Reading about Toni Townes-Whitley’s career is like reading an epic novel. It starts out as a Peace Corps teacher in Gabon, West Africa, then moves to stay-at-home mom, followed by steady corporate ladder climbing across the Washington, D.C. public school system, Arthur Andersen, Unisys, CGI Federal, Microsoft, and then in 2023, CEO of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC). That’s a lot of varied ground.
This breadth of experience has made her a leader who places value on much more than just profit. As one of only two Black women heading up a Fortune 500 company, she’s involved SAIC in humanitarian causes, including Building Homes for Heroes, a nonprofit that provides mortgage-free homes to military families, and Feeding America, through which SAIC has helped feed more than 28 million people.
Townes-Whitney is also involved with youth programs, especially scouting. She was awarded the 2025 Technology Good Scout Award for her support of Scouting America. And, she funded youth camps in the Washington, D.C., area giving more than 6,100 young people a variety of technology experiences to help prepare them for future tech careers.
