Empowering Women Through Intersectionality

Lexi Hernandez (Ph.D.) is currently the executive director Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Workforce Initiatives within Global Human Resources at Raytheon Technologies (RTX). She is responsible for delivering integrated people solutions and maximizing strategic partnerships for attracting, developing, advancing and retaining under-represented talent to meet the evolving demands of our business and the needs of the workforce. In Lexi’s previous role she led DE&I, talent management, learning and development, and performance impact for the Raytheon Missiles & Defense business. In this role, she partnered closely with leaders and HR team members at all levels to assess the human capital needs and business priorities of the organization to develop bold strategies that promote equity and inclusion in talent practices, while enabling the accelerated growth of leaders. Lexi joined Raytheon in 2008 and has held a variety of learning, talent development and organizational effectiveness roles. Previously, Lexi conducted organizational assessments, design, and strategy alignment as well as promoted the discipline of change management and team effectiveness best practices. She also led the Learning and Development team and was responsible for the leadership development strategy, strategic development initiatives, new employee orientation, career development, and learning governance. Prior to joining Raytheon, Lexi worked at PetSmart Inc., where she created a career development program for retail store employees and managers across the United States. She also worked for TalentSmart, an international consulting firm and a leading provider of emotional intelligence assessments, training programs, and research. At TalentSmart she held the title of Director, Client Services and Programs where she worked closely with a variety of industries and organizations to identify and deploy customized learning solutions. Lexi holds a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Arizona, and a PhD in Industrial Organizational Psychology from Alliant International University. Lexi is based out of Tucson, Arizona with her husband and two sons.

Personal / Educational background: Born and raised in Mississippi (currently planning an escape…) Gymnast, softball player, band, choir, poet. Elementary Education degree from Mississippi College 2009 , 4 years teaching… love the kids, eek the job. Civil Engineering degree from Jackson State University 2017, nearly 7 years with RTX so far. Professional experiences: Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems (aka RIS, aka Raytheon), May 2016 – Pratt & Whitney starting Sept 2022. GLBTA (aka RAYPRIDE aka RTX Pride @ RIS): chapter launch at Forest 2017, Comms chair for RAYPRIDE South. Attended Out & Equal 3 years in a row so far (2 virtual, 1 in Vegas, baby!) My favorite things: Narrating audiobooks, reading stories aloud to anyone who will listen, creating YouTube videos with authors. Writing, editing, reading… buying books… usually reading them… talking about them a LOT. Dancing, singing, and songwriting! Improving my skill at arcade dance games… My favorite quote and why I have many, but here’s one: “Go to the place where what you create will never see the light of day if you don’t go.” Why? Because it’s important, it’s published in my book ☺, and it helped me during codependency recovery. Anything else you would like to share: I tend to overshare. It’s fun. Ask me things. #communicationiseverything

LaWanda Scott is the Associate Director, Operations Strategy & Customer Excellence for the West Palm Beach Maintenance Repair Operations business. LaWanda is responsible for leading operational transformation and customer excellence by implementation of operations excellence strategies, digital transformation, and CORE operating system to drive organizational synergy and alignment across the WPB site to meet customer commitments. LaWanda has over 10 years of Pratt & Whitney experience and has served in roles of increasing responsibility and prior to her current role, she was the Business Operations Manager for East Hartford Repair Operations, where she led a team to drive strategic business solutions and organizational alignment for materials, purchasing, customer service, digital transformation, contract management, employee skill based training, and other initiatives to support process improvements and efficiencies for the site. Prior to EHRO, LaWanda provided strategic, analytical, financial analysis and decision support as the 17/24K Product Cost Manager in Operations for the Commercial Engine Program to reduce operational costs by understanding and mitigating key risk elements of the engine’s cost profile. LaWanda holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Albertus Magnus College and an Executive MBA from Prairie View A&M University. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her family, researching her family history and creating a family tree. Additionally, she has a strong passion for working with non-profit organizations that support and help youth transition out of foster homes into adulthood. LaWanda also serves as the current Chair of the Raytheon Technologies Black Excellence Network Global Enterprise Board and serves as a mentor to young leaders across Pratt & Whitney and beyond.

Sarah is a Human Resources Talent Management professional with 20 years of experience. She currently serves as the Global Chair for RTX's Indigenous ERG RAIN - RTX Alliance of Indigenous Nations. Sarah is an Indigenous woman and mother raised in New Mexico and living in Arizona. She holds a Bachelor's and Master's in Business Administration from the University of New Mexico.

Yolanda has worked for Collins Aerospace since 2014. She started with Collins as the manager of the JSF team, managing pumps, gearboxes, and starters. Currently, she is a Platform Chief engineer for Electric Power Systems responsible for the Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Foreign Military platforms. Throughout her aerospace career, She worked on military and commercial aircraft fuel controls in several areas, from design and test to production and aftermarket. Before starting at Collins, Yolanda was the founding School Leader of another charter school, South Bend Career Academy, a vocationally focused 7-12th grade school in South Bend. She served there for over two years before returning to engineering. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, an MBA from Indiana Wesleyan University, Masters in Engineering Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She also has a Master of Theology from Anchor Seminary. She is a doctoral student at George Washington University in Engineering Management.