The STEM community came together in Los Angeles this weekend to celebrate the life of Great Minds in STEM (GMiS) Chair Emeritus and Founder Ray Mellado. He died November 25th after succumbing to complications to his transplanted heart of 7 years. He passed peacefully at home surrounded by his family. He was 74.
Ray and his wife Carmela founded GMiS in 1989 first as the Hispanic Engineer National Achievement Awards Conference, or HENAAC. The conference grew out of a partnership with Tyrone Taborn’s Career Communications Group. Later, they launched a groundbreaking magazine, Hispanic Engineer, to tell the stories of Latino engineers and scientists.
The conference served as a platform to honor the achievements of Latino engineers and scientists and inspire Hispanic high school and college students aspiring to pursue careers in STEM.
From that simple idea, the organization grew programming for K-12 students, a second national magazine, scholarships for college students, mentoring opportunities for professionals, and an array of competitions and networking events – all designed to empower more Latinos and students of color to pursue STEM careers.
In 2009, under Ray’s guidance, the organization changed its name to Great Minds in STEM to reflect its emphasis on impacting all
underserved communities in the STEM fields. Ray served as CEO of Great Minds in STEM until 2015 and remained active on the board until his passing.
Prior to founding Great Minds in STEM, Ray enjoyed a 21-year career as a sales and marketing executive with Xerox Corporation. In 1977, Ray co-founded the Hispanic Association for Professional Advancement (HAPA), one of the first Hispanic employee resource groups.
Prior to joining Xerox, Ray pursued a brief career as a high school teacher and coach at Cathedral High School, his alma mater. He would continue to serve as an assistant football coach for 10 years after leaving Cathedral, with successful stints at Garfield High School, East Los Angeles College, and Occidental College.
Ray’s contributions were recognized by multiple organizations. In 2009, NASA awarded him its Exceptional Public Service Medal. In 2010, Admiral Gary Roughead, the then-Chief of Naval Operations, presented Ray with the inaugural Admiral David Farragut Hispanic Diversity Champion Award.
Whittier College awarded him a distinguished alumni award in 2011. The Catholic Association for Latino Leadership awarded Ray and Carmela their Angel Award for Excellence in Education in 2019. And the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) honored Ray with a Lifetime Member Award and a Founders Legacy Award.
Ray also served on many boards and committees, including those convened by: the National Science Foundation; the National Academy of Engineering; California State University, Los Angeles; the United States Navy; Saint Mary’s College; the University of California System; the Association of Naval Service Officers (ANSO); and the Foundation for the Advancement of Science Education (FASE), producers of award-winning educational products that have earned three Peabody Awards.
Ray was born in the El Sereno neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, and died a few miles away in Pasadena. Along the way, he accomplished more than even he could have imagined, much of it alongside his wife, Carmela, with whom he enjoyed a blessed marriage of 51 years full of love, adventure, and impact.
He is survived by Carmela as well as their three adult children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, godchildren, compadres, comrades, colleagues, former players, fellow coaches, and the thousands of engineers, scientists, and students impacted by Great Minds in STEM’s work – past, present and future.
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