IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2023 - 14

Burnett at the National Museum of U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio (2021).
oppor tunity would allow Burnett
to start her own business unit within
a small consulting company. During
her time there, Burnett grew a nearly
seven-figure business designing service
management implementations within
larger companies, acquired global certifications,
developed her sales techniques,
and learned she was a great
mentor and leader.
" I'd always known I could sell people
on my ideas, but it was wonderful
to learn I could sell a product, create a
strategy, train people, and solve a problem, "
she shares. " Those really became
my passions: strategy, business development,
and people development, and it's
when I took the pivot from IT into business. "
As happy as she was with that job,
when the recruiter called (again!) urging
her to consider a role with a large power
company because it would give her global
experience, she took the meeting and,
later, the job in global business strategy
and customer continuity.
It wasn't until a family decision to
move to the Washington, D.C. area that
Burnett took a job as an IT program
manager with Northrop Grumman, a
decision she made because " I wanted to
join a company where I knew there was
opportunity to expand on my wide-ranging
experiences and skill sets, and build a
long-lasting career with a single organization, "
she says.
14
That has certainly been the case
over her 16 years there. " I've been in
every sector of Northrop Grumman,
worked internationally and domestically,
and I could not be happier with
the opportunities I've had, " says Burnett.
" The people are great at lots
of companies, but the culture is not
always the same, so Northrop Grumman
is my home. "
She is quick to point out that not every
job change is a promotion. Although she
has been approached with new opportunities
within the company every few
years, she has changed roles just as often
because she recognized something was
not the right fit. " Northrop Grumman
has been a great champion for me, "
she adds, citing as an example, " I felt I
didn't understand the finance side of the
business well enough, so I pursued my
(MBA) master of business administration
with support of my leadership and
the help of the company's tuition assistance
programs. "
This latest change to sustainability
director for Northrop Grumman Space
Systems reflects another aspect of the
company culture that Burnett appreciates.
" My incredible boss suggested
that I take the role because he knew
that this new job aligned with my passion, "
she explains. After sponsoring the
employee resource group and partnering
with Northrop Grumman's chief
IEEE WOMEN IN ENGINEERING MAGAZINE DECEMBER 2023
sustainability officer on roadshows and
other aspects of employee engagement,
Burnett's commitment to this area was
well known.
Now, her job is to work with her colleagues
to identify the business, financial,
people, and operations decisions
the company is making to improve its
footprint, handprint, and blueprint.
As she outlines, " footprint " entails
what Northrop Grumman is doing to
improve the impact of its facilities and
limit resource usage, while " handprint "
refers to how the business reaches out
Burnett in Norfolk, Virginia, on the
morning she passed her U.S. Coast
Guard Captain's test (2020).
IEEE Women in Engineering Magazine - December 2023

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