Panels
2:30 – 4:00 pm – Day 1 (October 13, 2026)
Panel on Lean Six Sigma
Panel Chair
Dr. Leonard (Lenny) Perry
Associate Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering
Director of Industry Partner Program
University of San Diego
San Diego, California, USA
Panel Speaker I
Panel Speaker II
Panel Speaker III
Panel Speaker IV
4:30 – 6:00 pm – Day 1 (October 13, 2026)
Panel on Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Panel Chair
Dr. Sina Zare
Assistant Professor, Information Systems and Business Analytics
College of Business Administration
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles County, California
Panel Speaker I
Panel Speaker II
Panel Speaker III
Panel Speaker IV
2:30 – 4:00 pm – Day 2 (October 14, 2026)
Supply Chain and Logistics Panel
Panel Chair
Dr. Himadri Sen Gupta
Assistant Professor of Industrial Engineering
Colorado State University Pueblo, USA
Panel Speaker I
Steve Harrington
Senior Advisor and Workforce Development Strategist
Manufacturing Skill Standards Council
Simi Valley, California, USA
Panel Speaker II
Panel Speaker III
Panel Speaker IV
4:30 – 6:00 pm – Day 2 (October 14, 2026)
Women in Industry and Academia Panel sponsored by Ford Motor Company
Panel Chair
Dr. Yasaman Ghasemi
Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics
Loyola Marymount University
Dr. Yasaman Ghasemi is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business Administration at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, California. She earned her Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington. Prior to pursuing her doctoral studies, she earned an M.S. degree in Industrial Engineering. Her research focuses on behavioral operations management, healthcare analytics, simulation-based decision modeling, and the application of machine learning and emerging technologies to complex operational and supply chain systems.
Isela Scaglione
Isela Scaglione is Vice President of Portfolio Management at Mattel, where she leads efforts to drive strategic portfolio planning and cross-functional execution across the business. With more than 25 years of experience spanning manufacturing, product development, product planning, and portfolio management, she brings deep expertise in bringing innovative products from concept to market.
Akanksha Jouret
Akanksha Jouret is Sr. Manager of Portfolio Planning at Mattel, where she works with brands such as Fisher Price, Hot Wheels, Action Figures, Building Sets and Games on portfolio planning and cross-functional execution across the business. She has been at Mattel for over 11 years in various roles across global supply chain right from logistics to supply planning to now portfolio planning.
Priyanka Malla, PMP
Information Technology Project Manager, FBM
IEEE Senior Member | IEEE Orange County Section Secretary Officer
Priyanka Malla is an Information Technology Project Manager, based in Orange County, California, where she leads an enterprise technology portfolio spanning AI/ML, ERP modernization, cloud infrastructure, and identity governance across multiple sites nationwide. She is also an AI project manager at her organization, owning the company’s entire AI initiative portfolio, having built the delivery capability from the ground up. Prior to FBM, Priyanka worked as a TPM at Glidewell Dental and as a Project Engineer at Wipro Technologies, supporting global enterprise clients including Intel, Daimler, and Electrolux. She earned her Master of Science in Management Information Systems from California State University, Long Beach. Her professional credentials include PMP certification from PMI, AWS Machine Learning Foundations, IBM Enterprise Design Thinking, and Google Analytics.
Priyanka is a published researcher with peer-reviewed papers in international journals covering Agile methodologies, AI-driven automation, and enterprise vendor optimization. She bridges industry and academia through active leadership across multiple professional organizations, serving as Mentorship Coordinator at the PMI Orange County Chapter, Secretary Officer of the IEEE Orange County Section, and Content Committee Member at PDMA. Her expertise has been recognized through judging roles at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (Grand Award Judge, Software Design), FIRST LEGO League, and CSUF Center for Entrepreneurship. She was elevated to IEEE Senior Member in October 2025.