Stories

In honor of Women’s History Month, KBR’s Oklahoma City’s office recognizes the outstanding work each of the women in this facility performs for customers.

KBR Oklahoma City’s women build the future, whether designing and manufacturing prototypes to fly on advanced aircraft, or crafting the scientific and technological reports that explain them. Being at the forefront of innovation compels them to push forward and continue growing in their ranks.

Bill Martin, a senior program manager for the Government Solutions U.S., Engineering Business Unit, noted that as its Oklahoma City facility has grown, more women with engineering and science backgrounds joined the team. In fact, KBR’s 101st team member in Oklahoma City is Margaret Leonard, project manager for one of the site’s new sustainment engineering contracts.

Leonard said her math-oriented temperament fits with her position. “My dad was an engineer,” Leonard said. “I like math. I like to follow its rules, study it, and take it further. Plus, it was neat because when I went to college, I had professors for whom I was the first woman in their class.”

Although mechanical engineer Emily Hendrickson learned as a child that women were rare in the field, she had a role model to help her break new ground.

“I saw that as a challenge,” she said. “I grew up in a household where my mom was an engineer. Science and technology were encouraged. They [mom and dad] worked really hard to make sure we had every opportunity we wanted. I always found that the science fair was one of my favorite things to do growing up.”

Being a part of science and technology’s evolving picture strongly motivates her involvement in the industry, said Lauren Arvay, a technical editor and writer at KBR in Oklahoma City.

“I like knowing what’s coming and seeing new technology change and evolve,” Arvay said. “it’s exciting to see the future happen in front of me.”

Project manager Debra Butler said she learned to write code on her first computer and used it to build a video game—and then there was no looking back.

“I always leaned toward science and technology from a young age,” she said. “I like working in aerospace because I’m working on something small that’s part of something larger. Aerospace is so big that it connects everything, from the earth to the stars. It’s great to be part of something so monumental.”

That’s similar to the motivation of technical publications specialist Chloe Flanagan when she joined KBR in Oklahoma City. “Aerospace technology is fascinating to me. When I found an opportunity to join the field, I jumped on it,” she said.

Hands-on inspiration

KBR Oklahoma City’s facility is located just across the street from Tinker Air Force Base, an important maintenance depot where the historic B-1, B-52, E-3, and KC-135 aircraft are refitted and maintained. KBR has numerous projects on several different contracts associated with the base.

As a logistics administrative specialist, Tracy Kitchin said all she has to do is look up when one of those aircraft flyover for inspiration and a sense of satisfaction and belonging.

“I think it’s challenging. I enjoy supporting the U.S. Air Force. When I see one of the planes fly over, I think about how I help to keep it flying,” Kitchin said.

For others, the drive to have a hands-on influence with different projects provides strong motivation. Electrical engineer Cassie Wade said the path to science and technology is one that allows her to solve challenges.

“I like being given a problem and figuring out the design necessary to solve,” Wade said. “I just really liked math growing up. I felt like engineering would be a good combination of creativity and math.”

The use of her skills is the unexpected outcome that keeps technical editor and writer Sarah Kirby intrigued by her job. Unexpected, she said, because she hadn’t realized how much she would connect with the engineering world.

“I’m continually learning from my engineers, and I find we have much more in common than I first thought,” Kirby said. “I am able to use my skills in language arts for technology and science. There’s a place for my abilities despite my preconceptions.”            

For mechanical designer Lisa Wayland, a tech school class on drafting hooked her to science and technology even before she graduated high school, and gave her a chance to work on everything from deep space probes to computer memory. She’s now delving into 3-D modeling for the company.

“I enjoy 3-D drafting, graphic design, and 3-D printing,” she said. “I like building things on a computer, seeing them manufactured, and then seeing the product work. Technology is fascinating. It keeps changing and I like staying at the forefront of it.”

Family ties         

For one of the newest engineers at KBR’s Oklahoma City facility, Sarah Lockridge, a 2019 aerospace engineering graduate, planes flying overhead fascinated her during lunchtime when she would visit her dad, an air traffic controller. She loved watching the planes take off and land; they looked graceful and improbable to her. Her goal was to find a way to work on planes, too, so she chose to work for KBR to help keep them flying.

“It’s a majestic beast flying in the sky,” Lockridge said. “Even with a degree in aerospace engineering I think it’s amazing that a hunk of metal can take off and fly like that.”

“My father was an engineer and so was my grandfather before him,” mechanical engineer Katherine Bornholdt-Smith said, underscoring how much her family encouraged her abilities. “When I was little, my parents bought me electronics and things for me to take apart. I like to find out how things work. My parents definitely fostered my curiosity.”

The same goes for mechanical engineer Alyssa Schneider. “My grandfather was an electrical engineer,” she said. “My mother always told me I should be an engineer because I liked building things and was good at math. I liked solving the problem then, and I still do today. It feels satisfying and unique to do something no one has done before.”