Amanda Simpson is an advisor and consultant on aerospace, energy, and DEI. She is a nationally renowned speaker and has presented at corporations, government agencies, civic organizations, conferences, and colleges around the country on technology and aerospace innovation as well as gender and diversity.

Formally she was Vice President for Research and Technology and Head of Sustainability at Airbus Americas. In the private sector she has also worked at Hughes Helicopters, Douglas Aircraft, Hughes Aircraft, and Raytheon Missile Systems where she was the Manager and Project Pilot of Captive Flight Test Operations and Deputy Director of the Advanced Missiles Systems Product Line. Amanda served in the Obama Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Operational Energy. Previously she was the Executive Director of the U.S. Army Office of Energy Initiatives, Special Assistant to the Army Acquisition Executive, and Senior Technical Adviser to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Ms. Simpson has been the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions including the 2004 Tucson YWCA Woman on the Move, 2005 Arizona Human Rights Fund Individual Award, the 2015 National Conference for College Women Student Leaders Women of Distinction Award, was named an Outstanding Alumni of Harvey Mudd College in 2018, inducted into the LGBTQ Victory Institute Hall of Fame in 2022 and received the 2023 Out & Equal LGBTQ+ Corporate Advocate ‘Outie’. She is a recipient of the Secretary of Defense Medal for Outstanding Public Service and the Department of Defense Pride Civilian Leadership Award. Her team received the DARPA Award for Significant Technical Achievement in 1999.

Ms. Simpson earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Harvey Mudd College, a Master of Science in Engineering from California State University, and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Arizona. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is also a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. She was appointed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and serves on the Federal Aviation Administrations’ Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC).

Ms. Simpson holds both an Airline Transport Pilot certificate and a Certified Flight Instructor license and has logged over 3,000 hours of flying in more than 60 different types of aircraft including float planes, flying boats, unmanned drones, helicopters, light aircraft, and multi-engine jets.