Open Research Institute (ORI) co-founder and CEO Michelle Thompson, W5NYV, is among this year's "Women of Influence in Engineering," a list assembled each year by the San Diego Business Journal. 
Michelle Thompson, W5NYV
(Open Research Institute photo)
The ARRL Letter reports that Thompson, a third-generation ham, has been licensed for more than 25 years. Through amateur radio, she told the Letter, " I was drawn to the vocation of helping people navigate difficult rules and regulations that impeded their learning and success."
Thompson is heavily involved in amateur satellite service regulatory reform and is a member of the FCC's Technological Advisory Council. She is also chair of the San Diego section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and founder of the institute's Information Theory Society.
