Smashing the Glass Ceiling with Collins Aerospace

Judy Bridgeman is the Executive Director of Engineering at Collins Aerospace, where she leads engineering initiatives and product development. With over 25 years of experience in engineering leadership, she has a proven track record in managing large global organizations, strategic planning, and process optimization. Since joining Collins Aerospace in December 2014, Judy has overseen budgets exceeding $750 million and has driven advanced technology implementation for electronic systems.

Prior to her role at Collins, Judy served as Senior Director at Harley-Davidson Motor Company and held leadership positions at FCA Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Ford Motor Company. She began her career at General Motors as a Manager of Engineering.

Judy holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology, a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Kettering University, and an MBA from Michigan State University.

She has received several accolades, including the Black Engineer of the Year President’s Award in 2008 and the BEYA/Women of Color Legacy Award in 2011.

Jennifer C. Schopfer is the president of the Connected Aviation Solutions business unit, focused on advancing Collins’ connected ecosystem solutions. In her role, she is responsible for aligning a comprehensive set of digital capabilities that enable the development of end-to-end solutions across flight operations and predictive maintenance that help customers turn data into value and, ultimately, increase their efficiency, reduce their costs and improve the sustainability of their operations.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina.

Laura Skola is the senior director of Engineering for Integrated Strategic Solutions (ISS) within Mission Systems at Collins Aerospace, a business of RTX. Her team is responsible for the capture and execution of programs and has supported two multibillion dollar proposal submissions for the recapitalization of nuclear command, control and communications (NC3) platforms.

Prior to her current role, she held multiple leadership positions, including the director of Engineering, principal Engineering manager and senior Engineering manager at Collins. She also led an engineering team in Toulouse, France for two years, developing military display systems. Laura has contributed to multiple business unit improvement projects, including the deployment of the Application Lifecycle Management (ALM) tool, co-leading the Engineering Leadership community of practice, leading the Tactical Picture Management SKILL Development team and leading hiring and ALM migration for Mission Systems Integration.

Laura served as the site executive sponsor for Collins’ Pride employee resource group (ERG), held the vice president chair for Collins’ Generations ERG and participated in the Women In Line Leadership (WILL Rise) Cohort. She later served as a mentor in the ERG, and was a leading member of the Collins Software Discipline Council. She holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa.

As Chief Information Security Officer for Collins Aerospace, Alexandra leads a diverse team of cybersecurity and compliance professionals to protect the company’s digital ecosystem. She also sponsors the RTX Cyber Engagement Council to drive an inclusive, learning and collaborative culture that makes our organization feel like the right "home" for everyone. Previously, Alexandra spent the first decade of her career with Booz Allen Hamilton, a technology and management consulting firm.