Witnessing and Engineering in the Evolution of Television Broadcasting

Dianne Streett, Ascend LA alum

Diane Streett, experienced engineer and entrepreneur

by Martha Flores Perez

Diane Streett's first job in television broadcasting was in 1980 when giant satellite dishes were popular and meant access. She learned the ropes as an operator of broadcasting equipment, learning to become an engineer on the job. As a television broadcast engineer, she has traveled the world, ensuring signals reached millions of televisions worldwide. Often, she was the only woman on the team, working on electronic equipment and decision-maker as director of engineering at FOX and NBC. 

In this next phase of entrepreneurship, Ms. Streett's years in broadcast engineering demonstrated a passion for this work and carried knowledge. In 2014, she launched SysteMatic, a systems integration company. She says, "Whatever the customer needs from end to end to build a system. She decides on the architecture and the type of equipment, installs it, wires it, and maintains it. That is what I do now!" Currently, Internet Protocol television allows for streaming; thus, as technology evolves, so does the skill base required for this industry.

As a woman, entrepreneurship in telecommunications is difficult when most business-to-business commerce is through close networking, where most are men in the industry. However, while participating at Ascend LA, Ms. Street has re-written her elevator pitch by highlighting her recent successes. Even after the program ended, she kept in touch with Loyola Marymount University's Prof. Jason DeMello, "I [Ms. Streett] called him up afterward to talk some more, and he coached me on how to tell my story. The way he expressed it was great!" Prof. DeMello highlighted SysteMatic's high-profit margins due to Ms. Streett's business savvy. Figuratively, Ms. Streett continues in that transportable station she began more than 40 years ago, but now she is the driver.