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The Art of Engineering

Custom Powder Systems 41 Episodes Aug 7, 2026

The Art of Engineering is a podcast that spotlights accomplished women engineers. Host Denise McIntosh, CEO of Custom Powder Systems, brings her own experience to conversations about the unique challenges women face in the industry. Each episode features women who have overcome the odds and become some of the most respected professionals in their fields, offering inspiration and insight for listeners.

Episodes

041 - ISPE Midwest's Women in Pharma Leadership Workshop Aug 7, 2026 2919 Recorded live at the ISPE Midwest Chapter’s Women in Pharma Leadership Workshop, Denise McIntosh is joined by Camille Fittell, Global Process Engineer at Zoetis, Richalle Ritts, Director of Engineering Midwest at IPS, Shannon Goodson, Validation Engineering Manager at MilliporeSigma, and Krishna Bell, Regional Sales Manager at L.B. Bohle USA. They discuss the moments that defined their career, fin

040 - Art of Engineering - Remembering Wally Funk Jul 13, 2026 1243 In this special episode, we remember the life of Wally Funk, who passed away July 8th, 2026, at 87.When she was 21, Mary Wallace "Wally" Funk, was selected to be one of 13 women to train for space flight in 1959. By this time, she had been an experienced pilot for over 5 years. Wally’s love of aeronautics led her to a life-long career in flight training, giving thousands of young pilots

039 - Art of Engineering - Jules Brinn Apr 27, 2026 1535 Jules Brinn, segment manager for high purity OEM sales at American Air Filter, traces an unlikely path from sports medicine student at East Carolina University to a 20-year career in air filtration. Jules and Denise talk about navigating complex Department of Energy and pharmaceutical manufacturing projects, and what it's like to be the only woman on her outside sales team. She also reflects

038 - Art of Engineering - Katie Hubbard Feb 16, 2026 1591 In this episode Denise McIntosh talks with Katie Hubbard, a rubber chemist and compounder at American Phoenix in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. We learn how her high-school chemistry class put her on an exciting path and how she discovered a manufacturing company right in her hometown. You’ll discover how two American companies are discovering opportunities hidden within the confusion over tariffs, and ho

037 - Art of Engineering - Andrea Sousa Dec 19, 2025 1621 Denise Mcintosh speaks with Andrea Sousa, Commercial Director at the PIAB Group, about growing up as the middle child, always being ready to change when life throws a curve ball, coming up in a male-dominated field, and how AI is transforming her role and company.

036 - Art of Engineering - Kirsta Scranton Oct 22, 2025 2104 In this episode, Denise McIntosh speaks with Kirsta Scranton, Senior Construction Project Manager at the University of Iowa, about her three-decade career in construction and the path that led her into engineering. Kirsta reflects on her career journey from the West Coast to Iowa, the challenges of working in a male-dominated industry, and her role as both mentee and mentor to women entering the f

035 - The Art of Engineering - Lauren Parker Sep 4, 2025 1913 Lauren Parker, senior project designer at Stantec Consulting joins Denise McIntosh to discuss her love of engineering, how she found her way to her position, how being the only woman in some of her classes informed her professional life, and how she keeps it all balanced.

034 - Art of Engineering - Christa Myers Apr 16, 2025 1730 Christa Myers is a Senior Fellow in Aseptic and Sterile Products at CRB Group, and visits with Denise to talk about how having broad experiences helped her hone into her specialty. She speaks about the importance of mentorship, accepting feedback, and approaching life with humility.

033 - Art of Engineering - Cristina Mendonça Feb 7, 2025 1532 Cristina Mendonça is the Engineering Manager at Tekna in Ontario, Canada, and in this episode she tells Denise about her vast life experiences that brought her to where she is today. Including learning four languages, moving to Canada to take on a new challenge, and even being a seamstress for Cirque du Soleil. Learn who her influences have been and how she has risen to her current position in thi

032 - Art of Engineering - Beth Brock (return visit) Aug 6, 2024 1345 Beth Brock is the Technical Consulting Director at Environmental Resources Management. After spending 27 years at Eli Lilly, Beth has embarked on a new adventure while also looking forward to retirement in the near future. In this episode, she and Denise McIntosh discuss the value of networking and how to protect your personal time for a work-life balance.

