NAI Contributes to Discussions on Diversity at Astronomical Society of the Pacific Meeting

Within a climate of changing structure, leadership, and definition of Education and Public Outreach (E/PO) at NASA, NAI’s E/PO Coordinator, Daniella Scalice, delivered a session on NAI’s “NASA and the Navajo Nation” project this week at the 118th Annual Meeting of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific (ASP), co-hosted with the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, MD.

The theme of the conference was diversity, and NAI’s session was one of many offered at the conference highlighting projects and best practices to establish and improve NASA’s E/PO efforts in a multi-cultural country. The conference also brought to light the issue of earmarks in E/PO being handled at HQ, as well as expanding E/PO to include efforts in higher education. Changes on the horizon include a shift in the structure of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate E/PO support network, which will bring two new AO’s in the upcoming months. Six of NAI’s 12 Teams were also represented at the conference, from participation on the ASP’s Board of Directors to presentation of posters and exhibits. [Source: NAI Newsletter]