Join Zonta to hear the remarkable, personal story of one great woman and learn from her reflections on leadership, success and the path she has forged.
Gain insights on what it takes to meet the challenges of a profession while breaking down barriers, managing family life, and advocating for a cause.
Explore the keys to growing resilience, self-belief, courage and leadership skills to achieve that breakthrough you may need in your own career and life.

Remarkable Women Powerful Stories is a leadership series hosted by Lynne Foley OAM.
Each month, hear a remarkable woman share her achievements and personal story.

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Meet our guest: Sharon Langenbeck, Ph.D.

"Look for opportunities, where you can grow, where you can gain experiences, and by all means, never give up."

Growing up, Sharon Langenbeck planned for a career that would provide independence and self-sufficiency. She was the first woman to earn a Ph.D. in mechanical and aerospace engineering at the University of Missouri-Columbia and was the first woman with a technical Ph.D. at the Lockheed-California Company. While at Lockheed-California, Sharon became a project manager, developing new high-temperature aluminum materials for high-speed aircraft, and receiving a patent for the invention, while also being a part-time faculty member at California State University, Northridge. In 1988, she was appointed a division manager, the first woman to hold that position in the Directorate. Sharon joined the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 1990 where she worked on the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2 for Hubble Space Telescope after which she was appointed the first female technical section manager at the lab.  As section manager for mechanical engineering she managed over 200 engineers designing and developing space flight hardware for numerous projects including the Mars missions and rovers.

A longtime member of Zonta International for 41 years, Sharon has held positions at the club, district and international levels of Zonta and is now serving as international president.

“I channel my energy into influencing and supporting each woman I meet to be empowered to reach her aspirations. I intend my legacy to be the contribution I make to achieving gender equality, through opening doors to education for women and girls.”

An exciting motivational speaker, Lynne Foley OAM, is passionate about leaving her audience with new ideas, thoughts and challenges and full of confidence to break through personal and professional barriers. She works professionally by facilitating leadership programs for individuals and organizations whose mission is to empower women and men through personal and leadership development. Lynne is an accredited and highly respected executive coach, speaker, consultant and educator, gaining her experience through successful executive leadership, consulting, board chair and director roles. As chairman of the 2020-2022 Zonta International Leadership Development Committee Lynne implements the organization’s global strategy to meet the leadership needs of members, clubs and districts  facilitates at conferences and workshops.