Cynthia Oliver Coleman, PE

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Cynthia Oliver Coleman, PE retired after 32.5 years working as a Chemical Engineer for ExxonMobil. She held a variety of engineering positions in gas engineering, reservoir engineering, engineering application, engineering recruiting, and engineering information systems. She was the first woman in Exxon’s East Texas division. As coordinator of the ExxonMobil Minority Engineering Scholarship Program, developer of the ExxonMobil/High School for Engineering Professions business school partnership, and member of the ExxonMobil UH and SWE recruiting teams, Cynthia actively encouraged, recruited, and mentored young women interested in engineering. She was a panelist and group leader for Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day.

She was the first person in her family to graduate from college and is the first African-American female to graduate from the University of Houston (UH) with a chemical engineering degree. Cynthia has dedicated the majority of her life to advancing women and minorities in engineering. She joined SWE in 1979. She is a life member of SWE, the SWE-HA “Woman of Excellence’ in 2007, a current SWE-HA BOT member and is the immediate past president of the UH Engineering Alumni Association. She was featured as an engineering “Pioneer” in the UH Alumni Association magazine, “A Woman of Firsts” in the UH magazine, and as “Inspiring Dreams” in the UH Cullen College of Engineering magazine. She was featured in the book “Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers,” which was part of the Extraordinary Women Engineers Project (EWEP) that is used in educational outreach areas throughout the country.

Awards and Recognitions

2007 FHPW Woman of Excellence Award Recipient

Professional Affilations and Networks

Publications and Presentations

Servitude Leadership

University of Houston - Cullen College of Engineering
University of Houston - Engineering Alumni Association Officer
SWE-HA SWE-HA BOT Member Committee