Women of Johnson Celebrated for Commitment to Advancing Diversity and Inclusion

The women at NASA make history every day as they continue to pave the way for future generations of explorers. This Women’s History Month, NASA and the Johnson Space Center are particularly proud to celebrate women in their workforce who advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA).

To help recognize this important work, Johnson’s Women Excelling in Life and Leadership (WELL) Employee Resource Group (ERG) nominated several outstanding employees to be featured on RoundUp Reads. Scroll below to learn more about how these women are engaging the Artemis Generation and supporting the growth and development of their peers.

Meet Irene Chan, Flight Planning Engineer

For self-described puzzle master Irene Chan, serving as a flight planning engineer for the International Space Station, and now the Moon to Mars Program, has been a fitting role. Chan’s work involves bringing the six different programs under NASA’s Artemis campaign together to understand their unique requirements and constraints and identify cross-program interdependencies. She then works to create a detailed flight plan based on that information.

“I love puzzles and knowing that I helped to put the pieces together,” she said. “It’s the great integrator role.”

That love of solving puzzles also connects to Chan’s passion for outreach and working collaboratively to bridge gaps between others. One of her most memorable NASA experiences involved participating in a technical interchange meeting in Moscow, where she and other flight engineers and integrators gathered to build international partner relationships while working to accomplish International Space Station missions.

“All of my counterparts were women. My colleagues who accompanied me on this trip were also women,” Chan said. “All of these women were planning missions for the space station and we’re talking about mission constraints and technical topics – we’re the ones that are helping to facilitate the decision making and hashing out the things that needed to be integrated. I loved it!”

Undeniably extroverted, Chan seizes opportunities to share her enthusiasm for engineering and human spaceflight with student audiences. “Whenever there’s an opportunity for outreach in the classroom, I want to be there. I want to be at STEM festivals, because I want to meet those young ladies who could see themselves in me,” she said. “I want them to see that there’s not one particular profile of a person that supports the aerospace industry. All of us have something to contribute.”

Chan shares her personal and at times bumpy path to NASA with students to encourage them to pursue their dreams, no matter their background. She grew up in a single-parent, lower-income home in East Los Angeles with friends and family who generally worked as clerks or cooks. She discovered an interest in engineering while visiting an aunt in Houston. Trying on a Gemini spacesuit helmet at Space Center Houston, Chan was inspired. “I didn’t want to be an astronaut – I wanted to be the person behind it, piecing together the puzzles,” she said.

Chan excelled in math and her teachers encouraged her to consider careers in related fields. She decided to pursue aerospace engineering in college, where she was surprised to find that she struggled with basic courses. After she failed calculus and physics three times, Chan said her career counselor started asking if aerospace engineering was the right fit. “I was really stubborn, and I found other women in engineering who supported me and said, yes, it’s hard but you’ll get there,” she said. “My involvement in Society of Women Engineers and AIAA, where I took on a leadership role, just reinforced for me that I do want to stay in the aerospace industry because everything I’m encountering, I really enjoy.”

Her first job out of college was not a great fit, but Chan refused to get discouraged. “I claim to be this puzzle master – I will unlock this puzzle,” she said. “I will figure out how to make my way and contribute to aerospace. And here I am.”

Chan seeks to provide the same support and encouragement to young women and early-career professionals that she received as a student and a “fresh out” engineer. She has been active in WELL ERG since its creation in 2015, spearheading the group’s communications for several years before becoming its professional development lead. She hopes that through the ERGs, Johnson can show its workforce that they have a whole network of support from colleagues who want to make sure that everyone succeeds. “We are all one big community with the same common goal,” she said. “Let’s all get there together.” Chan particularly enjoys watching Johnson team members have a lightbulb moment during WELL’s professional development events. “You see people realize, you are talking about my concerns here and I can see a way through it with the resources you’re connecting me to,” she said.

She appreciates that Johnson provides platforms for amplifying employee voices and sharing stories that show “we are a beautiful spectrum of people coming together for a common mission,” believing that this is important for fostering inclusivity. She encourages programs and offices across Johnson to find different opportunities and communication media that help team members who are less extroverted share their experience and feel like they are being heard. She also recommends attending events, including program open houses, to better understand the center’s culture, build relationships, and get broader context for the work done each day.

An even smaller step? “Don’t let someone stop at yes or no when you’re having a conversation. Ask them, ‘tell me more,’ and be genuine about it,” Chan said.

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Meet Janani Vedanth, Environmental Engineer

Janani Vedanth is a chemical engineer by training and has over 15 years of experience. In the eight years Vedanth has worked at Johnson, she has filled a variety of roles within the Center Operations Directorate, from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) project lead to supervisory program manager as a former contractor, to her current civil servant position as Johnson's NEPA, cultural resources, and natural resources manager. Vedanth’s primary responsibilities include reviewing all federal actions to ensure compliance with NEPA and other federal regulations, preserving Johnson’s historic assets, and managing the various natural resources onsite.