031- Art of Engineering - Brittany Lutz Apr 1, 2024 1894 Brittany Lutz is the Senior Research and Development Scientist in Nutraceuticals at Ortho Molecular Products. In this episode, she shares with Denise about how growing up tag-teaming with her dad working on cars lead to a lifelong curiosity about science. She talks about her day-to-day duties working in the nutraceutical industry and being involved in the creation of new products for Ortho and why

030 - Shannon Goodson Mar 6, 2024 1627 Shannon returns to The Art of Engineering in her new position as the Life Science Leader at The Design Group in St. Louis. Shannon and Denise discuss the book Everybody Matters, and how treating people like a family in the workplace improves culture.

029 - Art of Engineering - Tyler Courtney Feb 7, 2024 2141 In this episode, Denise is joined by Custom Powder’s Senior Vice President of Products, Scott Heffern, and Sales Executive Austin Hill speaking with Tyler Courtney, Pharmaceutical Account Manager at ChargePoint Technology. They’ll discuss the advances that have been made in powder transfer, important safety issues that have been solved, and how companies are able to scale-up their processes for bo

028 - Zen Zen Yen Dec 6, 2023 1078 Denise visits with Zen Zen Yen, Head of Engineering at Bayer Supply Center in Germany. Denise caught up with Zen Zen at the ISPE Annual Meeting and had a chance to discuss what it was like growing up in Germany, switching from studying medicine to engineering, and the importance of finding a community of peers like ISPE.

Art of Engineering - Wally Funk Oct 9, 2023 1243 At the age of 21, M. Wallace “Wally” Funk was selected to be one of 13 women to train for space flight in 1959. By this time, she had been an experienced pilot for over 5 years. Wally’s love of aeronautics led her to a life-long career in flight training, giving thousands of young pilots their first taste of flight. She worked for the FAA and was the first woman to be a lead investigator at the NT

Art of Engineering - Ann Rhodes Jun 1, 2023 1596 Ann Rhodes is the founder of People Ink and author of Built on Values: Creating an Enviable Culture that Outperforms the Competition. Ann and Denise discuss how a positive culture and employees who share the same values as a company is the missing piece for most organizations. Ann shares storeis from her time with Southwest Airlines and JetBlue, and explains the steps needed to form a solid cultu

025 - Art of Engineering - Women of CPS Mar 22, 2023 2139 Denise introduces us to several of the women who work at Custom Powder Systems. We learn what they do, how they started, and ideas from their point of view on how we can encourage and recruit more women into the industry.

024 - Art of Engineering - Pack Expo 2022 Jan 25, 2023 1772 This roundtable discussion was recorded at the Pack Expo International in Chicago as Denise and her guests discuss how to encourage a more diverse workforce, and why that is so vital to business growth. These four experts will share tips on how they are proactively bringing new talent to the table and setting their companies up for success in the future.Guests: Jill Miller, CEO of Lunum, Derick Ji

023 - Art of Engineering - Carson Riutta Nov 30, 2022 1359 Returning to the workforce after an absence doesn’t have to be scary. Carson Riutta learned that through networking and discovering that she already has more than enough skills and knowledge to jump in provide great value to a company. In this episode, Denise and Carson discuss why it’s so important to network, ask questions, and stop telling yourself stories about what you can’t do…instead, dis

022 Art of Engineering - Guest: Jennie Taveras Aug 24, 2022 2440 Before she was 18, Jennie Tavares found herself in a new country, learning a new language and culture. By the time she was in college, she was excelling in engineering and had picked up a Brooklyn accent. In this episode, Denise talks with Jennie about her remarkable career path, her infectious optimism, and the importance of good networks and mentoring.Guest: Jennie Tavares, Director of Global G

021 - The Art of Engineering - Nicole Baird Jul 27, 2022 1675 Denise McIntosh talks about supply chain challenges facing Nicole Baird, the senior buyer at Aptar. Nicole shares how her ability to develop and maintain relationships has paid off when supplies are short, and encourages those getting into the industry to always be learning. By learning different aspects of the business, Nicole has been able to quickly adapt to whatever the economy throws her wa

