Her Story
About Jonna
Jonna Gerken, F.SWE, F.IISE, is a process-driven engineering and project leader with more than 30 years of experience spanning the defense and aerospace industry. Currently serving as Project Engineering Fellow at Pratt & Whitney, she has built her career across manufacturing, configuration management, program management, and production readiness, guiding both established product lines and emerging technologies. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Management Engineering and an MBA in Technology Development, both earned at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and was later awarded an honorary Doctor of Philosophy in Humane Letters from Quinnipiac University in recognition of her leadership advancing women in engineering.
Throughout her career, Gerken has been known for strengthening how teams operate, coaching and mentoring colleagues, and pursuing continuous process improvement rather than centering her impact on individual technical output. A defining chapter of her professional life was her tenure as President of the Society of Women Engineers, where she guided a global community of tens of thousands of members and allies, following earlier terms as President-Elect and Director of Membership Initiatives within the same organization. Her long-standing involvement with SWE, together with her Fellow status in both SWE and the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers, reflects a career-long commitment to championing diversity and inclusion within engineering and manufacturing.
Gerken's contributions have been widely recognized, including the RTX Visionary Leader Award, the Influential Women in Manufacturing honor, the STEP Award from the Manufacturing Institute, and the Pratt & Whitney Diversity & Inclusion Award, among others. Beyond her corporate role, she remains active in the engineering community as an advisory board member for the University of New Haven's Industrial and Systems Engineering program and as a longtime volunteer judge for the Connecticut Invention Convention. Guided by the values of respect and trust, Gerken continues to advocate for persistence and inclusion among the next generation of engineers, encouraging young women in particular to bring their creativity and perspective to an industry that needs them.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jonna
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to being a strong communicator and an attentive listener, and to consistently showing up for people when they need support.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best advice I ever received was to leave a legacy in every role I hold. That legacy doesn't need to be a huge, world-changing achievement — it simply means making a meaningful contribution so that when people look back, they can see what I built, improved, or made better in that organization.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would tell young women entering this field to be persistent and never give up. The path can be challenging, and at times it may feel unfair or biased, but their perspective, creativity, and input are essential to the industry, and we need them to stay the course.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
On a personal level, I see the challenge as ensuring teams fully understand how to manage large, expensive, long-term projects effectively. More broadly, our industry is facing a workforce development challenge, as a large cohort of professionals nears late career and retirement, making it critical that we transfer their knowledge to the next generation.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Respect and trust are the values I hold most important. I treat everyone with equal respect, and I extend trust by assuming people have good intentions until proven otherwise.
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