She is also the environmental lead for the Mars Sample Return project, working with various NASA stakeholders and the European Space Agency, planning to ensure the retrieved samples are safely transported to their destination, and do not pose an adverse impact to the human health and environment.

Vedanth said the most rewarding aspect of her work, no matter which hat she is wearing, is getting to meet different Johnson team members, learning what they do, where they come from and working together towards NASA mission. As the community outreach lead for WELL, she plays a pivotal role in developing and implementing DEIA activities inside and outside the agency. 

Encouraging diverse students to consider careers in STEM fields is one way in which Vedanth champions DEIA. Vedanth notes this is in direct alignment with NASA's Strategic Plan, Goal 4.3 to "build the next generation of explorers," as well as the administration’s priority of building a future diverse STEM workforce. One of her most memorable experiences involved co-leading an event with Out & Allied ERG, called Reach for the Stars! STEM Festival at Rice University. Established by Sally Ride in 2006, the annual event features science workshops, panel discussions, and exhibits designed to promote middle school girls’ interest in STEM. “A lot of people think that if you work for NASA, you have to be a rocket scientist” she said. Vedanth estimated that she and other ERG representatives spoke to more than 400 youth at the festival, talking about their personal career journeys.

As an active member of NASA Engages, formerly known as the Speakers Bureau, Vedanth engages in various STEM speaking engagements. A recent example of this was when she collaborated with other NASA team members to host a day-long series of virtual presentations – which included exciting experiments and science demonstrations – for students at an underfunded elementary school in Atlanta, Georgia. “These students don’t get to meet a lot of people, and it’s very nice to see their eyes light up when you talk about NASA,” she said.

She has also been a panelist for several different events, including a recent NASA-organized conference that explored gender gaps in the workforce. “We had all of these awesome women who were NASA alumni and NASA senior leaders, as well as other ERGs present,” she said. “It was a really successful event with many key take aways.”

Vedanth looks forward to continuing her involvement in mentoring and community outreach events with WELL this year, including a repeat appearance at Reach for the Stars! She encourages others to volunteer with the ERGs and hopes that more leadership positions within the ERG groups will be made available to both contractors and civil servants to promote participation.

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Meet Joy Hamilton, White Sands Material and Propellant Compatibility Chemist

Ask Joy Hamilton about her current role at NASA and she is as likely to tell you about her involvement in WELL as she is to describe her work at White Sands Test Facility. That is because being a champion for women is a priority for Hamilton.

“It is important that women advocate for women,” she said. “I think it’s been so competitive for so long that women often felt pitted against each other for the one or two spots available. It is important that we support other women in pursuit of their careers without feeling as if we are sacrificing our chance in the process.” 

Serving in various leadership roles for WELL has created opportunities for Hamilton to advocate for women and to help them identify needs or resources that are important for them personally and professionally. Hamilton was WELL’s co-chair in 2022, chair in 2023, and currently serves as the group’s recording secretary, sharing job openings with WELL membership to support their career advancement. She previously led the WELL Book Club, which she said provided opportunities for team members across Johnson and White Sands to discuss their experiences as women in STEM and the experiences of others. “It really exhibited the evolution of women at NASA in a few decades.” She added, “I didn’t grow up seeing a lot of women in the roles I get to experience today, but I never felt discouraged by that and I think we have seen a shift in the tide for women in STEM and leadership roles.”

Hamilton supports and attends most of WELL’s events virtually, since she is located at White Sands in the Materials and Components Laboratory. As a material and propellant compatibility chemist, she works with colleagues in the lab to evaluate the compatibility of various materials in propellants for both program and commercial customers. “The most rewarding part of my job is helping customers identify the safest materials possible to ensure we are providing our astronaut crews the safest vehicles possible,” she said. Traveling to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 2022 to watch Artemis I launch and seeing the Space Launch System on the pad was a top NASA experience for Hamilton, but so was meeting her childhood hero, former NASA Chief Flight Director, Eugene "Gene" Kranz. “That was a hands-down ‘pinch me’ moment!”

Hamilton noted that White Sands team members can feel isolated from their peers at Johnson and events happening in Houston. Being involved with WELL has helped her meet many team members at Johnson and maintain connections between White Sands and the ERGs. “Of all the jobs I’ve had, I have felt most included at NASA,” she said. “I think that’s a testament to the mission we have as an agency.”

Hamilton encourages NASA team members to support each other’s career advancement by sharing interview experiences, tips and tricks for resume-building, and professional growth opportunities. Above all, Hamilton says, “Be kind to others. It takes so little energy to just be kind.”