Valerie Marie Avila is Quality Assurance Engineer at Southwest Research Institute, an independent, nonprofit research and development organization that supports outstanding fundamental and applied engineering and research for clients from diverse segments of government and industry. As a key member of the Institute Quality Systems team, Valerie reviews customer quality requirement flow down and creates product assurance implementation plans. She also participates in design reviews/fabrication/test readiness reviews, and coordinates customer mandatory inspection activities. She is knowledgeable in AS 9100 aerospace quality management, NASA 8739 and IPC J-STD-001 standards, and NASA/ESA/DOD quality and safety requirements.
 
In addition to her general quality assurance monitoring, Valerie provides specialized quality assurance reviews for engineering drawings, test procedures and document deliverables; and nonconformance tracking and closure approval. She has monitored and witnessed functional and environmental tests (vibration, thermal, EMI/EMC), and has conducted acceptance testing and functional testing of spaceflight hardware.
 
Born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, Valerie served as an acquisitions officer in the US Air Force for 10 years. After the military, she worked in the Systems Engineering Integration and Test Group at Draper in Cambridge for 4 years. Later returning to San Antonio and in 2017 joined Draper again as a contractor working from home for the Dream Chaser program. As of June 2021, she joined the Southwest Research Institute team. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University and went on to complete a master’s degree in Systems Engineering from Loyola Marymount University.
 
Outside of her professional endeavors, Valerie volunteers at various schools in her community promoting STEM to urban youth. Over the years she has served as the President of Latinos in Science and Engineering (MAES) Boston Professional Chapter, President of the Latino Alumni Association of Tufts University, and Vice President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) Professional Chapter in Denver.
 
Worldwide Women’s Association Member Valerie Avila can be found on the Association Directory, where she is looking forward to networking with you.