Susan E. Dunnings
Susan E. Dunnings is Vice President and General Counsel for Employment, Labor, and ERISA at Lockheed Martin, where she leads legal strategy on workplace issues and plays a key role in advancing the company’s commitment to inclusion and equity. Since joining Lockheed Martin in 2007, Susan has helped shape enterprise-wide diversity initiatives, advising on inclusive leadership strategies and guiding efforts to broaden representation in both internal practices and external partnerships.
Before her tenure at Lockheed Martin, Susan served as Deputy General Counsel at National Public Radio (NPR), where she was instrumental in advancing diversity in leadership and newsroom representation. Inspired by a family legacy of civil rights advocacy—her father handled desegregation cases for the NAACP—Susan has spent her career advocating for access, visibility, and mentorship in the legal profession and beyond.
She serves on Lockheed Martin’s Executive Inclusion Council, chaired by the CEO, and sits on the executive board of the company’s Black Excellence Council. A champion of legal industry equity, Susan helped launch a diversity assessment process for outside counsel that has become a model for accountability and progress. She also actively supports initiatives that connect young lawyers from diverse backgrounds to mentorship and corporate legal experience.
Driven by the belief that representation matters and mentorship makes a lasting difference, Susan continues to be a powerful voice for equity and belonging in the workplace.