Building a Bigger Tent: At 35, the African Affinity Forum Continues to Change Lives — and the Company’s Culture

“It could have gone either way for me,” says Devon Shepherd, looking back at her college years. “I could have become somebody who worked in fast-food restaurants or someone who worked in corporate.”

It was 1999 and Shepherd was a scholarship student at the University of Cincinnati. She was making perfect grades and on her way to a degree in industrial engineering. But she wasn’t sure how she’d forge her way in the professional world. She was short on engineering role models and had no business experience.

That changed when she was partnered with a mentor at GE Aerospace through the university’s co-op program. Shepherd’s mentor was an engineer who also happened to belong to the African Affinity Forum (AAF), one of most active employee resource groups (ERGs) at the company. He encouraged Shepherd to apply for an internship, which she did. Looking back, Shepherd sees it as perhaps the most consequential decision of her nascent career. She went on to complete six paid engineering internships while still a student at UC, where she gained hands-on technical experience as well as the soft skills that would help her succeed in the workplace. She also earned a spot in the company’s Operations Management Leadership Program after she graduated in 2004. And the people she met through the AAF were there to help her succeed, every step of the way.

Since its founding 35 years ago, the AAF has helped thousands of young people at GE Aerospace find their way to rewarding professional roles, and their contributions continue to strengthen the aerospace industry. With more than 2,300 members spread across nine hubs in the U.S. and additional sites around the world, the company’s oldest ERG is thriving. And for Shepherd — who now leads the original engine manufacturer (OEM) and component repair quality team at the Tubes and Ducts site in Dayton, Ohio, supporting Unison, a GE Aerospace company — the AAF has helped guide her career in ways that were once unimaginable. 

“I pretty much owe my entire career to the Forum,” she says. “Landing a co-op opportunity at GE Aerospace really helped me see what my life could be.”

How the AAF Grows Future Leaders 

The AAF was founded in 1991, when a small group of Black managers approached corporate leaders at General Electric Company with an idea. To foster community and increase opportunities for people of color, they proposed launching a formal, employee-led affinity group with a talent-nurturing mentorship program and chapters at corporate sites across the country. With the company’s backing, the African American Forum was born.

The group’s mission has been simple from the start: “To provide members with development and networking opportunities while helping contribute to the growth of the company and volunteering in the communities where GE Aerospace operates.” Recruiting, retaining, and promoting Black individuals remain key priorities, as do building the talent pipeline, creating a sense of community, and developing its members into strong leaders for the business. In 2024, the group changed its name, becoming the African Affinity Forum. 

“We’ve grown to the point where we want to recognize that the AAF includes not just African Americans, but people like me — I come from the Bahamas,” says Arend Dorsett, a longtime AAF member who’s now senior operations business leader at Unison, a GE Aerospace company, in Jacksonville, Florida. “We’re recognizing that we have, for example, European African descendants, we have people who identify as Black from Brazil. All these groups have been able to congregate inside our big tent.” 

The AAF provided Dorsett with his first professional experience: In 2006, when he was still a student at the University of North Florida, he was recruited for an engineering internship during a National Society of Black Engineers Conference. After completing the Edison Engineering Program, moving through various roles at GE Energy (now GE Vernova), and coming to Unison in 2015, he’s found community and mentorship through the group. As head of the local AAF chapter in Jacksonville from 2016 to 2022, he also gained leadership skills that transferred to his daily work.

“I have a hard time expressing how important the AAF has been inside my journey,” he says. “It’s been a constant and integral to where I am today.”

A Pipeline of Talent

Shepherd and Dorsett are committed to giving back to the AAF community that’s been so important in their lives. Each has held leadership positions in their local Forum chapters. They enjoy volunteering in AAF service projects that benefit their local communities, like public health initiatives or programs that support STEM students in elementary and secondary schools. And they make time to offer advice and networking opportunities to those who are following in their footsteps. 

“I’m at the stage of life where I can support my mentees, and my mentees are in a position to do that for incoming interns,” says Dorsett. “We’re providing guidance and building a pipeline of talent.”

Over her 25-year career, Shepherd notes, the AAF has helped usher in exciting developments at GE Aerospace. “The AAF has shown over time how a self-led group can grow leaders and help foster the beliefs of GE Aerospace — transparency, lean, respect for people, continuous improvement,” she says. “I’ve watched how the company has grown with diversity of thought. I’ve seen how much leadership has changed, bringing in more women, more people of color. I’ve seen people go from being the president of our AAF chapter to being a vice president at the company. Those are big milestones.”