020 - ISPE Roundtable | The Art of Engineering Jun 9, 2022 1593 Denise visits with Lindsey Daniel and Jen Clark at the most recent ISPE conference in Boston. In this episode, you’ll learn how each of these women came to be a part of the organization, and how ISPE and Women in Pharma have greatly improved the careers of women throughout the industry.Guests: Lindsey Daniel, Product Operations Program Manager at TakedaJen Clark, VP of Sales and Account Relation

019 - Jill Miller May 26, 2022 1921 019 - Jill MillerGuest: Jill Miller, Founder and CEO of Below the Line Jill Miller’s journey ranges from an unlikely start in sales working for a thermoplastics company, to following her passion of narrowing the wealth gap in the Food & Beverage Packaing/Processing Industry. In this episode, Jill talks about how she to to the point where she realized changes could be made and NEEDED to be ma

018 - Art of Engineering - Jen Clark May 12, 2022 796 Guest: Jen Clark, Vice President, Sales and Account Management at CAIJen Clark came out of school with a degree in industrial engineering when she got an invite to her first ISPE annual meeting. As an eager graduate, she began networking and telling people in the industry she was ready to work. In this episode, Jen and Denise advocate for making personal connections with people and building las

017 - The Art of Engineering - Amanda Wollnick Feb 15, 2022 1741 Guest: Amanda Wollnick, Development Engineer at American Breast CareAmanda Wollnick once thought science “isn’t for girls.” But something kept calling her back to it. In this episode, you’ll hear how she took her chemical and engineering knowledge to American Breast Care in Marietta, Georgia. There, Amanda is helping transform the prosthetic breast industry, and even holds a patent on a formul

015 - Art of Engineering - Bo Crouse-Feuerhelm Dec 16, 2021 1763 Guest: Bo Crouse-Feuerhelm VP of Client Solutions at JE DunnBo Crouse-Feuerhelm has gone from being a college drop-out to a Vice President of Client Solutions in a major construction company. Her career has been full of unexpected turns, working with exceptionally generous mentors, and exceptionally difficult bosses. But her story really begins navigating a profoundly difficult childhood of abu

016 - Art of Engineering - Sandra Bachamp Dec 1, 2021 1957 Guest: Sandra Bachamp, Director of Engineering at DPS Group In this episode, Sandra talks about the fascinating path that took her from just a fleeting interest in architecture to discovering her calling in engineering. She and Denise discuss the importance of mentors and mentorship, balancing work with family, plus advancements in modular isolation rooms that are changing many industries.

014 - Art of Engineering - Jean Ann Groves May 18, 2021 1671 In this episode, Jean Ann Groves, a retired Business Continuity expert, talks about how the civil rights movements of the 60s and 70s sparked a major change for women in the workplace. Jean Ann was one of only three women in her business class in college and went on to a successful career in leadership with companies like Exxon before becoming an entrepreneur and going out on her own. You’ll hea

Lisa Kerner, Corporate Trade Show Manager at CRB in North Carolina Apr 29, 2021 1605 Lisa and Denise talk about the history of CRB and their work with Custom Powder. You’ll hear Lisa’s fascinating journey from her beginnings in administration to her current role as the Corporate Trade Show Manager. Lisa has had to take a completely different approach to trade shows in the last year, due to the global pandemic. She and Denise also talk about the importance of building business re

Caroline Hand, Evonik Industries Production Engineer/Healthcare and Nutrition Division Feb 4, 2021 1319 Caroline and Denise talk about how a love of math and science drew her to an engineering expo while in high school. Shortly out of college, Caroline was interviewed by Evonik Industries where she is now a production engineer in the healthcare and nutrition division. She takes advantage of the many mentorship programs offered at Evonik, including Women’s Interest Network which continues to motivate

