110 PROFESSIONAL WOMANS MULTICULTURAL MAGAZINE WWW.PROFESSIONALWOMANMAG.COM
WONDER WOMEN WOMEN IN STEAM
Nichelle Nichols
Best known for her work in Star Trek as Uhura, Nichelle Nichols was a groundbreaking actress and STEM advocate who passed away in August of this year. Nichols was not only known for her iconic work on one of the most popular television franchises in history, but continued her space endeavors after her acting career by becoming a global ambassador and recruiter with NASA. From 1977 to 2015, Nichols helped run the Women in Motion program, an initiative designed by NASA to recruit women and people of color to work with the space agency. This program was successful for recruiting some of the biggest names in space exploration, such as Dr. Sally Ride and Colonel Guion Bluford. Nichols' work also earned her the opportunity to ride with NASA's SOFIA mission and inspired the name of the minor planet, 68410 Nicholas. Besides her work in the STEM field, Nichols was also the first Black actress to star in a primetime television show and was part of the irst interracial kiss to be shown on television in 1968.
Sources: CBS News, Wikipedia
ALBERT L. ORTEGA/GETTY IMAGES RACHEL MURRAY/GETTY IMAGES FOR MAKERS
COURTESY OF LUMEN TECHNOLOGIES
SAM TABONE/WIREIMAGE
Olivia Newton-John
A singer, actress and activist, Olivia Newton-John was an icon in every field from her work in the hit movie musical Grease to her numerous successes with several hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s. But when Newton-John wasn't on the stage, she was a dedicated environmentalist and animal rights activist, working with organiza- tions such as UNICEF and as a global ambassador to the United Nations Environment Programme. Upon recovering from her first breast cancer diagnoses in the 1990s, Newton-John became a passionate advocate in the fight against breast cancer, until she lost her own battle with the disease this past August. Newton-John wrote music chronicling her journey with breast cancer, redirected the profits from some of her projects to fund breast cancer research and participated in numerous walks and benefits dedicated to the cause. In 2012, Newton-John even opened up the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute and the accompanying Wellness Centre, an Australian-based public hospital specializing in cancer research, trials, treatments and break-throughs.
Sources: Wikipedia, ONJCRI
Julia Fraser
Julia Fraser has over 20 years of experience working in the technology industry and is currently leading the North America Customer Success organization for Lumen Technologies. "We're all looking for the mythical unicorn of work-life balance - I've found it here at Lumen. Our work culture allows me to excel as an employee and a caregiver to my children. Employees here don't have to sacrifice professional growth. I point to our Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) as a key factor in how we support our people and provide balance," said Frasier. As senior vice president, she is responsible for $7 billion in annual revenue and manages the companys largest customer relationships with B2B enterprises. She leads a team of over 800 Customer Success professionals whose focus is on strengthening customer relationships to achieve long-term success. "I'm a proud executive sponsor of Women Empowered, one of our eleven diverse employee resource groups, which is actively advocating for gender equality and employee mentorship opportunities - key for professional growth. Julia resides in Denver, Colorado with her husband and two teenage sons.
Diana Trujillo
Diana Trujillo is an aerospace engineer who continually breaks barriers at NASA. Trujillo first gained recognition for her exten- sive work on Mars exploration projects, serving as the lead for the Mars Perseverance Rover. Trujillo made history with NASA as the host of the first ever Spanish-language NASA transmission of a planetary landing and is the first Hispanic immigrant ever admitted into the NASA Academy. She continues her excellence as one of this year's seven new flight directors, where she will help oversee operations of the International Space Station, commercial crew, and Artemis missions to the Moon. Addi- tionally, Trujillo has also been involved in several initiatives to inspire Latin American and African-American women to pursue a career in science and engineering; works as a mentor for the Brooke Owens Fellowship; and was awarded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Bruce Murray Award for Excellence in Education and Public Engagement.
Source: NASA, Wikipedia
Previous Page