Christina Bowen, ‘01

Mechanical Engineering

Christina Bowen is the Competitive Integration and Strategy Leader for Boeing Vertical Lift, focusing on integration of new and improved initiatives into Vertical Lift engineering programs, capability and technology needs assessments, and engineer development and recognition.

Bowen grew up in West Orange, NJ, where inventor Thomas Edison had his laboratories. She was exposed to Edison’s work on school trips and was fascinated by his groundbreaking inventions. Bowen won several local invention and engineering competitions while in school. She was encouraged by her parents, who were enthusiastic about math and science and engaged their three daughters in hands-on science activities.

Bowen chose to study engineering because she knew she could use it to make a positive impact on society. At Rowan University, she was one of only two graduating women in the new mechanical engineering program. The university’s Society of Women in Engineering (SWE) chapter was in its infancy, but she valued having a place to be seen and heard. Bowen received her BS in Mechanical Engineering from Rowan in 2001 and joined Sikorsky Aircraft as a Junior Engineer in H-60 Black Hawk Propulsion Systems.

She earned an MS in Management and MBA from Albert Magnus College in 2005 and Master’s in Project Management from Keller School of Management in 2006. She held positions as a Mechanical Engineer and Senior Systems Engineer at Sikorsky before joining Life Cycle Engineering as a Manager in Requirements Engineering in 2007. Bowen returned to aerospace and joined Boeing in 2008 as a Senior Systems Engineer in the H-47 Chinook program. She served in positions of increasing responsibility before taking her current role in the Vertical Lift Division.

She finds her greatest reward in helping others, especially women, reach their full potential. Bowen helps identify women to nominate for SWE awards, showcasing their achievements. She is active in the Boeing Women Inspiring Leadership business resource group, leads SWE-BWIL partnering projects and is on the Boeing Enterprise SWE Board. Bowen is on the Engineering Diversity Council at the Philadelphia site. She speaks frequently in panel discussions to advise young women about possibilities in STEM careers, and she has established numerous formal and informal mentoring relationships.

Bowen’s husband passed away unexpectedly in 2021, and she is now raising their young son and daughter on her own. Turning tragedy into triumph, she created an engineering scholarship foundation at Rowan University in his name for students who plan to use engineering to better society. In her free time, she enjoys working on her home, spending time in nature and teaching her children about the joys of science, math, and engineering through hands-on experiences.