• STEM Hero Awards •

Lieutenant CommanderDavid S. Gonzalez oversees all Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, and Intelligence (C5I) and Ordnance project management at the Coast Guard’s only full-service shipyard – the Department of Homeland Security’s largest industrial facility. In this role, he directly supervises the planning, programming, and execution of the Coast Guard Yard’s $30 million C5I and Ordnance project portfolio of 90 unique projects.

Lieutenant Commander Gonzalez also supervises branch efforts chairing multiple Integrated Product Teams that coordinate these planning, programming, and execution activities, and he manages seven production supervisors and 109 Wage Grade technicians across the waterfront completing project installations, depot overhauls, and equipment casualty support efforts. 

His Coast Guard service has been recognized with several awards including an Achievement Medal in 2012, a Meritorious Team Commendation Award in 2015, and a Commendation Medal in 2018. Lieutenant CommanderGonzalez is aDesignated U.S. Coast Guard Naval Engineer and is certified as a Department of Homeland Security Project/Program Manager Level II.  He’s also a Security Contracting Officer’s Representative Level II.

In addition to his Coast Guard duties, community service to underprivileged groups has been a consistent theme throughout hiscareer. Of all of the awards for he’s received for military performance, his greatest honor was receiving the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for service in the local community building low-income housing with Habitat for Humanity and providing food and resources to persons experiencing poverty and homelessness. 

Over the years, Lieutenant Commander Gonzalezhas mentored and served as a math tutor for at-risk minority youth in New Orleans.  He’s also performed Protestant services at various Michigan county jails while attending graduate school, and he’s volunteered at soup kitchens and homeless shelters at every duty station.  For over 10 years he’s served with Habitat for Humanity as one of their prestigious Core Volunteers.

Born and raised in New Jersey to a Puerto Rican father and a Jewish mother, Lieutenant Commander Gonzalez received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and his M.S. in the same discipline from Michigan State University.