Kim Reppa is an ally to the LGBT community … and all the planet’s residents
2014-07-31
As an environmental and ecological engineering major at Purdue, Kim Reppa has a soft spot when it comes to making the Earth a better place for all of humankind. However, Reppa’s work this year with the Out and Allied Employee Resource Group (ERG) at Johnson Space Center really shows she is an ally anyone would be honored to have on their side.
The Out and Allied ERG supports JSC’s mission in a way that employs the strengths and unique experiences of employees of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies (LGBTA) community to recruit, retain and onboard a broad, diverse, inclusive workforce, as some of the JSC workforce is LGBT or has a familial or personal relationship with an LGBT person. Out and Allied’s purpose is to make this special community and its supporters feel fully welcomed and included while maximizing their contributions to the JSC team.
Though Reppa has been active in Out and Allied since she began her cooperative education tours at JSC, this year she stepped up with a leadership role.
“I was the chairperson for the Houston Pride Festival committee,” Reppa said. “It’s the fourth largest Pride event in the United States, and it’s the sixth largest in the world. It’s a really significant event, and it was awesome to have NASA out there.”
The Houston Pride Festival was a huge success and highlighted JSC as an inclusive and inviting workplace.
“You meet so many people who just love to see that NASA is an inclusive workplace, and that we are showing our support for people of all backgrounds, sexual orientations and genders,” Reppa said.
Not only did NASA show its love for the LGBTA community, but the LGBTA community reciprocated in kind.
“At last year’s pride festival, when we were walking in the parade, and we heard people start to cheer ‘NASA! NASA! NASA!’” Reppa recalled. “At some point, they chanted ‘We love science!’ It was so cool seeing everyone engaged and supportive of us being involved. That is one of my favorite memories.”
Reppa’s passion for Out and Allied has been a long time in the making—even before the group’s formation.
“The reason I’m so active as an ally is because I feel that it’s very important for underrepresented groups, or oppresssed groups, to have representatives that are not only from their community,” Reppa said.
In some states, it’s legal to be fired from a job simply for being transgender. Similarly challenging is navigating a competitive job market and not knowing whether you will face discrimination during the hiring process.
“Since I’m part of the group that’s not discriminated against from a sexual-orientation standpoint, I feel that it’s important for me to support and advocate for the group that is,” Reppa said.
Reppa has many tips for those who wish to be better allies.
“I think there are a lot of people who feel that sexual orientation really isn’t a big deal to them, and they don’t discriminate based on that,” Reppa said. “But that same individual often tends to be silent about their support. So while they’re not vocal about their negativity because there isn’t negativity, they’re not vocal about their support.”
This can lead to heterosexual people being unintentionally exclusive in the workplace—the opposite of what JSC wants to be.
“When people have pictures on their desks of their families and their significant others, it can appear very exclusive to a person in a homosexual relationship if they feel they can’t have that same expression on their desk—that they can’t be (openly) proud of their family, or feel they have to hide that part of themselves.”
Reppa notes that doing even small things can help show solidarity.
“I have a rainbow ally sticker on my desk,” Reppa said. “People have actually commented, ‘You know, I saw that ally sticker and I appreciate that it was there, because I know that I can come talk to you and that you’re supportive.’ I hope that one day we don’t even need ally stickers, and we’ll progress to the point where those barriers aren’t there anymore.”
Reppa also used to wear a rainbow bracelet to work every day to show that she is open to discussion and won’t judge others based on sexual orientation. Those little actions can have huge payoffs in creating an inclusive workplace.
The LGBTA community is not the only one getting Reppa’s time and attention. Her other interests include sustainability, which she indulges in while working in JSC’s Center Operations Directorate—as well as improving the Earth for all its inhabitants.
“I love sustainable development,” Reppa said. “During my freshman year of college, I was the vice president of Engineers Without Borders at Purdue. We built a water system in Bolivia in a rural community of about 135 families, as they didn’t have regular access to clean water. We were able to build a water tank and a pump system so the Bolivians could go to the faucet and get water all year long. This fall and spring I’ll be working with a different group at Purdue doing the same thing in the Dominican Republic.
“You can have environmental sustainability … but if you don’t have social sustainability and there is still civil unrest and discrimination, your civilization is not going to last. I am passionate about making life as good as possible for everyone on the planet. I try to involve myself any way I can help move the world forward to that goal.”
Reppa doesn’t just crusade for Out and Allied and sustainable initiatives. She also devotes as much time as she can to other ERGs and groups at JSC, and encourages JSC team members to do the same.
“It’s important to be involved in things beyond your call of duty,” Reppa said. “The work that we do here is amazing, but sometimes it’s just as beneficial to join an ERG, for example, and contribute to progressing the culture of JSC as a workplace. I would love to see more people get involved, whether it’s with Engineers Without Borders, ERGs or the Green Team. There are so many things you can do that would help make this workplace a better place for everybody.”
