Meet The ITK Team ｜ 
ITK@mitre.org
The Innovation Toolkit is brought to you by a cross-disciplinary team of engineers at The MITRE Corporation. After researching innovation toolkits from industry and academia, the team convened to design a resource tailored for MITRE and its unique mission. MITRE’s ITK team is dedicated to providing a creative approach to problem-solving by offering tools, methods, and techniques that lead to data-driven solutions.
Jen Choi
Senior Human Factors Engineer
Jen Choi is a Sr. Multi-Disciplinary Systems Engineer with a focus on creative leadership and problem solving for international cooperation. Jen holds a bachelor’s in Chemistry and a bachelor’s in Criminology and Criminal Justice from the University of Maryland.
Rachel Gregorio
Senior Human Factors Engineer
Rachel Gregorio is a senior human factors engineer in the User Experience, Visualization, and Decision Support department. Rachel leads a team that helps sponsors and innovation partners define their goals and determine the tools and approaches that will be most effective in addressing them. Rachel holds a bachelor’s in communications and design from Boston College and a master’s in interactive media from Quinnipiac University.
Aileen Laughlin
Lead Systems Engineer
Aileen Laughlin is a lead systems engineer in the User Experience, Visualization, and Decision Support department. Aileen specializes in human factors, user experience, and human-centered design. Her experience spans a range of engineering activities, from requirements, analysis, and design, to verification and validation. She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Alabama in Huntsville and a master’s in human-computer interaction from DePaul University.
Stephanie Medicke
Lead Mechanical Engineer
Stephanie Medicke is a group leader in the Mechanical & Reliability Systems & Prototype Development department. Stephanie’s focus is Mechanical Airborne System Integration, ensuring the mechanical integrity and physical durability of systems throughout design, analysis, test, and installation. Stephanie holds a bachelor of science in mechanical engineering from the University of New Hampshire and a master of science in engineering management from Tufts University.
Melanie Shere
Human Factors Engineer
Melanie Shere is a human factors engineer in the User Experience, Visualization and Decision Support department. Melanie’s concentrations are in the areas of social/behavioral research, user interface and experience design, as well as usability and accessibility of software products. Melanie holds a bachelor’s degree in education/social science from the State University of New York at Cortland, a master’s and a graduate certificate in Human Relations/Sociology from the University of Oklahoma- with a second bachelor’s in Information Technology currently in progress.
Dan Ward
Systems Engineer
Dan Ward is a systems engineer with a focus on rapid innovation. He served for more than 20 years as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. Dan has authored two books, The Simplicity Cycle and F.I.R.E.: How Fast, Inexpensive, Restrained and Elegant Methods Ignite Innovation. He holds a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Clarkson University, a master’s in systems engineering from the U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology, and a master’s in engineering management from Western New England University.
Kaylee White
Agile Systems Design Engineer
Kaylee White is an agile systems design engineer, specializing in service design, user experience design, and systems thinking. She utilizes design research methods and collaboration techniques to gather insights, explore opportunity areas, prototype rapidly, and test solutions to address complex problems with meaningful solutions. She holds a bachelor’s in art and design from Utah State University and a master of design from Carnegie Mellon University.
Niall White
Cybersecurity Engineer
Niall White is a cybersecurity engineer specializing in strategic design, enterprise resource planning, and project management. Niall’s prior work at management organizations gave him experience in projects as diverse as policy analysis and large-scale domestic and international software implementations. Niall holds a bachelor’s in business from Utah State University and a master’s in information security policy and management from Carnegie Mellon University.
Jessica Yu
Lead Human Factors Engineer
Jessica Yu is a lead human factors engineer and tech service lead in the User Experience, Visualization, and Decision Support department. Jessica develops and executes user experience strategy, conducts user research, designs user interfaces, and evaluates usability to develop innovative solutions. She holds a bachelor of business administration from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and master’s degrees in human factors in information design and business administration from Bentley University.
