Elevating Women in STEM

I began working with the DoD in 2014, and have had a variety of government roles and positions since then.

Below is a piece I wrote during my time with the Recruitment Office at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, as their Recruitment Communications Program Manager.

The article was first posted to my LinkedIn on November 30, 2020, and the original piece can be found on here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/elevating-women-stem-brittany-l-reid/

Elevating Women in STEM

(Olay's 'Her Future is STEM-sational'​ Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade float | Screenshot from Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/lFVQHr2hfIw)

Written by Brittany L. Reid, Program Manager for Recruitment Communications

NGA Talent Acquisition Center

     It is no secret that there has been a nationwide push to increase the percentage of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) roles across the United States. This year, National STEM Day fell on November 8, 2020 and on that date, the Census Bureau released statistics regarding the status of STEM and STEM-related occupations by sex and median earnings across the United States. According to the data spreadsheet on www.census.gov, as of 2019, approximately 47.7% of American women are employed, with 26.7% working specifically in STEM occupations.

     The movement to elevate the pressing need to tighten the gender-gap in STEM work roles has caught the attention of businesses across the country, including a cosmetic company that chose to use its platform to bring awareness to the issue during the Thanksgiving holiday.

     This year, millions tuned in to the 2020 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade from the comfort of their homes. Just over an hour into the event, between the La Bamba dance performance by members of the Danza Fiesta New York Puerto Rican Folk Dance Company and NASA’s Snoopy balloon honoring the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, the Olay company debuted its very first Macy's Thanksgiving float: Her Future is STEM-sational. The piece featured an African American female astronaut looking ahead to the future, surrounded by a double helix, computer coding, a robotic arm, and mathematical symbols—all representing STEM fields. Upon the float, Colombian reggaetón singer Karol G sang her Spanish song, “Ay, Dios Mio!”

     A clip of the performance, and the float in all of its splendor, can be viewed below:

(Above: Karol G's performance of 'Ay Dios Mio' atop Olay's 'Her Future is STEM-sational' float during the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade)

     The visage strongly reflected key aspects of Olay’s current initiative to: "Make space for Women in STEM." According to https://www.space.com, Olay aims to double the number of women in STEM roles, and to triple the number of multicultural women in science and technology fields, by 2030. With this in mind, what better way to uplift the significance of Women of Color than by having multicultural, female representation symbolized both in song and in the float’s overall structure during the 2020 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade?

     In the same article, space.com references how Chris Heiert, senior vice president of Olay, relayed that last year, Olay announced its aim to leverage the 2020 Super Bowl as the stage to debut its initiative of making space for women in STEM, "...because we wanted that message to reach as many consumers as possible. As we continue our mission to face the STEM gap, we saw the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade as another great, large scale opportunity to spread the message that women can face anything, and that we are here to support them in doing so." 

(Above: Olay's 2020 Super Bowl commercial promoting their initiative to 'Make Space for Women in STEM', featuring Taraji P. Henson, who played the iconic Katherine Johnson in the film 'Hidden Figures.')

     Like Olay, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency is also pushing to decrease the gender gap of women in not only STEM roles, but leadership roles as well. Upon navigating to the NGA company page on the Power to Fly website, one can meet some of these stellar women and get to know more about NGA as an agency: from GEOINT Analyst Cartographer, MaryAnne Tong, to Chief of the Commercial GEOINT Discovery Division, Ichesia Veal, to Director of Research, Cindy Daniel.

     One can even visit the NGA.mil website to learn about the agency’s second-in-command, Deputy Director Dr. Stacey A. Dixon. According to her profile, “Dr. Dixon holds both a doctorate and master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. She was also a chemical engineer postdoctoral fellow at the University of Minnesota.”

     NGA serves as a passionate advocate for gender and cultural diversity across the agency, and continues to provide STEM work roles for candidates to pursue via the Job Search tool on the agency's IntelligenceCareers.gov page, such as the Software Developer position that is currently open for those interested in the Computer Science field. 

     To search this and similar positions, and to learn more about NGA, visit https://www.intelligencecareers.gov/NGA/index.html.

Mapping the Way: From School to NGA

I began working with the DoD in 2014, and have had a variety of government roles and positions since then.

Below is a piece I wrote during my time with the Recruitment Office at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, as their Recruitment Communications Program Manager.

