Dr. Valle, an academic professional in the G. W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering, received her master’s and doctoral degrees from Georgia Tech in mechanical engineering. She also holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from French “Grande Ecole,” EPF, the first engineering school in France to admit only women.

Dr. Valle has taught at Georgia Tech since 2004 both in civil and environmental engineering and mechanical engineering. She has also been on the faculty of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and the University of Maine. She spent several years in private industry with the MetLife Group as a business analyst. While at Tech, Dr. Valle has received numerous awards including an Amelia Earhart Zonta Foundation Fellowship, the Sigma Xi Best Ph.D. Thesis Award, and the CETL Undergraduate Educator Award.

Tonia Valeck, originally from Pascagoula, MS, is the Associate Director of the Women in Engineering Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology.  She joins WIE after 10 years of teaching English and language arts to grades 6-12.  Most recently, she taught 8th grade ELA at Young Middle School within the Atlanta Public School District where she served on the local school leadership team as well as led the 8th grade Professional Learning Community as the chair.  During her time as a teacher, she mentored and supervised individuals seeking teaching degrees within the field of secondary education and assisted in developing and constructing school-wide writing curricula.

Studying at the University of South Alabama, Tonia earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and later pursued a degree in secondary education earning her Masters of Education and her Educational Specialist Degree.  Before teaching, Tonia worked in finance at Chrysler Financial and in manufacturing at Teledyne Continental.