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Interviews Episodes

Forging with Chelsea Lantto
Dec. 7, 2023

Forging with Chelsea Lantto

Nikki speaks with Chelsea Lantto, president of Trenton Forging Company , a forging company that delivers high-quality forged steel components. Although not new to forging, as a second-generation leader of the company, Chelsea...

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AI in Manufacturing with Priyansha Bagaria (LinkedIn Live)
Nov. 23, 2023

AI in Manufacturing with Priyansha Bagaria (LinkedIn Live)

Nikki talks to Priyansha Bagaria, Founder & CEO of Loopr AI a computer vision company solving the complex challenges traditional vision inspection still can't solve. She started working in her family's manufacturing plant at ...

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A Journey of Empowerment with Elisa Ochoa
Nov. 16, 2023

A Journey of Empowerment with Elisa Ochoa

This week, Nikki and Ali G speak with Elisa Ochoa, Client Advisor at Skellig Automation . They met Elisa at the Inductive Automation Ignition Community Conference in Folsom recently and had to have her on the show to learn mo...

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Cybersecurity Conversations with Leah Dodson & Hayley Lichtenfels (LinkedIn Live)
Nov. 9, 2023

Cybersecurity Conversations with Leah Dodson & Hayley Lichtenfels (Li…

With October being Cybersecurity Awareness Month, the Automation Ladies decided to speak with some experts in the field Leah & Hayley. Leah is the Principal Cybersecurity Specialist at Nextlink labs, while Hayley is a Product...

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Can AI Help Engineers Market?  (Linkedin Live)
Oct. 26, 2023

Can AI Help Engineers Market? (Linkedin Live)

In this live episode, Nikki and Ali G spoke with David Garcia and Nathan Schaffer, creators of MarketMate AI, a software built for industrial companies to help them scale their marketing efforts. We wanted to know does this w...

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Events and Digital Marketing with Sarah Larson
Oct. 19, 2023

Events and Digital Marketing with Sarah Larson

In this episode Nikki sits down, in person, with Sarah Larson - Digital Business Manager at ePLAN. Spending most of her career at Rockwell Automation, initially in technical support but then growing into both sales and market...

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HR and People with Ann Wyatt
Oct. 12, 2023

HR and People with Ann Wyatt

In this episode Nikki and Ali have a chat with Ann Wyatt the owner of Ann Wyatt Recruiting and the host of Workforce 4.0 a Linkedin Live show and podcast about the manufacturing workforce. This episode is a little more "girl ...

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Mastering Industrial Automation with Lynn McMahon
Oct. 5, 2023

Mastering Industrial Automation with Lynn McMahon

Nikki and Ali talk with Lynn McMahon founder & Engineer at Monona Instrumentation & Controls. After spending nearly a decade writing software for machines in the Aerospace and Pharmaceutical industries, Lynn branched out and ...

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A Piece of the Pie with Adam Crandall (LinkedIn Live)
Aug. 10, 2023

A Piece of the Pie with Adam Crandall (LinkedIn Live)

To wrap up Season 2 of Automation Ladies, Nikki speaks with Adam Crandall, Chief Revenue Officer at Addtronics about getting a "piece of the pie". Nikki and Adam talk about multi-level relationships, getting people excited ab...

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AI: A Smarter Future with Shanila Karim
July 27, 2023

AI: A Smarter Future with Shanila Karim

In this episode, Nikki explores the world of AI with Senior Product Manager of IoT Strategy, Shanila Karim. Nikki & Shanila talk about the evolution of IoT, smart cities, the future, and projects they are passionate about. At...

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Pneumatics with Dr. Elvira Rakova (Linkedin Live)
July 20, 2023

Pneumatics with Dr. Elvira Rakova (Linkedin Live)

This time, Nikki talks to CEO and founder of Direktin and Algae Scope, Dr. Elvira Rakova. They talk all things pneumatics, energy efficiency, and reducing our carbon footprint with industrial uses of micro algae. You can chec...

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Robots and Vision Guidance with Sarah Coleman (LinkedIn Live)
July 13, 2023

Robots and Vision Guidance with Sarah Coleman (LinkedIn Live)

Courtney and Ali G takeover the podcast and speak with Sarah Coleman, a Product Manager with Liberty Reach. They talk about Liberty Reach, a company that produces robot guidance systems and software, how Sarah found her way i...

