A pioneer for women in the missile and defense industry, Dr. Shelba Proffitt was inducted into the U.S. Air, Space, and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilian Wall of Honor as a part of the opening reception for the 8th Annual Space and Missile Defense Conference held at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center on Monday evening, the fifteenth of August, 2005.
Assisting in the induction ceremony were the Honorable Robert B. Aderholt, United States House of Representatives, and Lieutenant General Larry Dodgen, Commanding General of the U. S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
Dr. Shelba Proffitt served as Program Manager of the Army’s National Missile Defense (NMD) Program in the Program Executive Office Air and Missile Defense (PEO AMD). She became Deputy Program Executive Officer for Air, Space, and Missile Defense (PEO ASMD). Dr. Proffitt became the first female member of the Senior Executive Service (SES) at the U.S. Army Strategic Defense Command (USASDC) in Huntsville, Alabama on October 21, 1990. She culminated her stellar government career in January 2005.
Dr. Proffitt began her government career as a member of the Von Braun space team. She then joined the U.S. Army Missile Command (MICOM) where she spent 13 years developing advanced technical weapons. In 1980, she moved to the Army’s Ballistic Missile Defense Advanced Technology Center (BMDATC), later the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC); where she became an expert in management, communications, and space surveillance technologies.
In 1995, Dr. Proffitt became Program Manager (PM) of the Army’s NMD Program in the PEO AMD. She became the Deputy PEO AMD in February 2001- a position she held until retirement in 2005.
Dr. Proffitt has published more than 25 technical papers, holds two patents, and received numerous awards and recognitions throughout her career. Dr. Proffitt attributes her success to hard work and education.
Dr. Proffitt was the 32nd member of the U.S. Air, Space, and Missile Defense Distinguished Civilian Wall of Honor.
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