As a Women Owned Small Business, IBSS values the strong and smart women that contribute to the betterment of ourselves and society as a whole. Although Women’s History Month comes to an end this month, IBSS continues to support the many women that make up STEM.
Evelyn J Fields is one such woman. Born in Norfolk Virginia in 1949, Fields attended Norfolk State University to receive a bachelor’s degree in mathematics. A year after graduating college, Fields got a job at NOAA as a civilian cartographer at NOAA’s Atlantic Marine Center. Her stint here was a brief one, as she was soon recruited to work in the NOAA Corps in 1973, becoming the first African American woman to join the corps. Soon after that, she was selected to attend the Armed Forces Staffing Corps to study hydrography.
In 1989, NOAA’s selection board selected Fields to serve as commanding officer on the MacAuthor, an oceanographic and fisheries ship in Seattle. In doing so she became the first female officer to command a NOAA ship as well as the first African American. She also became the first woman to command a ship for an extended assignment.
In 1997, Fields worked as the active Deputy Director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. There, she vastly improved the nautical chart making process, doubling the rate of chart production and cutting the time it takes to update the nautical charts from 47 weeks to 4. Early 1999, President Bill Clinton nominated her to be the director of NOAA Commissioned Corps and NOAA Corps Operations, being promoted from captain to read admiral, first half. She became both the first woman and African American to hold this position. In her new position she became responsible for 15 research vessels, 14 aircraft and 700+ commissioned NOAA Corp officers and civilians.
During her 25 year stint she continued working on nautical charting, but also conducted fisheries and oceanographic research as well as hydrographic survey operations. She also worked as the second U.S. Exchange Hydrographer with the Canadian Hydrographic Service in which she spent 3 months working in Newfoundland and the Canadian Arctic. December 1st, 2003, Evelyn J. Fields retired, leaving behind her great legacy.
ABOUT IBSS
Since 1992, IBSS, a women-owned small business and Certified B Corporation, has provided transformational consulting services to the Federal defense, civilian, and commercial sectors. Our services include cybersecurity and enterprise information technology, environmental science and engineering (including oceans, coasts, climate, and weather), and professional management services.
Our approach is to serve our employees by investing in their growth and development. As a result, our employees bring greater capabilities and provide an exceptional level of service to our clients. In addition to creating career development opportunities for our employees, IBSS is passionate about giving back to the community and serving the environment. We strive to leave something better behind for the next generation.
We measure our success by the positive impact we have on our employees, clients, partners, and the communities we serve. Our tagline, Powered by Excellence, is a recognition of the employees that make up IBSS and ensures we deliver results with quality, applying industry best practices and certifications. Read more About Us.