Dr. Namrata Karki, Product Development Manager with Ortho Molecular Products Dec 30, 2020 1614 In this episode, Denise speaks with Dr. Namrata Karki about her journey all the way from Nepal to Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Growing up in Nepal, her parents stressed the importance of education. Her passion and love of higher education pointed Dr. Karki in the direction of America. Today, she leads a team of scientists and engineers at Ortho Molecular, and mentors other up-and-coming experts in

Dr. Sarah Miksinski, a Senior Director in Global Regulatory Excellence at AstraZeneca Dec 17, 2020 2143 Sarah’s career has gone from working nationally on the regulatory side of pharmaceuticals at the FDA, to working globally on the regulatory side of the creation of pharmaceuticals with AstraZeneca. Sarah received her post-doctoral degree at the National Institutes of Health, and spent many years at the Food and Drug Administration. Now at AstraZeneca, she works in research with the coordination

Lynn Aurelius Nov 24, 2020 1808 Guest: Lynn Aurelius, Business Development Manager at Bollé SafetyA fascinating conversation about the personal safety equipment used in industrial plants around the world. Lynn talks about how she made the unique leap from being a calligrapher to her current position at Bollé Safety. In March, her company made the decision to begin creating safety protection for health care and first responder

Helga Salling Oct 22, 2020 2369 Guest: Helga Salling, Senior Director at IPS-Integrated Project ServicesHelga and Denise talk about what it takes to be a female leader in the pharma industry. Topics include the myth of defining a woman by what she wears, leading from the heart, and embracing who you are in the workplace. Helga shares what inspired her to begin writing about leadership in the workplace and how she deliberatel

Richalle Ritts Oct 22, 2020 1620 Guest: Richalle Ritts, Manager of Process Engineering at Integrated Project ServicesRichalle Ritts is not only the Manager of Process Engineering, but she’s also a Mom. When the lockdown happened in the spring, she quickly learned where the difficulties and the opportunities lay. In this episode, we’ll learn about some of the unintended benefits of how working from home has helped her family, a

Dr. Eleanor Small Sep 22, 2020 2540 Guest: Dr. Eleanor Small - Product Development founded in Design for Manufacturability with Johnson & Johnson Dr. Small shares how chemists take a small formula and make it on a large scale and why team input and customer data are so important. She comes from a family of health professionals and shares how being around science was a big influence for her. Today, she sees how the pharma indu

Michelle Bridges Jul 30, 2020 3077 Guest: Michelle Bridges - Executive Trainer with The Great Game of BusinessDenise speaks with Michele Bridges about her work in the medical sales market and how she is able to take difficult concepts and make them easy to understand. Michele also discusses “The Great Game”, and explains how involving every staff member in an organization in making decisions and having accountability on every leve

Shannon Goodson Jul 15, 2020 1789 Guest: Shannon Goodson - Engineering Manager with Meridian Medical TechnologiesHost Denise McIntosh talks with Shannon Goodson about her early interest in chemistry and how that led to working for a pharma company at a young age. She played a role in the processing and packaging of liquids, powder processing, and blister lines, among other things, and quickly gained respect in the industry. In th

Stephanie Wilkins Jun 26, 2020 2048 Denise speaks with Stephanie Wilkins, co-owner of Pharmaconsult US.Stephanie Wilkins was encouraged at a young age to look into subjects like drafting and auto repair. She quickly picked up knowledge and skills, and soon found herself working in companies while surrounded by men. Stephanie discovered working in the corporate world was quite different from the experiences she had learning from her

Kim Duncan Jun 26, 2020 1576 Denise speaks with Kim Duncan, Founder, President, and owner of Duncan Enterprises.Kim’s engineering story began abroad while attending high school on a ship. She was the only woman engineer in her graduating class and earned her degree almost two years sooner than others. In this episode, Kim shares several stories with Denise about her career journey, starting with navigating chauvinism as an em

Beth Brock Jun 26, 2020 1833 Denise speaks with Beth Brock, Corporate Support for Environmental Management Systems, Compliance, and Sustainability for Smithfield Foods in Kansas City.Beth Brock got into engineering at a time when the industry didn’t have many women. She and Denise McIntosh discuss obstacles women have faced working in manufacturing, how to handle those situations and advice for young women entering the field.

The Art of Engineering

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