Our Team

Executive Board

Professionals dedicated to empowering their community through educational events, professional development workshops, community service, and social events.

Gerardo Garza

Gerardo is the President for the SHPE St. Louis Gateway Professional Chapter. Originally from Pharr, Texas, he moved to St. Louis in 2018 for employment at Boeing as a structural analysis engineer. He currently supports a proprietary effort in Phantom Works but has previously supported the F/A-18, MQ-25, and Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T) additive manufacturing focus program. Gerardo received a B.Sc. in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University and a M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from Washington University in St. Louis. As a dedicated SHPE leader, he continues to make a positive influence in the St. Louis community through selfless service, promoting STEM, and providing mentorship to students.

Elany Saavedra

Elany Saavedra obtained her B.S. and M.S. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida in 2017 and 2018. Elany is a Navigation Engineer at The Boeing Company. In this role, she develops and uses models and simulation tools to predict navigation performance. She defines requirements for implementing navigation algorithms in software and also supports flight tests, analyzes flight test data, and writes system performance reports. She has increasingly become involved in the community. She is an active member of SWE and SHPE and is actively involved in STEM outreach. Elany is part of the SWE Outreach Committee where she helps organize STEM events. She also currently leads the SWE Social/Networking Committee where she creates opportunities for women engineers to connect and currently serves as Vice President for the SHPE St. Louis Gateway Professional Chapter.

Angel Rodriguez

Originally from San Diego his pursuit in a career in engineering has taken him all over the country and even oversees. Angel earned his BS in Aerospace Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2020. During his undergrad career Angel had various internship opportunities working for Gulfstream, Southwest Airlines and lastly interning for Boeing. It was at this time that he began getting heavily involved in SHPE by holding various leadership roles. After graduating, Angel stayed with Boeing and moved to St. Louis to begin his professional career. There he followed his passion for design and joined Boeing’s Precision Engagement group. Currently he is participating in the Engineering Career Foundation Program’s Class of 2025 where he is pursuing four six-month long rotations to see how engineering is conducted across the various Boeing business units as well as the various phases of the product lifecycle. Currently Angel is on his second rotation as a Test Engineer in a Structures Lab. His first rotation was as a Manufacturing Engineer supporting F-15. At Boeing Angel also holds the title of Chair of Boeing Familia, the Hispanic affiliated affinity group at the company, as well as being the Site Lead for his alma mater.

Outside of work and SHPE, Angel is still quite active. He is heavily involved at his church serving as a leader in his Church’s Young Adult ministry. Angel also enjoys outdoor activities including biking, hiking, climbing, and kayaking. He is also an avid traveler having visited more than 20 countries and more than half the US states. Lastly, Angel is currently pursuing his masters in Product Development Engineering at the University of Southern California.

Benneth Perez

Benneth is a Wire Harness Design & Installations Engineer at Boeing. He joined Boeing in 2019 down in San Antonio, TX supporting the C-17 aircraft fleet. Benneth earned a B.S in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Texas San Antonio and is currently pursuing a M.S in Aerospace Engineering at the University of Central Florida. He has supported several programs while at Boeing including the International Space Station, Satellites, Exploration Upper Stage, Boeing Research & Technology, Executive Aircraft, and several proprietary missile and defense programs. Benneth is a leader of Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), STEM advocacy, mentorship, and helping Hispanic/Latinos enter careers in aerospace. He currently serves on the Enterprise Board of the Hispanic focused ERG within Boeing and hopes to continue his efforts in supporting students across the US.

Jasmine Leon

Jasmine Leon graduated from the University of Michigan in 2014 with a B.S. in Informatics. She worked at Boeing as a Programmer/Analyst for almost 8 years before moving to Google as a Software Engineer. She joined Boeing through their IT Career Foundational Program, where every year for 3 years she worked in different IT departments. She placed at her final rotation where she modernized quality applications and developed application for a manufacturing production line for improving overall performance. Then moved to Boeing’s Mobility and Innovation team leading development on various web-based applications. Now at Google, she works in the Office of the CTO working on products for Sustainability.

Leah Sandoval

Leah Sandoval graduated from the University of Texas at Dallas in May 2022 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering. Born and raised in South Texas, she moved to Saint Louis to work at Ameren as a Transmission Line Maintenance engineer. In this role, she maintains and manages high-voltage transmission lines in Missouri and Illinois. She has been a member of SHPE since high school. As the community service chair, she plans to offer SHPE Saint Louis professionals the opportunity to connect with their community.