovation Leader for Professional Services & Solution Delivery
Philips
Johns Creek, GA
region3-rvp@iise.org

U.S. Great Lakes Region Vice President (Region 4), 2023-2026 
Chris Case
Co-Founder
Innovate, LLC    
Fishers, IN
region4-rvp@iise.org

U.S. South Central Region Vice President (Region 5), 2024-2027
Chris Tonn
Simulation and Data Management Engineer
Spirit Aerosystems
Wichita, KS
region5-rvp@iise.org

U.S. North Central Region Vice President (Region 6), 2024-2027
Kathryn Eckhardt
Sr Manager, Enterprise Network Strategy
Target Corporation
Minneapolis, MN
kathryn.hoerlein@gmail.com

U.S. Western Region Vice President (Region 7, 2025-2028 
Payam Parsa
Assistant Professor
California Poly State University
Pomona, CA
region7-rvp@iise.org

Mexican Region Vice President (Region 13), 2025-2028
Juan Rojas Villegas
Full Time Professor
Universidad de las Americas Puebla
Puebla, Mexico
region13-rvp@iise.org

Canadian Region Vice President (Region 14), 2023-2026
Dionne Aleman
Associate Professor
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
region14-rvp@iise.org

IISE Headquarters Representative
Kathy Gamboa
Director of Membership
(770) 349-1104

Staff Liaison
Amy Straub
Membership Administrator
(770) 349-1115