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By NASA
7 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
As the program manager for people, culture and equity, “people whisperer” Edward Victor Gonzales helps ensure people’s wellbeing, comfort, and safety.
Name: Edward Victor Gonzales
Title: Program Manager for People, Culture, and Equity
Organization: Heliophysics Division, Science and Exploration Directorate (Code 670)
Eddie Gonzales is the program manager for People, Culture, and Equity for the Heliophysics Division at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.NASA What do you do and what is most interesting about your role here at Goddard?
As the program manager for people, culture, and equity officer for heliophysics, I am responsible for people’s wellbeing, comfort, and safety. What is most interesting to me is the vast diversity across Goddard.
How did you come to Goddard?
I went to college late in life, but never graduated. After high school, I started at Mount San Antonio Community College in Walnut, California, but had to work full time when my then-girlfriend became pregnant. I started in the mail room of an international law firm, gradually working my way into director of the support staff. I worked there for 15 years, often staying overnight. I could not attend night school and there were no online learning options at the time.
In 2001, Warren Christopher, who was the managing partner at the law firm and later became secretary of state in the Clinton administration, wrote me a recommendation that helped me get a job at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California as a business administrator. Apollo 13 inspired me to want to work for NASA. After obtaining the job at NASA JPL, I took a few classes at Pasadena Community College.
In 2009, I was detailed to NASA Headquarters to work in the Office of STEM Education. After two years, I returned to JPL to work on minority-serving programs.
In 2014, I returned to Headquarters for a fellowship to work in the Minority University Research Educational Programs. After a year and a half, I returned to JPL to manage underserved, underrepresented undergraduate programs.
In 2018, I came to Goddard to do outreach for NASA Goddard’s heliophysics division. Three years later, I became the diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility officer for heliophysics and now, my current role as people, culture, and equity officer.
As the people, culture, and equity officer, what are your responsibilities?
First, I observe. There are a lot of cues and things that happen in the world that others, including leadership, can sometimes miss. We need to be conscious of these things. We need to be respectful and kind — always.
When something happens in the world that impacts a colleague, I make sure to check in with them daily. On a broader scale, when something happens in the world that affects a particular culture, I check in with that particular group.
I also go to underserved, underrepresented national conferences across the country. At the American Indian Science and Engineering Society conference, I talked about employment opportunities at NASA. It was important for those students to see someone who looked like them. I am half Native American and half Latinx [a gender-neutral term for those with Latin American heritage].
“I was labeled a troublemaker. Teachers wouldn’t help me. My career counselor said I would do amazing work at a car wash and that’s what I should consider doing and not to continue my education. But I didn’t listen.” — Edward Gonzales, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility Lead, Goddard Space Flight CenterNASA/Taylor Mickal In August 2024, the NASA administrator appointed you to the NASA Advisory Council. What do your duties there entail?
The council has five committees: aeronautics, human exploration, science, STEM, and technology. I am a member of the science committee. My plan is to discuss the cultural role we all play at NASA.
What skills do you use in speaking with underserved, underrepresented communities?
I test the waters and the temperature of leadership. I am very active with the employees. I have an open-door policy.
In addition, I think I am highly culturally aware overall. At conferences, I try to dress, speak, and act approachably for the students who attend.
Most importantly, my cell phone is never to be seen. When interacting with someone, I am very observant of the other person’s body language overall, which helps me understand the other person better. Sometimes body language rather than words will tell you what you need to hear. My wife calls me a “people whisperer.”
What does cultural awareness mean to you?
Know your audience. I do not think about how I do things: I focus on how the next generation will do things. I try to speak their language. And listen, very important to listen.
Typically, when I go to a national conference, students will approach me with a résumé. But at a Native American national conference, the elders may approach me with a student and a résumé. It is important to address the elder first and ask permission to speak to the student. Also, you would say that the student could bring knowledge learned at Goddard back to their reservation instead of saying that the student could leave their reservation. I also always acknowledge the tribe associated with where I am speaking.
Whenever we send a team to a national conference, we send people who are culturally aware of that particular group’s culture.
I also conduct cultural awareness training at Goddard.
What are your hopes for Godard’s DEIA programs?
I want to continue to create a pipeline of future employees that is more diverse, filled with great ideas and solutions, with a safe and welcoming environment for them.
What advice do you give students?
The path to NASA is not linear. You have to find your path.
Eddie Gonzales looks out for colleagues wellbeing, comfort, and safety within NASA Goddard’s diverse workforce. Courtesy of Eddie Gonzales You’ve mentioned that DEIA is essentially about kindness. How do you define kindness? How do you teach it?
Kindness in my humble opinion is about grace, integrity and understanding. And the willingness to learn about others and their cultures. To agree to disagree and have a polite conversation, to create that understanding.
Teaching starts in the home, bad behavior, lack of understanding and racism are taught traits. We must do better and lead by example. To treat others how we want to be treated.
Who are your mentors?
One is Christopher Gardner, whose life was portrayed in “The Pursuit of Happyness.” I recently brought Christopher Gardner to Goddard to do a keynote speech and he even stayed with me. I met him because I saw his movie, read his book, and contacted him.
I teach this lesson to students: Everyone is interested when you take the time to learn what is important to them. If there is someone you want to meet, network to try to meet them. All you have to do is ask. But first, research them so that you can talk to them about themselves and their work. If they say no, then you can move on to the next person.
Gardner told me to focus on my plan A because plan B is not good. If you know that you have a plan B, then you won’t put everything you have into plan A. Tread forward as if there is nothing that you can fall back on.
Another mentor is José Hernández, the first Hispanic astronaut. I proposed to my wife while staying at his condo. He told me to find my “yes” and to never give up. He applied to the astronaut program 13 times before he was finally selected.
