Employee spotlight – Stacey Marmara


Employee spotlight – Stacey Marmara

2019-03-12

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Meet Stacey Marmara, Active Safety Advanced Development Engineer at our Canadian Technical Centre in Oshawa.

1)      How long have you been at GM and what is your current role?

My career began with an inspired team at Delphi Chassis, on January 19th 1999, and a chassis electronics skillset brought me to GM Canada in 2001 to work with the team focusing on the Chevrolet Equinox.  Having four children has driven on-and-off disruption in my career, and I was fortunate to enjoy quality time with my children until I rejoined the workforce in 2011.  Currently, I work in the Active Safety Advanced Development Technology Space, enabling product development for our US stakeholders.

2)      What brought you to GM?

Growing up in LaSalle, Ontario I was surrounded by many who are now retired and worked for “The Big Three” automakers, and these people have no doubt inspired my choices. It was around the 5th grade when I identified engineering as a career path, which was reinforced by my parents and teachers who encouraged math skills development in school. My father, who is a retired engineer, rarely purchased non-GM vehicles, which sent a strong message about the company and allowed me to consider GM as an employer!

3)  What is the best part about your job?

I love the culture here. There is a team of us that have worked together for a number of years, and the strong relationships built over time are so precious and bring me a great deal of joy. Running into former team members always makes my day. At GM, we are able to make technical decisions with peers and stakeholders who are equally passionate about our technology space and it is an incredibly motivating force. I am thankful every day for this dynamic at GM with our teams both in Canada and in the US.

4)      How has GM helped you grow?

Working with a manager who can leverage your strengths and help build your areas of opportunity brings a level of personal satisfaction that is fundamental to building confidence. I have worked with Norm Weigert’s team on and off for a number of years and the ability to run a transparent dialogue in a trustworthy environment fosters growth for everyone involved and I am thankful for this and for other mentors who have provided guidance in decision making. I once heard someone say that it’s important to have a personal board of directors and I value mine both at work and in my personal life.

5)      What is the coolest thing that you’ve accomplished since being at GM?

The Chevy Equinox work allowed me to travel to Japan! It was pretty neat to see the other side of the world.  More recently it was great seeing the Chassis team’s advanced technology Brake Pad Life Monitor in production on our Truck Programs. Many people worked together to bring it to life for our customers. There are so many other really cool projects that I contribute to, I just can’t talk about them yet. 😊

6)  What’s your favourite GM vehicle?

Do I really have to pick? I will always think of my very first car, a 1986 Z24 Chevrolet Cavalier: the bowtie, the weave fabric interior (and the fact that I wished it was manual transmission!) will never escape my memory. I paid $3,000 for it, and got to drive my friends to Grand Bend every year. Currently, I am driving a Chevrolet Cruze LT and to my surprise with four children it is doing the intended economical job of getting us where we need to go safely, no matter what the weather brings. My kids are also excited to soon take the wheel of “Little Chevy.” I have also driven a Cadillac SRX for a number of years and the handling and performance for an SUV was impressive and it leads me to my final answer: Cadillac XT4. I am however looking forward to seeing what replaces the Cadillac ATS. So many GOOD OPTIONS!

7)  If you could drive to one place where would it be?

Great question. I have a colleague (you know who you are!) who has been inspiring me to take a road trip into the United States with a trailer! The ultimate destination would be Spring Mountain Motor Resort, Cadillac V-Performance Academy.  I hear if you buy a V-series you get an automatic entry into the driving school. Definitely on my bucket list!

8)  What do you do on your free time?

Spending time with my kids is important, so we do most things together. The message in my household is about quality: What are you spending your time on and pairing your brain with? An engineer is a forever learner and I enjoy picking up courses. We are fortunate that GM enables this initiative with a tuition reimbursement program.

Also, people gathered for a joint cause can achieve great things in a positive environment, so when the kids are busy, I am fortunate to volunteer with the School Council Treasury, CICS, SAE Foundation and there are a few other organizations I have an eye on to figure out how I can be involved. It’s certainly a great time to be employed in a technology industry, particularly involving mobility options, in Canada.

9)  What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?

I have a passion for STEM education. I am a committee member for the SAE Foundation’s Annual Giving Committee. In my role, I assist with finding ways to make sure that ALL students have access to STEM education, in fun and meaningful ways. Right now we are working on Pi Day, (which happens to be my birthday!). This initiative is important to me because by eighth grade, many students are disconnected from science, technology, engineering and math education. This lack of student interest directly impacts the quality of the future STEM workforce. This year on March 14th, SAE president Paul Mascarenas is matching all gifts that are given on Pi Day. It is a great opportunity to really support kids who want to become our next innovators. If you want to learn more visit www.saefoundation.org

10) If you didn’t have to sleep, what would you do with the extra time?

This one is easy. I’d build a time machine because kids grow so quickly. This way I could spend more time with them, do more, and learn more.

11) This or that:

Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate.

Day or Night? Day.

Hotel or Airbnb? Hotel (fixed parameters, family friendly).

Ice cream or Frozen yogourt? Menchie’s counts as yogourt right?

Tea or Coffee? Coffee = AM, Tea = PM