Nardos Wills, NBCFAE Reg. Treasurer, Central Region Engineer

Nardos Wills, who grew up in Ethiopia, faced more than gender differences during the course of her career. Her father, a civil engineer, introduced her to the engineering field.

“Opportunities to pursue higher education were limited in my country,” said Wills, a state airport engineer in the Safety and Standards Branch in Kansas City, Mo. “There was only one engineering school and access was highly competitive — especially for women.”

Prospective students had to pass an extensive entry exam to be accepted into the school. When Wills was not accepted, her father made the “ultimate sacrifice” for her and her four siblings.  “Wanting so much for us to have better opportunities, he abandoned his career and status by moving us to the United States where we could pursue our educational goals,” she said.  “Since my father’s degree was not honored in the United States, he had to accept minimum wage jobs in order to support our family while we attended college.” 

She eventually overcame the language barrier after her family’s move to the United States. She took English speaking, reading, and writing course before earning her bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the University of Kansas. After a few years of searching for a position, she landed a job in Airports.

 “I never thought I would be working in the aviation field, but I am forever grateful to the FAA for giving me this opportunity to experience one of the most rewarding careers,” Wills said.

More internships and mentoring opportunities for young women would help further diversity the field, she said.

“While it is much better for women engineers in America than other developing countries, there is still a perception that engineering is a man’s job,” Wills said. “So in that sense, we still have work to do to ensure that the paradigm is changed.”

Eleanor Williams was the first black female air traffic controller in the country. The Texas native and mother of seven began working for the FAA in 1963 as a janitor.

Three months after working on the cleaning crew, williams took another job working at a cafeteria hospital before attending free classes at a local community college to further her education. After stenography and secretarial training, Williams re-applied to the FAA and obtained a job of FAA secretary in 1965.

Williams continued to seek more money because, as she said, “the babysitter was costing an arm and a leg.” Without realizing she had broken a barrier, Williams completed the controller entrance exam and began training at the Anchorage Flight Service Station in 1968.  It wasn’t until 1980 that Williams learned that she was the first black female air traffic controller.

William's courage to move forward sparked other black women to follow - women like Laverne Reid, who became the second black female air traffic controller. In 1976, Williams and Reid formed an Anchorage chapter of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women. In the meantime, Williams was continuously promoted to train controllers in Kansas City, Washington D.C., Atlanta and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

In 1997, Williams retired from the FAA as an executive director. She was inducted into the Black Aviation Hall of Fame in 2001.

She died on April 22, 2011 at the age of 73.

Source: Blackamericaweb.com