Catherine Moroney

Los Angeles, CA
Scientific Software Engineer
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Briefly describe your daily job duties.
I study clouds and their impact on the climate system by analyzing satellite data. I also assist in the development of the algorithms that take in the raw satellite data and generate scientific products, analyze their performance, and write the official production code.

As a person who stutters, share the most challenging part of your job.
Participating in conference calls is challenging for me. I find it difficult getting my speech started when the people on the conference call are not aware that I’m trying to speak.

Did you self-disclose your stuttering with co-workers, clients and or customers?
I’ve been working with the same group of people for years so everyone knows that I stutter. I can’t hide it, nor do I try to.

What is your proudest moment at your current company?
Working on the same satellite for 25 years and making a substantial impact on its data products brings me a tremendous amount of joy.

What’s your best advice for people who stutter striving to achieve career success?
Don’t be afraid of stuttering in public and don’t change what you’re going to say based on fear of stuttering.