Her father, James Beverly Jones, was head of the mechanical engineering department at Virginia Tech.
[2][4] She continued her graduate study at George Washington University, receiving a master's degree there.
[3] Berry spent her professional career working on rocket propulsion at the Atlantic Research Corporation, later acquired by Aerojet Rocketdyne.
[3] One of her key innovations was the development of a cost-saving molded plastic rocket nozzle for these systems; she also served on a board that reviewed small spacecraft design for NASA.
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) gave Berry their 1993 Upward Mobility Award.