Women of Color STEM Conference Special Recognition Award winner Ursula English is vice president of Environment, Health, and Safety at The Boeing Company.
HER STORY:
From a very young age, Ursula loved airplanes. She decided to follow in her family’s footsteps and join the United States Air Force. Her father was a Korean War Veteran and her great aunt was a World War II Veteran.Sitting in the Air Force recruiter’s office trying to decide which job track to pursue, a fellow female enlistee said, “I don’t know why anyone would want to be a mechanic.”
To which Ursula replied, “Someone has to fix the plane you’re flying to basic training.”
WHAT SHE DOES NOW: Appointed Vice President of Environment, Health & Safety in April 2014, Ursula oversees an organization of 720 employees and controls a yearly budget of $205 million. She is responsible for leading Boeing’s enterprise-wide safety standards, the establishment of a zero-injury culture, and the development of an enhanced environment strategy for the company, launching in 2018. She is also Executive Vice President of Programs for the 13,000-member Boeing Management Association, a position she was elected to in 2015.
GIVING BACK: Ursula focuses her personal service toward women, addicts, homeless persons, or children who have lost a parent. She is currently an active Board Member for Residence XII, a women-only recovery center in Washington State. She is also a member of OSAT which is a non-profit organization aimed at helping recovering addicts and their families. In the past, Ursula has been a volunteer at Comfort Zone Camp, a grief camp for children.
