Ms. Patricia J. Zarodkiewicz was elected to the Board of Trustees of The Aerospace Corporation on September 1, 2021.
In 2019, Zarodkiewicz became president of PatZconsulting, a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. Prior to that, she was the administrative assistant to the secretary of the Air Force, Headquarters U.S. Air Force (USAF), a position she held for five years. As the Air Force’s senior career civilian adviser to the secretary and the USAF senior security official, Zarodkiewicz was responsible for performing a variety of high-level assignments to achieve policies, goals, and objectives. She administratively managed and supported the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force and its Secretariat and field operating agencies, involving myriad aspects of management ranging from budget to industrial security oversight and more. Zarodkiewicz oversaw the execution and programming of the U.S. Air Force Headquarters portfolio, constituting an annual budget of $5.6 billion and 37,000 personnel. She also served as the Air Force lead for Insider Threat policy and implementation, and established policy and directs operations for various offices, program offices, and facilities around the world.
Zarodkiewicz’s more than 36 years of experience and leadership in the Air Force began with a management and budget analyst position at Headquarters Air Force Systems Command after she was accepted into the Presidential Management Intern Program. She went on to hold numerous base, major command, and headquarters-level positions, managing numerous appropriations. Prior to her Air Force career, she held several positions in the private sector.
Zarodkiewicz earned a bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from the University of Rochester, a master’s degree in international affairs from American University, and is a distinguished graduate with a master’s degree in national resource management from Industrial College of the Armed Forces. She has completed additional business programs including the Defense Leadership and Management Program, Seminar XXI at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the U.S. Navy Executive Business Course. She is also a certified defense financial manager.
The numerous awards and honors Zarodkiewicz has received throughout her career acknowledging excellence in service and capabilities include the National Partnership for Reinventing Government “Hammer Award”; the Air Force Exceptional
Civilian Service Award; the Meritorious Executive Presidential Rank Award (twice honored); the Air Force Meritorious Civilian Service Award; the Distinguished Executive Presidential Rank Award; the Navy Superior Public Service Award; the Army Meritorious Public Service Award; the Air Force Decoration for Exceptional Civilian Service, and the Air Force Outstanding Civilian Career Service Award.
Zarodkiewicz is a member of the American Society of Military Comptrollers, the Air Force Association, and Industrial College of the Armed Forces Alumni Association.