The stakes are high at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, a leader in aircraft, space systems and advanced technologies that are critical to preserving freedom and advancing scientific discovery. It’s where Beth Green applies lessons she learned while attending Loyola Marymount University. Green earned her MS in Systems Engineering in 2005 after obtaining a MBA in 2002.
“We have people whose lives depend on what we do, so we take our work very seriously,” she says. As the senior manager for Global Supply Chain Integration, Green has worked with domestic and international suppliers and internal teams to continuously improve operations.
Green’s responsibilities require a combination of engineering, financial acumen and “soft” skills. “We have a lot of joint initiatives across the company and with suppliers, so we need to be able to collaborate, communicate and share and accept best practices.”
Green applies lean methods to identify waste and improve performance for the organization’s stakeholders and customers. It’s an approach she enhanced in Professor Bohdan “Bo” Oppenheim’s courses, who has taught at LMU for 30-plus years.
“He is one of the premier lean experts,” says Green. She nominated Oppenheim for the Los Angeles Council of Scientists and Engineers’ Distinguished Engineering Educator Award, which he won in 2007.
Systems Engineering Program Director Fred Brown also played a key role in Green’s experience. “He’s really passionate about the program and makes a huge difference. He takes the time to sit down with prospective students, and once you’re in, he’s a single point of contact if you have any challenges.”
Green says that smaller class sizes, major offerings and location influenced her decision to attend LMU, already holding the strong values represented by the Jesuit tradition.
“It was great to be in an environment where the values, such as ethics and humanity, are core to the education, and after you graduate you still hold those values in the workplace — that strong sense of community and giving back. It stays with you.”
Indeed, Green says she made “life-long friendships” with classmates and now works with many of them. “I know what they are capable of and I support their activities.”
Considering that Green hires and manages 25 to 30 interns each year, that’s good news for current and future Seaver students.
“I tell people who are considering LMU that I would do everything exactly the same.”