Amanda Goodson, Ph.D., is currently a senior leader in program management excellence at Raytheon Missile Systems (RMS). Her trailblazing success is encouraging upwardly-mobile women to aspire to positions of leadership.
During her career, she has overcome racism and sexism to become the successful professional she is today and continues to inspire women in STEM. Click here to join us as we honor and celebrate the 2022 Women of Color STEM Award winners.
“The success we experience depends on the mental image we hold onto in our thoughts. What we focus on continuously, we will experience,” says Goodson.
For over 25 years, she has held certifications as a Raytheon Six Sigma expert. Currently, Goodson is responsible for driving strategy in select program activities at RMS and deploying a sustainable model for business growth.
Before this, she was a leader in information technology customer engagement. Goodson was also the director for IT process integration. As a quality and mission assurance lead for two product lines, she ensured that products and services were equally distributed to a diverse group of customers.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion have always been important aspects of Goodson’s career.
She has served as a chairperson for Advancing Minorities' Interest in Engineering (AMIE), a leading organization that develops industry, government, and university partnerships to achieve diversity in the engineering workforce, and represented Raytheon on the AMIE board of directors.
Prior to joining Raytheon in 2003, Goodson spent 15 years as a NASA aerospace engineer before being appointed as a senior executive at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL. She was the first female senior executive in Safety & Mission Assurance for Propulsion Systems.
She was also the first Black woman appointed as director of safety and mission assurance with over 35 successful launches during her leadership at the Kennedy Space Center Launch Facility.
Goodson was named the federal government’s “Supervisor of the Year” and earned the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. She also received the Southwest Alliance leadership Award and was selected as a Tucson Woman on the Move.
In addition, Goodson is a certified John Maxwell speaker, trainer, and coach, and has been a keynote speaker for clients such as NASA, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Aerospace Engineers, YWCA, and major Department of Defense contractors.
Goodson has also authored 16 career books where she talks about her struggles and successes as a woman of color in STEM.
Her latest books include Astronomical Leadership, as well as Authority of a Leader, and How to Unlock Your Full Potential: 11 Keys to Leader Success. “The representation of women varies widely across STEM occupations. Women make up a large majority of all workers in health-related jobs, but remain underrepresented in other job clusters, such as the physical sciences, computing, and engineering.”
Click here to join us as we honor and celebrate the 2022 Women of Color STEM Award winners.
