2024 GMiS Luminaries

Education:  Masters in Electrical Engineering, UCLA;  Bachelors in Chemical Engineering, California State University, Long Beach

Growing up the child of struggling immigrant parents, Karen Abarca quickly learned to navigate life's challenges with limited guidance.  She harnessed their example of working hard no matter what and stepped into low-wage jobs to support her family while never losing sight of her professional ambitions. 

She parlayed a flair for fashion into early success as a designer, but soon switched gears to pursue a career in STEM. She returned to the community college where she earned her fashion degree and eventually transferred to California State University, Long Beach, where she established an International Society of Automation while studying pursuing a degree in chemical engineering. She also co-founded a society for women engineers where she was able to connect her unique experiences with other Latino students and motivate them to pursue higher education and careers in STEM.

In her short tenure at Northrop Grumman, Karen has already established herself as an active leader within Adelante, a Latino affinity Employee Resource Group. Adelante fosters belonging, knowledge sharing, networking, professional development and community outreach across Northrop Gruman with a focus on increasing Hispanic representation at various levels of the company. 

Her efforts with Adelante are completed on her own time despite a full workload as a Communication Systems Engineer on highly critical programs.  For two years, Karen served as the Adelante Recruitment Chair for the South Bay chapter where she organized Latino heritage celebratory events and hosted virtual events that highlighted Northrop Grumman’s early career opportunities to college students. She also created a package guide to encourage new hires to get involved in awareness and diversity efforts within the company. 

Karen currently serves as a University Relations and Recruitment Representative for Northrop Grumman, connecting the company’s hiring partners with key STEM clubs on university campuses to recruit future talent.  She also holds leadership positions with professional organizations including Development Chair for the Society of Women Engineers Los Angeles, and the Secretary for the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ South Bay chapter. 

Karen is always willing to serve as a speaker or panelist if it means she can engage with young aspiring engineers, and she has reached hundreds of students through her involvement with organizations and events such as Latinas in Tech at her alma mater, and the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Engaging Girls in STEM.

Karen has broken barriers and pushed boundaries to be where she is today, and her star continues to rise at Northrop Grumman.  She’s worked on high-profile projects like NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and simulation analysis of premier satellite communications system designs, and she hopes to inspire future engineers and provide them the guidance and firsthand insight on the real-world challenges they can expect to face.