Media Relations Specialist Helps Shape, Share NASA’s Technology Story
Note: Technology Demonstration Missions “Bridge Builders” are team members at NASA centers and partner organizations who help take cutting-edge technologies from concept to flight readiness — bridging the gap to enable rewarding new space missions.
From her office at NASA Headquarters in Washington, NASA media relations specialist Gina Anderson handles public affairs and outreach for the Technology Demonstration Missions program, helping to oversee the agency’s robust portfolio of high-reward projects at NASA centers and industry partners nationwide.
Anderson joined NASA’s Office of Communications in 2015, supporting the Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD), TDM’s parent organization, and NASA’s Office of the Chief Technologist. In addition to overseeing news products and other information disseminated to the public via the media or the internet, she helps craft NASA’s technology-themed messages. She works closely with NASA administrators, engineers, scientists and communicators to tell the agency’s technology advancement stories, striving to engage and inspire the public, stakeholders and new generations of explorers.
Before joining NASA, she was a public affairs advisor at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington from 2012-2015. She was a contractor in the public diplomacy arm of the U.S. State Department from 2008-2011, where she served as a researcher and social media trainer; led education outreach and academic funding activities in the Northeast Asia Pacific region for the State Department’s EducationUSA network; and conducted media and community outreach for its International Visitor Leadership Program. During the summers from 2008-2011, she also traveled to Europe, Australia and China as a faculty advisor and mentor to American college students in the International Scholar Laureate Program. From 2005-2006, she managed travel, logistics and donor relations for key personnel in the non-profit, humanitarian organization Women for Women International; and from 2003-2005 she taught English to junior high school students in Japan’s Nara Prefecture for the Japanese Exchange and Teaching Program.
A native of Miami, Florida, Anderson studied language and international relations at Florida State University in Tallahassee and Moscow State University in Russia before earning her bachelor’s degree in international affairs from The George Washington University in the nation’s capital. She speaks conversational Japanese and can still read Cyrillic Russian; she also holds a master’s degree in writing fiction from Seton Hill University in Greensburg, Pennsylvania.
Anderson recently shared some insight about her job and discussed her enthusiasm for the TDM program and future technology breakthroughs in space exploration.
Describe your TDM responsibilities at NASA Headquarters.
NASA’s communications office regularly handles an incredible number of incoming media queries! I manage our technology communications portfolio. I coordinate media interviews for NASA executives including NASA Associate Administrator for STMD Stephen Jurczyk and STMD program executives such as TDM’s Trudy Kortes. I also work with our social media managers to share TDM news directly with the public, and I keep in contact with public affairs and TDM project personnel at various NASA centers, staying abreast of developments so I can report their successes to program leadership. We stay in close contact to coordinate how we present TDM to the media and to the public, ensuring our messages are clear, concise and up to date.
What’s a typical workday like for you?
Being part of the communications team at NASA Headquarters is great. There’s a constant buzz of excitement, given all the incredible work unfolding not just in the technology-related programs but all across the agency. Everyone’s energy is constantly up, responding to each day’s new business. I take a lot of meetings, and write a lot of emails. Because it’s my job to review and approve media and web materials for TDM, I often receive 50 or even 100 emails per day — and some do bring surprises. But it’s never a dull job, and I am very thankful for new opportunities to learn and grow.
What excites you most about TDM?
TDM is laying the foundation for the future of space exploration. At the same time, it’s about maturing existing concepts, some very nearly a reality right now. Advanced cryogenic fuel storage and transfer capabilities. Green propellants to launch more environmentally friendly spacecraft. Innovative solar electric propulsion systems. I’m just floored by all these technologies. Think about all the devices we use every day to improve and simplify our lives. That’s what STMD and Technology Demonstration Missions are all about — delivering breakthroughs to make exploring and working in space easier and safer. TDM is a big reason why this is such a cool place to work!
Do you foresee TDM technologies aiding development of the Space Launch System and other future flight missions?
Absolutely. That’s the very nature of what the program does. We’re testing technologies that could be implemented in future Mars missions and other solar system destinations. I like to think of TDM as the research and development arm of NASA. The Deep Space Atomic Clock, for example, will enable the most precise radio navigation in the history of spaceflight, forever transforming the way we conduct deep space missions. It’s an absolute necessity for a whole host of future NASA and commercial space endeavors. Successful TDM projects will have a ripple effect across the entire space industry.
What has been your favorite NASA moment in your career so far?
There are so many! I actually had one very recently. I had the good fortune to work with LaNetra Tate, the program executive for STMD’s Game-Changing Development (GCD) Program, to help NASA call attention to the major motion picture “Hidden Figures.” It’s the story of three amazing black women who played vital roles in NASA’s early flight programs, working as human computers to help launch the first Americans to space. NASA launched a “Modern Figures” campaign to accompany the film, showcasing women of color across NASA today who continue to advance America’s space mission. I assisted with a press event featuring Tate — one of NASA’s “Modern Figures” herself — as well as NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and members of the movie’s cast, including Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae! I was starstruck. And that was before Pharrell Williams — who produced the film and contributed music to the soundtrack — showed up at the party!
What’s something most people would be surprised to learn about you?
Writing remains my true passion. It has always kept me grounded. But it might surprise people to learn I wrote a novel as my thesis for my master of fine arts degree. It’s a science-fiction/fantasy novel for young adult readers. I’m currently shopping it around in hopes of securing representation in the publishing industry.