Neil Gillespie Receives 2009 Society of Women Engineers Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award
Press Release from the The Society of Women Engineers
CHICAGO – October 16, 2009 – The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) is pleased to announce Neil Gillespie as a recipient of the 2009 Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award for his advocacy of both junior- and senior-level women, helping them advance to leadership positions within the company, and for his pursuit of diversity across the company.
Gillespie is an executive vice president of the strategy and technology consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, where he is responsible for leading the firm’s Huntsville, Ala. market, including providing support to the Missile Defense Agency, the Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command, and other government agencies. His home office is at the firm’s headquarters in McLean, Va.
“Neil Gillespie has proactively mentored and sponsored numerous professional women at Booz Allen Hamilton throughout his career,” says Nora Lin, SWE president. “Under his advocacy, women now hold nearly 30 percent of the consulting firm’s leadership positions, and his creation of the Senior African American Women’s Forum provides networking opportunities for African American senior associates.”
Gillespie began his career as a Navy Anti-Submarine Warfare Officer aboard the USS Richard E. Byrd, where he gathered and evaluated subsurface information regarding enemy submarines. In 1995, Gillespie retired from the Naval Reserves as a Commander in the United States Navy. Since his retirement, Gillespie has served in various positions at Booz Allen, working closely with the firm’s U.S. Navy business.
“With a passion and commitment to advance women in engineering and technology, Neil has been a strong advocate for women at both junior and senior levels,” says Natalie Givans, senior vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton. “Because of Neil's vision and dedication, hands-on mentoring of women is considered a key success factor for women in the firm and is now a formal part of our Women's Agenda for the future."
As part of Booz Allen Hamilton’s Diversity and Inclusion Team, Gillespie created a forum focused on developing and advancing African American women associates. In addition, he implements and participates in regular networking and mentoring events for this program. Another successful effort he developed benefits adoptive parents, not just birth parents. Through this program, adoptive parents may have two weeks of leave for each adoption event to create a bond and a home for the child.
Gillespie holds a B.S. degree in oceanography from the United States Naval Academy.
The Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award celebrates and recognizes a man, company or institution with significant contributions to the acceptance and advancement of women in engineering.
The 2009 Rodney D. Chipp Memorial Award recipients will be recognized on October 16 at WE09, the Society’s Annual Conference. WE09 will take place at the Long Beach Convention Center, October 15-17, in Long Beach, Calif. More than 5,000 attendees include collegians and professionals from the industry, government and academia.
About SWE
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE), founded in 1950, is a not-for-profit educational and service organization. SWE is the driving force that establishes engineering as a highly desirable career aspiration for women. SWE empowers women to succeed and advance in those aspirations and receive the recognition and credit for their life-changing contributions and achievements as engineers and leaders. For more information about the Society please visit www.swe.org or call (312) 596-5223.
