But look closer, and it becomes apparent that Dr. Parker has quietly built an entirely different, concurrent activity track: Just as he is noted for driving into uncharted territory in the construction of highly efficient airliners, he has similarly become a force boosting STEM education and access to STEM careers for minorities. Dr. Parker’s 21-year career at Boeing has been marked by a tireless promotion of education.

Throughout his working life, he has demonstrated a deep awareness of the need for active outreach and recruitment of students to engage in STEM activities and a commitment to helping the education system attract and prepare students to enter STEM careers.

Born in New York City, he was the second of five children on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where he attended public school and learned to play the tuba, trombone, bass, percussion and, basketball. His musical talents got him into the All-City Borough Orchestra and Band, and later he had the opportunity to sing, dance and perform on stage at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center.

Sports Gave Him Grounding

But athletics mattered to the young George Parker, too. He grew up shooting hoops with some pretty talented friends: Nate (Tiny) Archibald, Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Julius (Dr. J) Erving, Earl (the Goat) Manigault, and others who went on to star in professional sports. Upon high school graduation, he won a basketball scholarship to St. Martin’s College and spent all four years as a starter. As a senior, he attracted the attention of the selection board for Little All-American honors; the year before, and again during his senior year, he took First-Team All Northwest honors.

It may not be so obvious now, but those sports experiences helped prepare the young George Parker for the educational mentoring and coaching he pursues so passionately today. Parker began as a civil engineering major, but then switched to chemistry. In his senior year, he was named to “Who’s Who among Students in American Universities and Colleges” and also was drafted by the Portland Trailblazers of the NBA. En route to a stint with the Baltimore Bullets in 1972, he got drafted again, this time by the U.S. Army, where he spent two years as a scientist and engineer.

Coaching on the Intellectual Level

Dr. Parker has become a fantastic career coach during his 21 years at Boeing. One of his passions is mentoring young engineers, helping them understand the Boeing culture of getting jobs done and meeting their personal goals. He also has helped develop the Edmonds Community College Materials Science Technology Program, serving on the advisory committee since 2002 and working within Boeing to coordinate contribution of equipment needed for the college’s Materials Science Lab. His latest coup was donation of a scanning electron microscope, which allows examination of materials at the molecular level.

Dr. Parker also created the Boeing Educational Exposure Internship Program, which serves eight to 10 materials-science students each year. Students can apply for internships and be exposed to three different lab areas in the materials and processes testing department, then focus on working in the lab area of their choice, getting real-world experiences to cite on their resumes. Participation has brought jobs at Boeing for several of the students, who also are encouraged to continue their education.

Keeping Up with the Youth

Dr. Parker also participates in annual YMCA Young Black Achievers events, in which students take part in hands-on activities in the Material Science Technology lab, learning about materials and manufacturing processes. In addition, he has been a key supporter of the NSF National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education housed at Edmonds Community College. Parker has lectured on composite technology at annual Career Nights for high school students and their parents, and he has conducted student tours and lectured on Boeing laboratory capabilities. 

Over the past 18 years, he has presented lectures on composite technology at the University of Washington, and mentored more than 25 university students investigating composite technology and thermal analysis. Some of those students have gone on to work for Boeing, moved on to other companies or continued on in academia. Dr. Parker also  has donated thermal-analysis equipment for the advancement of composite analytical technology to the department of engineering at Western Washington University.

In his earlier days in New York, Parker worked as a junior camp counselor with the Har-You Act program. He also volunteered with the Childrens’ Aid Society, the Boys Club of America and as a junior life guard at the Pitt Street Swimming Pool. He has coached the Pacific Northwest AAU Boys and Girls basketball team for a decade, as well as hosting and sponsoring basketball clinics for kids, teaching basketball skills, parent interaction in sports and, teamwork. Since 1986, he has served as a volunteer assistant basketball coach at Seattle Pacific University. Parker is now assisting his fourth head coach.

Dr. Parker also serves as elder, teacher, pastor and a community pillar in his church. “I’ve been blessed with great mentors,” he said, and now I have a chance to give back. My background as a person from the tough side of life gives me some credibility with the students that money can’t buy. They can see in me that they can make it, too.”
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FACT BOX 

George A. Parker
Lead Engineer/Senior Chemist,
Materials Characterization, E&M Materials Characterization & Safety
Boeing Commercial Airplanes
The Boeing Company

B.S. – Chemistry, St, Martins College, Lacey, Washington
M.S. – Organic/Analytical Chemistry, University of Virginia Charlottesville
M.S. – Industrial Management, University of Washington/Lille School of Business, Lille, France
Ph.D. – Polymeric Composite Technology Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle