NASA will host a panel discussion and reading from the book Hidden Figures, now a major motion picture, with about 350 students of Washington schools at 10 a.m. EST Wednesday, Dec. 14, at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in Washington. The event will air live on NASA Television and stream on the agency’s website.
Panel participants are:
- NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman
- NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan (moderator)
- Knatokie Ford, senior policy advisor, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
- Mimi Valdes, executive producer of the movie Hidden Figures
- Margot Lee Shetterly, author of Hidden Figures
- Representative from Women in Aerospace, an organization dedicated to expanding women’s opportunities for leadership and increasing their visibility in the aerospace community
- NASA’s Modern Figure Christyl Johnson, engineer and Deputy Director for Technology and Research Investments at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
Media interested in covering this event must contact Karen Northon at karen.northon@nasa.gov no later than 5 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 13. The library is located at 901 G St. NW.
Hidden Figures chronicles the stories of Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson and Dorothy Vaughan, African-American women who were essential to the success of NASA’s early spaceflight programs. Today, NASA embraces their legacy and strives to include everyone who wants to participate in its ongoing exploration.
To learn more about the trailblazing women of NASA, past and present, visit:
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Karen Northon
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1540
karen.northon@nasa.gov