Heather Heckler - 2023 AISES Blazing Flame

The Blazing Flame Award is presented to an individual who “blazes” a path for Indigenous people in STEM careers. This award recognizes individuals with 10 or more years of professional experience with significant accomplishments in advancing STEM education and careers.
Heather Heckler is the 2023 AISES Blazing Flame awardee. At General Motors, she is president of the company’s Indigenous Peoples Network, leading GM’s efforts to provide STEM activities for Indigenous youth across the country. As a volunteer, Heckler has served in this employee resource group leadership role for 16 years, continuously advocating for more support within the company. She is a mainstay at AISES events, including coordinating ongoing youth engagement at AISES STEM Days, supporting GM recruitment, and serving on the AISES Corporate Advisory Council. In her day job, Heckler is a subject matter expert in industrial engineering with 28 years of experience. With a master’s degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, she currently leads a global team to define computer application needs and provides engineering training in manufacturing plants. Even as a high school student, she provided critical computer training to workers at her Shawano, Wisconsin, hometown’s biggest employer, a food systems plant. As a steadfast advocate for Indigenous representation and advancement, Heckler follows in the footsteps of her maternal grandfather, a leader of the Brothertown Indian Nation. He advocated for tribal recognition of their tribe, the only one based in Wisconsin that is not federally recognized, due to a complex history of migration and interaction with the U.S. Government.