Published Feb 03, 2023
The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) has more than 2,000 peer-elected members who are ranked among the world’s most accomplished engineers. Notable members include the 2009 Women of Color Technologist of the Year, Norma B. Clayton. She was elected in 2022.
Ms. Clayton was recognized for leadership in transforming manufacturing processes and supply chain management, and for innovative training programs for commercial aerospace industries.
She was vice president for learning, training, and development at The Boeing Company when she received the 2009 Technologist of the Year award at the Women of Color in STEM Conference.
In that role, she partnered with business units and functions to design training programs focused on ensuring that Boeing employees have the requisite skills. Prior, she led the company’s sourcing initiative, one of four launched to increase growth and productivity.
She also held several leadership roles within Boeing Defense, Space, and Security, including vice president of supplier management and procurement, and vice president of the maintenance and modification centers, with overall responsibility for the center in San Antonio, and tactical aircraft modification centers in Arizona and Florida.
In 1995, Clayton joined McDonnell Douglas as director of the machining center. She later became the division director of fabrication in St. Louis. Before joining McDonnell Douglas, she held leadership roles in manufacturing, supply chain management, program management, and plant operations at Lockheed Martin, General Electric, RCA, and General Motors.
Prior to her election as Chair of the Board of Trustees at Tuskegee University, Clayton served as First Vice Chair. She is a member of Leadership America, the American Society of Industrial Engineers, and the National Association of African Americans in Human Resources.
She earned a master’s degree in business management and human resource development from Webster University, a bachelor’s degree in industrial administration from the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and is pursuing a Ph.D.