How does one save the world? By improving one microcosm at a time.
Catherine Ragin Williams
NASA Johnson Space Center
The Out and Allied ERG supports JSC’s mission in a way that employs the strengths and unique experiences of employees of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Allies (LGBTA) community to recruit, retain and onboard a broad, diverse, inclusive workforce, as some of the JSC workforce is LGBT or has a familial or personal relationship with an LGBT person. Out and Allied’s purpose is to make this special community and its supporters feel fully welcomed and included while maximizing their contributions to the JSC team.
Though Reppa has been active in Out and Allied since she began her cooperative education tours at JSC, this year she stepped up with a leadership role.
“I was the chairperson for the Houston Pride Festival committee,” Reppa said. “It’s the fourth largest Pride event in the United States, and it’s the sixth largest in the world. It’s a really significant event, and it was awesome to have NASA out there.”
The Houston Pride Festival was a huge success and highlighted JSC as an inclusive and inviting workplace.
“You meet so many people who just love to see that NASA is an inclusive workplace, and that we are showing our support for people of all backgrounds, sexual orientations and genders,” Reppa said.
Not only did NASA show its love for the LGBTA community, but the LGBTA community reciprocated in kind.
“At last year’s pride festival, when we were walking in the parade, and we heard people start to cheer ‘NASA! NASA! NASA!’” Reppa recalled. “At some point, they chanted ‘We love science!’ It was so cool seeing everyone engaged and supportive of us being involved. That is one of my favorite memories.”
Reppa’s passion for Out and Allied has been a long time in the making—even before the group’s formation.
“The reason I’m so active as an ally is because I feel that it’s very important for underrepresented groups, or oppresssed groups, to have representatives that are not only from their community,” Reppa said.
In some states, it’s legal to be fired from a job simply for being transgender. Similarly challenging is navigating a competitive job market and not knowing whether you will face discrimination during the hiring process.
“Since I’m part of the group that’s not discriminated against from a sexual-orientation standpoint, I feel that it’s important for me to support and advocate for the group that is,” Reppa said.
Reppa has many tips for those who wish to be better allies.
“I think there are a lot of people who feel that sexual orientation really isn’t a big deal to them, and they don’t discriminate based on that,” Reppa said. “But that same individual often tends to be silent about their support. So while they’re not vocal about their negativity because there isn’t negativity, they’re not vocal about their support.”
This can lead to heterosexual people being unintentionally exclusive in the workplace—the opposite of what JSC wants to be.
“When people have pictures on their desks of their families and their significant others, it can appear very exclusive to a person in a homosexual relationship if they feel they can’t have that same expression on their desk—that they can’t be (openly) proud of their family, or feel they have to hide that part of themselves.”
Reppa notes that doing even small things can help show solidarity.
“I have a rainbow ally sticker on my desk,” Reppa said. “People have actually commented, ‘You know, I saw that ally sticker and I appreciate that it was there, because I know that I can come talk to you and that you’re supportive.’ I hope that one day we don’t even need ally stickers, and we’ll progress to the point where those barriers aren’t there anymore.”
Reppa also used to wear a rainbow bracelet to work every day to show that she is open to discussion and won’t judge others based on sexual orientation. Those little actions can have huge payoffs in creating an inclusive workplace.
The LGBTA community is not the only one getting Reppa’s time and attention. Her other interests include sustainability, which she indulges in while working in JSC’s Center Operations Directorate—as well as improving the Earth for all its inhabitants.
“I love sustainable development,” Reppa said. “During my freshman year of college, I was the vice president of Engineers Without Borders at Purdue. We built a water system in Bolivia in a rural community of about 135 families, as they didn’t have regular access to clean water. We were able to build a water tank and a pump system so the Bolivians could go to the faucet and get water all year long. This fall and spring I’ll be working with a different group at Purdue doing the same thing in the Dominican Republic.
“You can have environmental sustainability … but if you don’t have social sustainability and there is still civil unrest and discrimination, your civilization is not going to last. I am passionate about making life as good as possible for everyone on the planet. I try to involve myself any way I can help move the world forward to that goal.”
Reppa doesn’t just crusade for Out and Allied and sustainable initiatives. She also devotes as much time as she can to other ERGs and groups at JSC, and encourages JSC team members to do the same.
“It’s important to be involved in things beyond your call of duty,” Reppa said. “The work that we do here is amazing, but sometimes it’s just as beneficial to join an ERG, for example, and contribute to progressing the culture of JSC as a workplace. I would love to see more people get involved, whether it’s with Engineers Without Borders, ERGs or the Green Team. There are so many things you can do that would help make this workplace a better place for everybody.”
How does one save the world? By improving one microcosm at a time.
Catherine Ragin Williams
NASA Johnson Space Center