The article was first posted to my LinkedIn on July 31, 2020, and the original piece can be found on here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/mapping-way-from-school-nga-brittany-l-reid/

Mapping the Way: From School to NGA

(Picture from: https://www.amazon.com/Map-My-School-Mapping-World/dp/178637319X)

Brittany L. Reid, Recruitment Communications Program Manager
NGA Talent Acquisition Center

           As summer draws to a close, it is almost time for students to gear up for going back to school. It goes without saying that this year, the realm of education will look vastly different for a majority of families across the country. While some schools are working to modify the policies, procedures, and layouts that come with teaching students in the classroom, others are exploring the capabilities of students learning remotely, and still others are pursuing the implementation of a hybrid model that involves learning partly online and partly in the classroom.

           No matter what grade a child is in, ensuring that they learn foundational skillsets like STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics), geography, and more will be vital in helping that child advance throughout and beyond his or her academic career.

           NGA, the premiere leader of world-class geospatial intelligence, is always seeking prospective candidates with a broad range of diverse skillsets. The agency's work roles cover a variety of areas, to include graphic design, data management, analysis, cartography, engineering, coding, human geography, programming, and cybersecurity (to name a few). 

           The beauty of NGA’s opportunities is that the proficiencies that fuel its quality workforce can be cultivated outside of the IC and DoD. Students may already be building these skills by taking on an interest in subjects like animation, videogame design, or cultural studies, and may not even realize it.

           Below are examples of some renowned projects built with the very same knowledge and tools that NGA leverages to equip its workforce.

Esri User Conference 2017- ArcGIS City Engine helped build Zootopia

Esri's CityEngine Software helped Blade Runner 2049 win Oscar for Best Visual Effects

Radiohead music video "House of Cards" made entirely with LIDAR

“House of Cards” LIDAR Music Video

Students can even use their favorite cartoon heroes to practice honing their own skills, as exemplified in the comic and video below.

Mapping Superheroes: The Superheroes Who Protect New York City Map (Topviewnyc.com)

(https://www.topviewnyc.com/packages/a-map-of-superheroes-in-nyc-and-where-they-protect)

Mapping Disney Princesses

Younger kids may seek to practice making their own maps to highlight their interests or the environment around them. Older students may look into acquiring an ArcGIS account, which offers both free and paid subscription services. This will allow them to practice with a program that is an essential tool for NGA’s personnel. They may also pursue studying coding programs languages like Python, another favorite asset among the agency’s workforce.

College students who are proactively seeking opportunities to put their skills to use and to contribute to the success of NGA's mission can learn more about the agency and apply for student internship opportunities at www.intelligencecareers.gov/nga. They simply need to navigate to the "Search NGA Jobs" widget and scroll through the posted listings until they reach the entry for "Temporary Student Hire-Internship Program." Then, they can click that listing to apply!

Even if you aren’t a student, please take the time to check out our latest job openings and explore our agency via the address above.

Also, take the time to drop in the comments what it was that piqued your interest and initially made you want to learn more about geospatial-intelligence and NGA!

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 *Note: The header picture is from a book on Amazon entitled "Map My School." According to the product description: "This dynamic book brings mapping skills down to a micro level by showing children how anything can be mapped, including their own home or school. Images combine with simple explanations to show readers how maps give us a birds-eye view of an area and can help us see the layout of buildings. Tips on building drawing skills make it easy for readers to craft their own maps." This is another resource that would be useful in helping children get better acquainted with STEM and geography skillsets.

           

Women's History Month Mini-Series: Women in GEOINT

 I began working with the DoD in 2014, and have had a variety of government roles and positions since then.

Below is a piece I wrote during my time with the Recruitment Office at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, as their Recruitment Communications Program Manager.  

The article was first posted to my LinkedIn on March 27, 2020, and the original piece can be found on here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/womens-history-month-mini-series-women-geoint-brittany-l-reid-2c/

Women's History Month Mini-Series: Women in GEOINT

Katie Bouman, seen with hard drives of black hole image data. Picture from Ctvnews.ca: https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/meet-katie-bouman-the-scientist-behind-the-first-ever-picture-of-a-black-hole-1.4375377)

Written by: Brittany L. Reid, Recruitment Communications Program Manager
NGA Talent Acquisition Center

     March is Women’s History month, and as the month comes to a close, I wanted to take the time to recognize astounding women who have made amazing strides in our nation’s history. This mini-series honors women in the fields of GEOINT—specifically those who have made unique contributes in the land, sea, and space domains.

