ICYMI: JSC Town Hall from Feb. 21, 2024

NASA’s Johnson Space Center Dare | Unite | Explore (DUE) commitments were a central focus of the JSC Town Hall led by Center Director Vanessa Wyche on Feb. 21, 2024. Wyche shared mission and event updates, then highlighted key DUE accomplishments from 2023. Those successes included starting a second program management development initiative class, improving onboarding processes to help new employees become immersed in and understand Johnson’s and the agency’s work, and creating new resources to strengthen collaboration – most notably through the launch of Johnson’s Front Door website that helps communicate the center’s capabilities to potential partners.

Pivoting to DUE planning for 2024, Wyche invited Deputy Center Director Stephen Koerner, Associate Center Director Donna Shafer, and Associate Director for Vision and Strategy Douglas Terrier to the Teague Auditorium stage. Each leader reviewed and answered questions about the 2024 DUE commitments for their respective teams – Workforce, Facilities, and Products and Processes – noting that responses to the 2023 Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey and diversity surveys helped to identify top priorities for the year. Koerner encouraged the entire Johnson workforce to become engaged in DUE by visiting the DUE website for more info, contacting a team lead directly, or asking their supervisor how they could get involved.

Wyche also reviewed the NASA 2040 initiative with attendees and how it is providing a strategic roadmap to propel the agency into the future and maintain its global leadership in research, technology, and engineering. “We’re doing this because NASA has big goals for big, bold missions,” she said, adding that all the DUE commitments feed into NASA 2040.

After the town hall, employees had an opportunity to engage with representatives of the African American Employee Resource Group (AAERG), the International Space Station Program, the Commercial Crew Program, and the JSC Clinic at tables set up in the Teague Lobby. To commemorate Black History Month, the AAERG displayed artwork created by Black artists alongside a table featuring its “Little Leaders” campaign, which encourages parents to envision their children as bold figures in Black history. Parents submitted photos of their children dressed as a Black American artist, along with the artist's photo and a brief write up about the artist.

Watch the JSC Town Hall below.y

Enjoy more photos from the event below.