Miss Candice M. Smith leads a global team of technical thought leaders serving 60,000 Boeing engineers. They create products and services that connect people and communities and advance safety and sustainability. In over 19 years with Boeing, she has exemplified engineering excellence and leadership and remains committed to developing the next generation of leaders and innovators.

Candice also manages Boeing’s technical fellowship, the company’s most prestigious recognition program for technologists and engineers. As board chair for Project SYNCERE, she advocates for youth, STEM education, and independence through innovation. As a Delta woman, she impacts social change in Chicago.

“The universe conspires for your success,” Candice said at the BEYA gala in February, where she received the 2023 Professional Achievement in Industry Award.  “From my fingertips on lifesaving technologies to chance encounters, I’ve sought to solve problems and enrich lives. When young, I read books to escape reality. Yet, I couldn’t write a more compelling story than the adventures unlocked by STEM, defeating adversity with countless collaborators. Finally, engineering chose me as a steward and gave me resources to maintain that energy of service and amplification,” she said.

Recently, Candice served as director of engineering people strategy and was responsible for driving strategy to ensure Boeing engineers have a world-class experience as they advance through their career lifecycles.

At the same time, Candice also developed partnerships in St. Louis, Dallas, and Chicago aimed at helping children pursue meaningful careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). Her work has been honored with numerous awards.

In 2017, she was selected as an Eisenhower Fellow to study the intersection between youth and innovation in Kenya and Singapore. She has also received the Boeing St. Louis Diversity Influence Award, St. Louis American Foundation Young Leaders Award, Women of Color (WOC) in Technology Rising Star Award, BEYA’s Modern Day Technology Leader Award, and the Chicago-based Walker’s Legacy Power Award. At the 2021 WOC STEM Conference, Candice received a corporate responsibility award.