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Family Business with Amber Wilborne (LinkedIn Live)
July 6, 2023

Family Business with Amber Wilborne (LinkedIn Live)

This time, while Nikki is out on a much deserved vacation, Ali G and guest host Courtney speak with Amber Wilborne, business co-owner of TW Controls. Amber discusses her jump from marketing to automation, starting a business ...

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A Journey of Job Hunting with John Piller
June 15, 2023

A Journey of Job Hunting with John Piller

In this episode Nikki and Ali G are joined by fellow Automation Lady Courtney in talking to John Piller: Owner, Engineer, and CEO at JPiller Design and Consulting. John discusses his journey in automation and his job hunt aft...

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The Importance of Mentors and Taking Risks with Terry Kuzoff
June 8, 2023

The Importance of Mentors and Taking Risks with Terry Kuzoff

In this episode Nikki and Ali G talk with Terry Kuzoff, Technical Assistant to the VP of LM Space Ignite. Terry and Ali G went to the same high school in Hawaii. They discuss growing up there and the lack of STEM-related fiel...

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From Mechanical Engineering to Industrial Automation with Katelyn Desrochers
May 25, 2023

From Mechanical Engineering to Industrial Automation with Katelyn Des…

In another LinkedIn Live episode, Nikki talks to Automation Controls Engineer Katelyn Desrochers. Katelyn, who recently got her Associates in Automation Engineering Technology on top of her Mechanical Engineering bachelor's t...

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Building Tomorrow's Engineers with Christelle Keefer
May 18, 2023

Building Tomorrow's Engineers with Christelle Keefer

This week, Nikki and Ali talk with Christelle Keefer, who is a member of the A3 Robotics Technology Strategy Board as well as the Global Product Manager for Robotics Education at ABB. They discuss Ali's new non-priofit Kids P...

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Reaching the Final Frontier with Dave Neville
May 4, 2023

Reaching the Final Frontier with Dave Neville

In this episode, Nikki and Ali G catch up with the President and Co-Founder of Infinity Robotics, Dave Neville. Dave is a space connoisseur and is looking towards the stars to integrate robots and automation. Dave and the Aut...

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From "Falling" into Automation to Thriving in the Industry with Sami Birch
April 27, 2023

From "Falling" into Automation to Thriving in the Industry with Sami …

This week Ali G and Nikki talk to Sami Birch, the Marketing and Communications Manager at Mission Design & Automation. Sami speaks on her beginnings into automation as a tech writer (spoiler alert: like most of you she "fell"...

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Exploring Education with Amanda Beaton (Live @ MIA '23)
April 20, 2023

Exploring Education with Amanda Beaton (Live @ MIA '23)

While Nikki was at the 2023 Manufacturing in America conference in Detroit, she got to catch up with the U.S. Program Manager of Siemens Cooperates with Education, Amanda Beaton. Amanda and Nikki chat about how she got into t...

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Profit by Design with Dave Griffith and Vladimir Romanov (LinkedIn Live)
April 13, 2023

Profit by Design with Dave Griffith and Vladimir Romanov (LinkedIn Li…

In this LinkedIn Live, Nikki and Ali G spoke with Dave Griffith and Vladimir Romanov with Manufacturing Hub Network. You better be in this episode for the long haul. They cover a variety of topics like the pros and cons of in...

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Bringing Manufacturing Education to Youth with Vinita Palaniveloo
April 6, 2023

Bringing Manufacturing Education to Youth with Vinita Palaniveloo

This week our Automation Ladies, Nikki and Ali G, speak to Senior Software Engineer at Miso Robotics: Vinita Palaniveloo. The Automation Ladies and Vinita look at highlighting the need for ground-level skills and the importan...

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Embracing Diversity in Industrial Automation with Alex Marcy (LinkedIn LIVE)
March 30, 2023

Embracing Diversity in Industrial Automation with Alex Marcy (LinkedI…

Join us for a thoughtful and engaging conversation between Nikki and Alex Marcy, the CEO of Corso Systems, an Ignition Premier Integrator specializing in the seamless connection of SCADA, MES, PLCs, HMIs, and more (without ge...

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Charting Your Own Path in Automation: Insights from Jessica Morell
March 23, 2023

Charting Your Own Path in Automation: Insights from Jessica Morell

This week, while Ali was in the field, Nikki spoke with Jessica Morell. Jessica has held various positions in the automation industry, from distribution to consulting. Jessica shares her journey, starting with her electrical ...

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