Rising from an entry level General Schedule-4 Department of the Navy employee to her current position in a TSA Senior Executive Service (TSES) role, Karen Shelton Waters reflected on her long career during Women’s History Month and acknowledged she stands on the shoulders of those who came before her.
Her passion for diversity and inclusion drove her early work with We@TSA (Women Excel). It also informs her current work with the Federal Air Marshal Service and is a direct offshoot from the lessons she learned growing up.
“I learned from my mother you can go beyond what others may expect of you; your voice matters; and with strong family support, a good work ethic and the willingness of others to give you an opportunity, success is possible,” said Shelton Waters.
Opportunity is what Shelton Waters sees in her rearview mirror, and why, when she looks ahead through her windshield, she’s committed to clearing pathways and providing openings for others.
“Providing those opportunities is so important,” reminded Shelton Waters. “We don’t know what we don’t know. The door needs to be opened or at least cracked so you can step in and be given a real chance to succeed.”
Her mother, motivated by her own humble beginnings growing up impoverished in North Carolina, was the family backbone as she managed her family of five. Shelton Waters was born in Okinawa, Japan, after her mother joined her Air Force father already deployed there.
“As a child, I really didn't have an appreciation for how brave and fearless my mom was in 1962 when she took two small children on a plane to a foreign country and engineered several other moves throughout my dad's 30-year military career,” said Shelton Waters. “She made her family the priority, and I think was driven by her childhood, wanting a different and better narrative for her three children.”
Creating a better narrative for others, especially women, drove Shelton Waters’ inaugural work as vice chair with WE@TSA, a nine-year-old organization created to raise awareness of barriers facing women in the TSA workplace.
“Our focus remained set on out-of-the box thinking, new ideas and solutions that crossed organizational lines, and removed barriers that left a sustainable environment for women's issues to have a voice with measurable outcomes,” said Shelton Waters.
Outside of her day-to-day duties, Shelton Waters helped WE@TSA launch a number of programs, most notably ‘Why Not You? How Women Excel TSA’, a traveling mentoring panel of senior executives and leaders to engage and assist women who seek to advance their careers. The successful program served over 1,400 TSA employees across the nation.
As a mentor in the WE@TSA ‘Each One Bring One’ events, Shelton Waters said it was gratifying to see others succeed.
“The primary goal of those I've mentored is to gain insight into career success,” explained Shelton Waters. “The question comes in many forms, but essentially, I think mentees seek individuals with similar backgrounds who perhaps encountered similar challenges, hoping to gain a glimpse of their story in theirs. My perspective is unique as a woman and a person of color who balanced the responsibilities of marriage and motherhood with a demanding job. My story may resonate with others.”
Prior to Shelton Waters’ work with the Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service (LE/FAMS), the team was actively exploring innovative approaches for targeted recruitment with a particular focus on increasing female representation.
“In my current capacity as the Assistant Administrator for Operations Management for FAMS, I recently had the privilege of joining the Department of Homeland Security Women in Law Enforcement Task Force,” said Shelton Waters. “This department-wide initiative aims to implement targeted strategies to increase female representation in law enforcement roles, fostering diversity and inclusion across the agency.”
Her work with historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) continues to break ground at TSA.
“Originating from a goal to partner with Bennett College, one of the nation's two all-women HBCUs, this initiative expanded into a multi-school event,” said Shelton Waters. “Alongside Bennett College, institutions such as North Carolina A&T State University, Winston Salem State University, and others, joined TSA to learn about the Federal Air Marshal Service with an opportunity for those interested to receive on-site application support to apply to be a FAM.”
This year’s Women’s History Month theme celebrates women who advocate for equity, diversity and inclusion. What Karen Shelton Waters does matters.
“I bring to the table a diverse array of experiences, including my journey from an entry-level GS-4 employee to a TSES, my roles as a daughter, mother of daughters and sister, as well as a person of color and a military dependent,” said Shelton Waters proudly. “I firmly believe that embracing diverse perspectives leads to better outcomes for all, and I am committed to leveraging my experiences to drive positive change within LE/FAMS and TSA.”
Her advice to her daughters about diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility is no different than that given to her TSA colleagues.
“It’s important to know yourself and be able to be yourself in all environments,” said Shelton Waters. “Black women are a visual reminder of the diversity in American. Our voices and perspectives not only matter, they are necessary and should be valued no differently than the perspective of others.”
By Karen Robicheaux, Strategic Communications & Public Affairs