What are the next big things on your bucket list?
I want to see the Northern Lights and continue to travel. I just lost 70 pounds and want to lose 20 more. I gave up meat for about six months and now eat chicken and turkey, but no longer eat red meat. I also exercise and now feel great.
I want to continue to attend concerts around the country.
By Elizabeth M. Jarrell
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Conversations With Goddard is a collection of Q&A profiles highlighting the breadth and depth of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center’s talented and diverse workforce. The Conversations have been published twice a month on average since May 2011. Read past editions on Goddard’s “Our People” webpage.
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Last Updated Dec 03, 2024 Related Terms
People of Goddard Goddard Space Flight Center People of NASA Explore More
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From left to right, Dr. Peter Parker, Astronaut Victor Glover and Dr. Shih-Yung post for a photo after the 2024 Silver Snoopy Awards ceremony.NASA/Mark Knopp Two employees from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia recently earned the prestigious Silver Snoopy award, an honor given to NASA employees and contractors across the agency for outstanding achievements related to astronaut safety or mission success. Dr. Shih-Yung Lin and Dr. Peter Parker received the awards during a Space Flight Awareness (SFA) award ceremony at Langley on Nov. 21. Lin earned the award for exceptional engineering and technical leadership contributions to the Orion program. Parker earned the award for outstanding leadership and technical contributions in support of the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA astronaut Victor Glover visited Langley to present the awards. Glover is currently assigned as the pilot of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon. He piloted the SpaceX Crew 1 mission to the International Space Station in 2018 and served as a flight engineer on expeditions 64 and 65.
“This, for me, feels like how I felt when I received my astronaut pin. This is us giving you our team pin,” said Glover. He later added, “This is something to wear with honor. You are a very special part of our safety and mission assurance culture.”
Astronaut Victor Glover presents the 2024 Silver Snoopy Awards to Dr. Shih-Yung at NASA Langley Research Center.NASA/Angelique Herring The Silver Snoopy is the astronauts’ personal award and is presented to less than one percent of the total NASA workforce annually. The significance of the award was not lost on the honorees, who both brought family members to share in the moment.
“I’m involved with lots of research projects, but they don’t all involve loss of human life,” said Parker. “It definitely is a more prestigious, more impactful, more consequential type of project that I’m being recognized for.”
Lin, who recently retired, echoed that sentiment.
“You set a very high standard in order to achieve the safest conditions for all the astronauts,” he said. “For me, if we get a good mission out of it, or multiple missions, I would consider that my personal lifetime goal for my career. That’s what it means to me.”
Lin and Parker each received a sterling Silver Snoopy lapel pin that has flown in space, plus a certificate of appreciation signed by Glover and an authentication letter. The pins awarded to Langley’s recipients flew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour during an assembly mission to the International Space Station, STS-118, August 8-21, 2007. The award depicts Snoopy, a character from the “Peanuts” comic strip created by Charles Schulz.
An avid supporter of the U.S. space program, Schulz gave NASA astronauts permission to adopt Snoopy as their personal safety symbol during the Apollo era and has long served to promote excellence in every phase of space flight to help ensure the success of NASA missions. The Snoopy emblem reflects NASA and industry’s sense of responsibility and continuing concern for astronaut flight safety.
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By NASA
NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (front center left) discusses NASA 2040 on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, the agency’s strategic initiative for aligning workforce, infrastructure, and technologies to meet the needs of the future with various groups of employees at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The initiative launched in June 2023 to implement meaningful changes to ensure the agency remains the global leader in aerospace and science in the year 2040 while also making the greatest impacts for the nation and the world.
NASA will focus on addressing the agency’s aging infrastructure, shaping an agency workforce strategy, improving decision velocity at many levels, and exploring ways to achieve greater budget flexibility.
Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has named two distinguished engineers at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland AIAA Associate Fellows.
The grade of Associate Fellow recognizes individuals who have accomplished or overseen important engineering or scientific work, done original work of outstanding merit, or have otherwise made outstanding contributions to the arts, sciences, or technology of aeronautics or astronautics. To be selected as an Associate Fellow, an individual must be an AIAA Senior Member in good standing, with at least 12 years of professional experience, and be recommended by three AIAA members.
L. Danielle KochCredit: NASA L. Danielle Koch, aerospace engineer, performs research and educational outreach at NASA Glenn. Her 34-year career at NASA has been dedicated to conducting research for safer, cleaner, and quieter aircraft engines; high-performance ventilation systems for spacecraft; and bio-inspired broadband acoustic absorbers. She has authored over 50 technical publications and has been granted three patents. Koch has been recognized for excellence in engineering and educational outreach with many awards, most recently named as one of the 2024 Women of Distinction by the Girl Scouts of Northeast Ohio.
Dr. Sam LeeCredit: NASA Dr. Sam Lee, a research engineer supporting the Aircraft Icing Branch, conducts research in NASA Glenn’s Icing Research Tunnel to study how ice builds up, or accretes, on aircraft surfaces. The results from the experiments are used to understand the physics of how ice accretes on aircraft during flight and to provide the validation data to develop computational tools to predict ice accretion. He also performs research on the effects of ice accretion on aircraft performance in aerodynamic wind tunnels. Lee has authored 17 conference papers and journal papers. He has contributed to the development of many future engineers and scientists as a mentor for NASA’s Explorer Scouts program and various college internship programs. Lee has been part of the Aircraft Icing Branch since 2002.
AIAA will formally honor and induct the class at the AIAA Associate Fellows Induction Ceremony and Dinner on Jan. 8, 2025, during the 2025 AIAA SciTech Forum in Orlando.
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By NASA
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