[3][4] Goldman began working in Washington, D.C., as a research assistant for the U.S. Congress's Joint Economic Committee during her senior year at Goucher in 1964.

"[5][8] From 1965 to 1966, she was a legislative assistant for an ad hoc U.S. House subcommittee focused on the war on poverty (part of the Education and Labor Committee), hired by Representative Albert Quie as the Republican minority's lone staffer.

[6][7][9] Goldman worked as a research consultant for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in 1966 and then led poverty and workforce programs for the lobbying organization from 1967 to 1971 during a period of urban riots.

[6] Goldman was the executive director of the U.S. House's Wednesday Group, a caucus of liberal Republicans, from 1972 to 1979,[3][12] coordinating legislative efforts among its 31 members.

On the recommendation of Representative Barbara Mikulski and others,[16] President Jimmy Carter, a Democrat, nominated her to an open Republican seat on the board on March 16, 1979,[17] to succeed Philip Hogue.

[27] Goldman and the NTSB petitioned for legislation in all fifty states to require the use of restraints for children under the age of four,[26][28] something that was accomplished in 1985,[29][30] and raised awareness to get the public to use them more frequently and correctly.

"[5] Goldman stepped down from the NTSB on February 5, 1988, replaced by Lee Dickinson and succeeded as vice chair by James Kolstad.

[31] One of the highest-ranking women in the aviation industry at the time, she was in charge of internal and external communication at USAir until her retirement at age 51 on January 31, 1994.

[5][38] In 1995, she became the president of the WISH List, a political action committee raising funds for female Republican candidates in favor of abortion rights.

[40] In April 2010, Toyota named Goldman to an independent six-person panel to investigate vehicle safety issues, which released a critical report in May 2011.

[42][43] Goldman married Stephen Kurzman, a lawyer who served as Assistant Secretary for Legislation under Elliot Richardson in the Nixon administration's Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, on May 20, 1990; they met in the 1960s, when he worked in the U.S. Congress, as a staffer for U.S.