Ellen M. Pawlikowski

General (retired) Ellen M. Pawlikowski is an independent consultant providing expertise to industry and academia on strategic planning, program management, logistics, and research and development. She serves on the public board of the Raytheon Company and the nonprofit board of SRI International.

Pawlikowski was the third woman to achieve the rank of General in the US Air Force.  In her last assignment, she served as Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The command employs some 80,000 people and manages $60 billion annually, executing the critical mission of warfighter support through research and development, life cycle systems management, test and evaluation, installation support, depot maintenance and supply chain management. 

Pawlikowski entered the Air Force in 1978 as a distinguished graduate of the ROTC program at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ. She then attended the University of California at Berkeley as a Fannie and John Hertz Foundation fellow and received a doctorate in chemical engineering in 1981. She entered active duty at McClellan AFB, California, in 1982. 

Pawlikowski’s career has spanned a wide variety of technical management, leadership and staff positions. She commanded five times as a general officer, commanding the MILSATCOM Systems Wing, the AF element of the National Reconnaissance Office, AF Research Laboratory, the Space and Missile Systems Center, and Air Force Materiel Command. She also served as the program director and program executive officer for several multibillion-dollar weapon system acquisitions.

Pawlikowski is nationally recognized for her leadership and technical management acumen. Among her recognitions are the Women In Aerospace Life Time Achievement Award, the NDIA’s Peter B Teets Award, and the Air Force Association Executive Management Award. She is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a member of the National Academy of Engineers. She remains active in the science and technology community.