Alison L. Godfrey is the president and co-founder of STEM For Flathead Valley Schools, a nonprofit organization that provides training and resources related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—known in education as STEM—to Flathead Valley schools in the Kalispell, Montana, area. The organization serves teachers and students, enhancing the curriculum and increasing student exposure to STEM topics.
Long committed to providing resources and opportunities for students in the Flathead Valley to engage with STEM projects, Ms. Godfrey founded the Flathead Valley Rocket Rally Program in 2016. She established the program by approaching two science teachers from different schools and pitching to them a rocket program that would take place in the spring. Following a warm reception, Ms. Godfrey proposed a competition among participating students, marking the inception of the Flathead Valley Rocket Rally Program. The initiative rapidly expanded to include a dozen school districts after word spread through the community. Understanding the need for STEM resources and greater outreach in multiple science and engineering topics, Ms. Godfrey co-founded the STEM for Flathead Valley Schools non-profit with her husband, Steven Alejandro, in 2019.
Ms. Godfrey began her journey as a student at Florida State University (FSU), graduating in 1982 with a Bachelor of Science in math with an emphasis in computer science. In 1982, she accepted her first role in her field writing software as an engineer with Systems and Applied Sciences Corporation to develop software for the U.S. Air Force Geophysics Laboratory’s Doppler radar program. She then transferred in 1984 as a senior development engineer with Raytheon’s Missile Systems Division, where she remained for more than a decade gaining valuable experience. From 1995 to 1996, Ms. Godfrey was a scientist programmer III with the Kaman Corporation, and from 1996 to 1997, was an engineering specialist with Hughes Missile Systems. During 1997 and 1998, she was a project engineer with BF Aerospace, formerly BF Goodrich Aerospace. She then worked at Honeywell International in its Defense Avionics Division from 1998 to 2004, transferring to the Space Systems Division in 2004 to serve as a launch vehicle technical lead for seven successful missions. Further, in 2010, Ms. Godfrey transferred to AeroThermo Technology Inc., where she served as a launch vehicle technical lead for her last successful mission, after which she retired in 2011.
Ms. Godfrey is proud of her impressive track record of accomplishments in her field and credits her professional achievements to having a passion for her work. Her enthusiasm for her discipline is evident to all, and she hopes it can inspire students to pursue their own passions with a similar fervor and passion. Among other measures of her success, Ms. Godfrey proudly reports that the number of students enrolled in her program continues to increase year to year. Specifically, the population of girls gaining interest in engineering through her programs is growing.
During her college education, Ms. Godfrey wanted to pursue a career as a forest ranger, but she later realized the field was not suited to her skills and passions. In high school, she learned the Basic programming language through an elective course sponsored by Wright Patterson Air Force Base. The following year, she learned the Fortran programming language in an elective, which was jointly sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and the United States Marine Corps. Ms. Godfrey thoroughly enjoyed these classes. At FSU, she continued in computer science and began helping others with the material whenever they asked. To this day, she finds sharing her understanding of STEM topics to be profoundly rewarding. In the coming decade, Ms. Godfrey plans to expand the reach of STEM For Flathead Valley Schools into more districts. She hopes to secure collaborations with community colleges to create opportunities for higher education students to participate in teaching and mentoring younger schoolchildren.
For her achievements, Ms. Godfrey and her work have been featured in multiple publications, including in articles titled “Rocket Project Aims to Launch Students’ Interest in Science” and “Girls Rule at Special Workshops” from the Daily Inter Lake in 2023. Moreover, the Flathead Beacon ran a piece titled “Flathead Valley Rocket Rally Takes Flight.” Earlier, the Daily Inter Lake again featured her in “Software Expert Had Career in Rocket Science,” published in 2015. During her tenure with Honeywell’s Clearwater Space Systems, she was recognized with the Technical Achievement Award. In her spare time, Ms. Godfrey enjoys outdoor activities including hiking, canoeing, biking, snowshoeing, and sledding.
