Shernale K.
Director, Engineering

As someone who’s benefited from the mentoring of others, Shernale makes it a personal mission to pay it forward and provide inspiration for the next generation of female engineers.
Shernale is a Director of Engineering for Stanley Black & Decker’s Power Tools Group. She started in the company as an intern in 1993 and has since worked her way to a top position within the tools business.
Being in a traditionally male-centric line of work hasn’t stopped her from succeeding. In fact, she feels fortunate to have had both male and female mentors that have helped her develop and grow throughout her 25+ years with the company.
Shernale also co-leads Stanley Black & Decker’s Women’s Network chapter in Maryland and has made it a mission to partner with organizations like the Boys & Girls Clubs, United Way and Junior Achievement to encourage, empower and set the stage for the next generation.
Shernale K.“Being in STEAM, we still do not see a lot of women. I don’t think it’s because women are not interested, we just don’t have the representation. I want the girls behind me to have an easier path than I did.”
Director, Engineering
What she likes most about her job
“There absolutely a beauty in designing and crafting things and seeing them be made out of the correct materials. My favorite part of the job is the interaction I have with people. There’s a lot of critical thinking and collaboration. We get to see a product from concept straight through manufacturing, which is fantastic.”
Her most influential mentor
“I get asked this question a lot. Most people tend to expect my answer to be a woman. It’s actually a gentleman at Stanley Black & Decker. He’s a person who always challenged me and taught me to listen. From day one... Whatever the challenge, his approach was always, ‘What are you going to do about it?’ He’s taught me several lessons over the years that I didn’t get at first. If I said to him, ‘I’m not the right person,’ he would always say to me, ‘If not you, then who?’ I remind myself of that all the time.”
How she got involved in STEAM mentoring
“Last year, Stanley Black & Decker partnered with a local high school in Baltimore City. It’s a private high school, but the kids do not pay to go. Instead, they do a non-paid internship at a local company one day a week. I met a young man. In just talking to him... hearing his story and learning what he wants to do in life. I just realized, if I don’t take the time out of my already busy schedule and help this young man, who’s going to do it?”
What motivates her to be a mentor
“Being in STEAM, we still do not see a lot of women. I don’t think it’s because women are not interested, we just don’t have the representation. I’ve had a successful career, but it hasn’t always been easy. I want the girls behind me to have an easier path than I did.”
Her advice to STEAM students
“Don’t be afraid of it. Ask a lot of questions. Imagine yourself in whatever role you think you might want to be in. Read about it. Don’t try to jump in and be the best at it right away. Take steps. Prepare yourself to be successful.”

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Discipline is what attracted me to bodybuilding.
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I always like to work out, but taking it
to that next level and understanding
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what my body can do and how much discipline
I can actually put into that.
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I've been working in plastics
and raw materials for about 26 years.
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There is absolutely a beauty in designing things
and crafting them and being able to see
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them made out of the correct materials.
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I was not the little girl
that wanted to be the dancer.
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I was the one taking apart my brother's bike
or my own bike or the neighbor's bike.
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Yes, I've always been a hands-on type person
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My day-to-day here is spent primarily
with new product development.
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I manage the prototype shop and assure
that the new product development teams
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get the prototype parts they need
in a timely manner.
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We're always walking through,
if we get a failure, why did this happen?
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Okay, well, why did that step happen?
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Getting to the root cause
of how that failure may have happened
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and making sure that we have all of our lessons
learned and not making the same mistake
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more than once.
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We've got the side handle here.
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This is much much better balanced [?]
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If you look
at the Stanley Black & Decker portfolio of brands,
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they're the greatest in the market.
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We take a lot of pride in how our brands look.
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Part of our job as materials engineers
is to make sure that our colors are protected.
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We have what's called a spectrophotometer
and what that does is it takes a standard.
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We will look at it and make sure
that it's within a reasonable tolerance
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and then make that part of our approval process.
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Doing some testing, we found
that some of the screw bosses were cracking.
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Did we find the problem right away?
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My favorite part of the job
is really the interaction that I have with people.
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There's a lot of critical thinking
that happens here which is fantastic.
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There's a lot of collaboration.
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We get to see the product from concept,
straight through manufacturing.
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Fantastic, fantastic.
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My advice for students considering pursuing
a career in a STEAM area is to do just that.
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Don't be afraid of it.
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Ask a lot of questions.
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Imagine yourself in this--
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Whatever role you think you
want to be in, imagine yourself in that role.
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Read about it.
00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:31,920
Don't try to jump right in
and be the best at it right away.
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Take steps.
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Again, prepare yourself
to be successful in those careers.
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[music]
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We do have a lot of toys here.
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It is absolutely a fun place to work.
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[laughs] When we take a prototype that we've made
here within our four walls and understanding
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that we've delivered that
in a timely manner to our design teams,
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there are high fives all around, there
are fist bumps, we're congratulating each other.
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Yes, very much a sense of pride
in what we're able to produce.
Find your future at Stanley Black & Decker.

Lisa K.
Senior Director, Engineering
“There is truly innovation, business and personal growth potential around every corner of this place.”

Elyse K.
Director, Business Development
“I want to be known for being authentic, for not following someone else's mold.”

Olivia L.
Licensing Intern
“It’s been everything but an internship – it’s been real life.”
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