Published Oct. 25, 2023

Jennifer Flores began her career as an art teacher, a good fit for her natural creativity and visual thinking skills. But it wasn’t until she transitioned to our software development team that she embraced her way of learning as a strength.

“Dyslexia doesn’t limit me; it’s an asset. It helps me understand complex systems and see the bigger picture,” said Jennifer. “I found it easy to quickly understand how all of the code has to come together to make something work.”

Jennifer joined our company three years ago through LaunchCode, a technical training and job placement program that we’ve partnered with for more than six years. In her first role as an F/A-18 software technical analyst, she realized how her ability to solve problems through visual and nonlinear thinking helped the team deliver better solutions to our customers.

“While supporting the engineering product lifecycle for training systems, I loved looking at how the software was built from beginning to end,” she said. “That got me interested in working on bigger projects, going beyond coding and software development.”

In her current role as a project management specialist, Jennifer combines her technical skills with her background and passion for teaching to improve our business operations.

“I describe Jennifer’s attitude as ‘art of the possible,’” said Robert Papandrea, senior manager of Jennifer’s team. “She’s got an objectiveness with how she works with others, and leads with curiosity that makes her a really effective teammate and mentor.”

As a member of the Boeing Employees Ability Awareness Association, one of our many Business Resource Groups, she connects with and advocates for the neurodivergent community. Jennifer’s love for learning and helping others also led her to participate in our other employee organizations like REACH, an early-career networking group, and the Boeing Flight Club, to gain a better understanding of the aircraft she supports.

She also serves as a LaunchCode Boeing liaison, and has mentored about 160 individuals as they transition from the program into a job with our company. Jennifer says hiring people with different backgrounds and perspectives creates a more inclusive environment.

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A love for learning: Shortly after joining Boeing, a REACH member introduced Jennifer to the Boeing Flight Club in St. Louis where she completed flight school to gain new skills and learn more about our industry. (Jennifer Flores photo)

Jennifer never imagined that building an app as part of her LaunchCode bootcamp would help uncover skills that have led her on such an unexpected and fulfilling journey

“I never thought I’d fly planes, but here I am,” she said. “Now I’m studying Japanese and would love the opportunity to work with customers overseas. I love that you don’t have to leave the company to keep learning and to do whatever job you want to do, there are opportunities everywhere.”

Learn more about our efforts to advance global equity, diversity and inclusion.