NASA participated in the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 51st legislative conference in Washington Sept. 28-Oct. 2. The theme for the annual policy conference was “Advancing Our Purpose. Elevating Our Power.”
For the agency, the conference was an opportunity to engage with members of Congress and reinforce why diversity in STEM matters. It also was an occasion to reiterate how the agency intends to create more opportunities for untapped audiences and people of color to participate in the space industry through its Mission Equity initiative and Equity Action Plan.
This year’s hybrid event, which focused on Black civic engagement, public policy, and STEM education, included in-person panels, vendors, and workshops as well as virtual programming. The in-person setting allowed for candid conversation with some of the nation’s most influential leaders, businesses, organizations, and federal agencies.
With an interactive, 360-degree display as its backdrop, NASA hosted a series of dialogues with agency leaders and other subject matter experts on topics ranging from its Equity Action Plan to the Artemis Generation. During these “fireside chats,” NASA shared how inclusivity and accessibility play an important role in expanding opportunities for individuals with various backgrounds, skillsets, and experience to work with and learn from NASA.
“The NASA Equity Action Plan is the agency’s drive to include all of America in everything we do. We understand that to continue to do this amazing work – return to the Moon and on to Mars, study the universe, understand Earth, and prepare the next generation of explorers, the Artemis Generation – we will need every willing brain to join us,” said NASA’s Langley Research Center Director Clayton Turner. “We need to remove barriers and create opportunities that will make it easier to build relationships and to work together.”
In addition to the agency’s Equity Action Plan, Turner and other speakers shared insights on what expanding opportunities could mean for the future generation of space explorers. Speakers expressed the critical need to cultivate talent in young scholars early on, through STEM education and by providing opportunities for exposure so that they will know that there is a need and desire for their unique talents, skills, and experiences in the aerospace industry – and certainly at NASA.
Photo above: Dr. Antoine Moss, NASA’s lead for diversity, inclusion, equity and accessibility, and NASA Langley Research Center Director Clayton Turner talk at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 51st Annual Legislative Conference on Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2022 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington. Credit: NASA/GRC/Jordan Salkin
To watch the full conversation with Turner and other NASA leaders during the Congressional Black Caucus conference, and for more information on the NASA Equity Action plan, visit NASA’s Mission Equity page: