Newman worked as a clerk typist, personnel assistant, and personnel manager with the United States Department of the Interior from 1962 to 1967. She worked with migrant farmers in the Office of Economic Development from 1967 to 1969. From 1969 to 1971 she served as Special Assistant to Elliot Richardson, who headed what is now known as the Department of Health and Human Services. In 1971, Richard Nixon appointed Newman to serve as director of AmeriCorps VISTA, the domestic arm of the Peace Corps. She served as the Commissioner and Vice Chair of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission from 1973 to 1976. Newman oversaw the consumer unit focused on Indian and elderly affairs as the Assistant Director of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1976 to 1977. She co-founded Newman and Hermanson Company, a consulting firm specializing in the government regulatory procedures from 1977.