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 Compnay
Panel Chair
Dr. Yasaman Ghasemi
Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics
Loyola Marymount University
Panel Speaker I
Panel Speaker II
Panel Speaker III
Panel Speaker IV
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.