In honor of Women's History Month, our employees are reflecting on the female figures who inspire them.
Sarah Smallwood
What is your role?
I am a mission design engineer in (Flight Mechanics & Trajectory Design) the Aeroscience and Flight Mechanics Division. I code software that efficiently produces mission trajectories for Orion to fly for Artemis I!
What female figures have inspired you?
Professionally, I really look up to Mary Jackson, the aerospace engineer and NASA computer highlighted in Hidden Figures. She had a clear vision of what she wanted and what she needed to do to accomplish her goals. Even when she was doubted and rejected, she knew her worth and pushed through. Her passion and determination broke huge barriers to entry for women in engineering.
Personally, I love what Chrissy Tiegen stands for. Not only is she extremely quick-witted, but she has also been very candid about her mental health in hopes of empowering other women who struggle. She is a great example that women can be funny, emotionally vulnerable, and work in a non-technical field and still be taken seriously.
Lisa Price
What is your role?
As the Human Research Program Business Manager and Resources Lead, I am privileged to lead a great team of Office of the Chief Financial Officer resources analysts at Johnson Space Center and across the Agency. This team is responsible for managing the budget development and budget execution for the Human Research Program. The Human Research Program develops human health and performance standards, countermeasures, knowledge, technologies, and tools across various disciplines to enable safe, reliable, and productive human space exploration.
What female figure has inspired you?
I have been inspired by the many women at NASA who have contributed greatly in many different fields including business, science, engineering, mathematics, management, research, operations, and in the astronaut corps. All of these women have worked hard to overcome and eliminate gender biases in these disciplines within a technical organization. Eileen Collins inspired me; she was the first female pilot and commander of Space Shuttle flights. Her achievements inspired women and girls across America to reach forward to accomplish our dreams and our greatest achievements, and she crushed barriers for women everywhere, including within the US Air Force and the NASA astronaut corps.
Jill Marlowe
What is your role?
I am the Associate Center Director for Technical at NASA Langley – my role is to define what the center needs to look like in the future—including the work we do, to the workplace we need, and the workforce that will get it all done—and to lead the development of our strategic plans that will get us there. A big part of my current focus is on digital transformation.
What female figure has inspired you?
Lesa Roe, a former NASA executive, has been a huge personal inspiration to me. I first had the opportunity to work with her some 15 years ago when I was a baby branch head and I got picked to be the “junior voice” on a much more senior team she was leading. She was inherently inclusive, building an environment where she weighed and synthesized all perspectives, taking advantage of the full talents of our team (including my junior voice) and creating a truly collaborative environment where everyone felt valued. Her ability to craft vision and order from a seemingly chaotic sea of information was amazing, and her drive and savvy in finding and pursuing viable ways to make her vision come to life was even more impressive. On top of that, she is so grounded and approachable, not just as a leader but as a fellow working parent. Today, we enjoy a seriously rejuvenated campus thanks to her vision – just one example of the impact she had. I often find myself wondering “WWLD”--What Would Lisa Do? and continue to hold her up as a role model.
