In 1948 Hicks married fellow engineer Rodney Duane Chipp, who held two director-level engineering positions before starting a consulting firm. In 1960 the couple were selected by the National Society of Professional Engineers for a month-long research and speaking tour of South America, which focused on international cooperation between American and South American engineers. When Chipp died in 1966, Hicks sold off Newark Controls Company and took over her late husband's consulting business. Hicks was also selected to serve on the Defense Advisory Committee for Women in Services between 1960 and 1963, was the director of the First International Conference of Women Engineers and Scientists, and represented the United States at four International Management Congresses.