NSBE - Convention 2020 - 9

SUPPORTERS
to (NSBE's Annual Convention).... If an organization was linked
to our mission in STEM, we supported them. So I didn't feel there
were any issues with that."
Northrop Grumman is a longstanding member of NSBE's
Board of Corporate Affiliates (BCA). Over the past 10 years, the
corporation and the Northrop Grumman Foundation have committed nearly $3.5 million to initiatives ranging from support of
NSBE's Summer Engineering Experience for Kids (SEEK) and
NSBE chapters at schools to establishing the Northrop Grumman
Foundation-NSBE Integrated Pipeline Program. The global
enterprise also provides nonfinancial contributions to NSBE that
include employees' service as mentors of NSBE students, among
other activities.
GOOD INVESTMENTS
"I like the fact that we were a little bit in the lead in diversity,
Dr. Jones joined the National Society of Black Engineers during
at least among aerospace and defense companies," Dr. Jones says.
his time at Georgia Tech, and he credits the Society with helping
"We had a lot of metrics and data, and we were one of the first
him get through his undercompanies in our sector to put
graduate years by providing
diversity and inclusion into our
"mutual support.... I was
performance ratings. So it afinvolved mainly by participatfected our performance reviews
ing in informal study groups
and potential for pay increases.
but also with social events on
Achieving diversity, inclusion
campus. Back then, the graduand engagement goals, includation rate at Georgia Tech was
ing feedback via employee
relatively low, and there was a
surveys, was as important as
lot of clustering of students to
financial and other outcomes.
help us get through school."
Relative to our external bench"In grad school, NSBE meant
marks, Northrop Grumman is
scholarships and access to
much better than the aeropeople and networking and
space and defense industry
resources to help get through,"
as a whole, and the company
he continues. "So the reason
receives a lot of awards for
NSBE is important to me per- "...The reason NSBE is important to me personally
diversity and inclusion."
sonally is because it helped me is because it helped me achieve the things I've
OPPORTUNITY
achieve the things I've done in
done in life, and it continues to do that for other RARE
life, and it continues to do that
Dr. Jones says the next
people."
for other people. If it weren't
few years will be a rare time
for organizations like NSBE
of opportunity to increase
and NACME and the NAACP, I
the number of women and
wouldn't have been able to afford to go to college. I paid for all of
underrepresented minorities in his industry, with strong economic
my college myself, through scholarships."
growth in aerospace and defense and nationwide, and with a large
NSBE's investment in him has paid off well for Dr. Jones and
number of retirements from the workforce.
for NSBE's mission. Last year, he gave a large, unrestricted gift to
"So in my work, about 50 percent of the hires over the last couthe Society's general fund, and he recently joined NSBE's most
ple of years were people of color or women," he says. "Because
committed long-term supporters, the lifetime members.
we were growing, there were a lot of openings."
Dr. Jones says that, in his experience, a willingness to "give
His retirement plan is "to have no plan," says Dr. Jones, who is
back" to their community and to work to increase diversity in
married and has two sons: a college freshman and a seventh gradSTEM is not unusual among Black senior executives, and that he
er. During much of his career, he logged a tremendous number of
hasn't seen those efforts discouraged by their employers.
hours studying, researching, traveling, at meetings or otherwise at
"I have found, at least at Northrop Grumman, and with the
work. But he says "sacrifice" is not a word that ever came to mind.
people I've talked to, that there's such a push for diversity that
"I've never had that view of it," he says. "I just picked the things
there's somewhat of an encouragement for diverse groups to use
in life that I thought were important. And I did them and I balthe diversity to improve the whole. For example, if I wanted to
anced it the best I could."
go to (North Carolina A&T State University) to recruit, I did. If I
"I don't have any real regrets, other than maybe not helping
wanted to go to Tuskegee University, I did. If I wanted our commore people," he says. "You always tell yourself you could probpany to support BEYA, we did. We sent 300 or 400 employees
ably do more." ■
University of Dayton, where he continued his education while
serving as a captain in the U.S. Air Force. Leaving the active
duty Air Force after five years, he earned his Ph.D. in aerospace
engineering from the University of Maryland, College Park, then
joined Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation as an acoustics engineer
and rose to the management level. Eight years later, he joined
Northrop Grumman Corporation as a program director and
became a sector vice president six years hence. In his last roles at
Northrop Grumman, he led businesses at more than 500 locations
throughout the U.S. and 29 other countries, with a customer base
including the U.S. Departments of Defense, Energy, Homeland
Security, State and Interior, as well as NASA.

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NSBE MAGAZINE * CONVENTION 2020

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NSBE - Convention 2020

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