Beth Mitchell named 50th Annual Woman of Achievement
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PITTSFIELD, Mass. — For 50 years, the Berkshire Business and Professional Women organization has been honoring a local woman for her achievements and commitment to the community with the "Woman of Achievement" award every fall. Past recipients include such outstanding community leaders as Dr. Ellen Kennedy of Berkshire Community College, Christine Singer of United Cerebral Palsy, Laurie Norton-Moffat of Norman Rockwell Museum and Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Company.
This year's honor goes to Beth Mitchell, director of engineering for Mission Integration Systems at General Dynamics Advanced Information Systems. Mitchell will be recognized at a dinner event celebrating National Women in Business Week, on Monday, Oct. 20, at the Pittsfield Country Club. Brenda Burdick will emcee the ceremony.
“This year is the 50th year Berkshire Business and Professional Women have honored a woman in our community with this award," said Kim Baker, chairwoman of the Woman of Achievement Committee. "Beth is wonderful addition to the past 49 ladies that have also been recipients of this award.”
Mitchell said she is humbled to received the award.
"This award means a great deal to me because of what it stands for. I hope that I can be an inspiration to other women in the community," she said. "As a working mother, balancing work and home life can be challenging, but we can have a family, be involved in the community and have a very demanding job."
At General Dynamics, Mitchell leads 1,550 engineers across the country in developing mission-critical systems and solutions. She began her career at General Electric Defense Systems in 1984 while interning from Boston University College of Engineering. After earning a degree in electrical engineering in 1986, she joined GE fulltime as a member of the Manufacturing Management Program.
Over the next 21 years, Mitchell held several positions as GE transitioned to General Dynamics, including Manufacturing Technical Team Lead, Senior Producibility Engineer, Drafting and Documentation Standards Manager, Configuration and Data Management Manager, Systems Engineering Director, Quality Director, Systems Integration and Support Director, and Littoral Combat Systems Operations Senior Manager. She left General Dynamics in 2006 to become Design, Technology and Quality Vice President for Unistress Corporation. She returned to GD in 2010 to align all subcontractors in support of LCS Ship Coronado. As LCS Manufacturing Senior Program Manager, she led the transition from design to manufacturing.
Mitchell completed GE’s New Management Development Course and was trained in the Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI), leading the effort to obtain CMMI Level 5 approval for numerous General Dynamics sites. She obtained the Juran Institute Six Sigma Black Belt and is certified in Program Management. She added Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Accredited Professional, a green building rating system, to her repertoire of certifications. Most recently she has become certified in Earned Value Management Systems.
In the community, Mitchell has served on the boards of Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, Central Berkshire County Development Corporation, 1-Berkshire, Pittsfield Catholic Schools, Pittsfield Economic Development Authority, and Boys and Girls Club. She serves on the Berkshire Applied Technology Council Board, the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Council and recently joined the Massachusetts Business Roundtable.
Developing strong young women is her passion through service with the Committee at UMASS College of Engineering for Growing Women in Engineering; Women on TechPath; STEM conferences (including mentoring); Girls Incorporated, chairing “She Knows Where She is Going Award” (herself the 2011 recipient); and the United Way’s Committee to Reduce Teen Pregnancy.
Mitchell has been married to Monty for more than 20 years and they have two daughters. Their oldest daughter, Victoria, graduated from The University of Rhode Island School of Nursing in 2013 with her bachelors degree and works at Bay State Hospital in Springfield as a maternity nurse. Alexandra, their youngest, is a senior at Saint Joseph High School in Pittsfield. She is actively looking at colleges for entrance in the fall of 2015.
"My mother is smiling down on me from heaven," Mitchell said. "Her guidance, love and nurturing helped me to be a strong, independent woman. Also, my husband, children and extended family and friends have provided me with incredible support every day."
Tickets to the Oct. 20 dinner are $50; money raised at the event will go toward BBPW’s scholarship fund for Berkshire County women who are going to school to try to further their careers. Individuals and businesses are also encouraged to sponsor a full scholarship in Mitchell's honor for $500. For more information, contact Baker at 413-243-0467 or kim@tooleinsurance.com.