     These women span the gamut of a multitude of STEM skillsets that fuel the core of Geospatial Intelligence.

     Today, we recognize Dr. Katie Bouman, an assistant professor at the California Institute of Technology whose research focuses on computational imaging, and who became renowned for her work in capturing the world's first image of a black hole in 2019.

Friday, March 27, 2020

KATIE BOUMAN

(1989 – )

Birth Location – West Lafayette, Indiana

Education – University of Michigan; Massachusetts Institute of Technology

     Space is infinite, which means that it has no limitations. Similarly, there’s no true limit on how old or young one can be to influence how humans analyze their way of life. For example, one person who has made a significant contribution in the field of astronomy before she turned 30 is Dr. Katie Bouman, an assistant professor for the California Institute of Technology’s (Caltech’s) Computing and Mathematical Sciences Department.

     It was in 2011, that Dr. Bouman received her B.S.E. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan. She then went on to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where she received her S.M. degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2013 and her Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 2017. Dr. Bouman later joined Caltech as an assistant professor during the summer of 2019.

Contributions - Bouman was only 29 when she made headlines in spring of 2019 for developing the algorithm that led to the very first photographed image of a Black Hole. It was during her time as an MIT grad student, a mere six years prior, that Dr. Bouman first started making algorithms. Specifically, she began to work on an algorithm that would eventually would lead to an image of a supermassive black hole at the heart of the Messier 87 galaxy, some 55 million light years from Earth.

(Picture above from kdrv.com: https://www.kdrv.com/content/news/That-image-of-a-black-hole-you-saw-everywhere-today-Thank-this-grad-student-for-making-it-possible-508397481.html)

In order for Bouman’s algorithm to work, eight radio telescopes, which together make up a network known as the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT), had to capture the raw data of the Messier 87 galaxy’s black hole. That data was then stored on hundreds of hard drives (see photo). The EHT telescopes were stationed in various countries, and Bouman had to oversee a team of more than 200 scientists from around the world to ensure that the algorithm she created processed the data accurately. Bouman’s algorithm was essential for effectively converting that data into a visual image that was easy to observe, study, and that literally orbited the far corners of the digital universe.

(Picture above from ctvnews.ca: https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/meet-katie-bouman-the-scientist-behind-the-first-ever-picture-of-a-black-hole-1.4375377)

     My Take – Before Bouman’s efforts, it was practically impossible for mankind to “see” and study Black Holes using conventional scientific research methods. Her work is revolutionary, and could serve as a critical tool in helping humans explore other facets of space deemed too dangerous to study in person. With more focus being placed on the use of satellites and how humans can effectively utilize the space domain, the work of people like Dr. Bouman will be key in helping our society successfully maneuver through, “the Final Frontier.” She has done more than “reach for the stars,” she has shown that we can shed light to break through the darkest corners of space. 

Fun Fact – During the Fall of 2014, Dr. Bouman’s master's thesis, Estimating Material Properties of Fabric through the Observation of Motion, was awarded the Ernst Guillemin Award for best Master's Thesis in electrical engineering. (See https://www.eecs.mit.edu/news-events/announcements/eecs-celebrates-fall-2014-awards for more information). Additionally in 2016, Bouman delivered a TEDx talk entitled, How to Take a Picture of a Black Hole. During the talk, Bowman gave this piece of advice to those aspiring to blaze their own trails, “I’d like to encourage all of you to go out and help push the boundaries of science, even if it may at first seem as mysterious to you as a black hole.”

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Website References:

http://users.cms.caltech.edu/~klbouman/

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47891902

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/apr/11/katie-bouman-black-hole-photo

Women's History Month Mini-Series: Women in GEOINT

I began working with the DoD in 2014, and have had a variety of government roles and positions since then.

Below is a piece I wrote during my time with the Recruitment Office at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, as their Recruitment Communications Program Manager.

The article was first posted to my LinkedIn on March 26, 2020, and the original piece can be found on here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/womens-history-month-mini-series-women-geoint-brittany-l-reid-1c/

Women's History Month Mini-Series: Women in GEOINT

Picture from Smithsonianmag.com: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seeing-believing-how-marie-tharp-changed-geology-forever-180960192/

Written by: Brittany L. Reid, Recruitment Communications Program Manager NGA Talent Acquisition Center

March is Women’s History month, and as the month comes to a close, I wanted to take the time to recognize astounding women who have made amazing strides in our nation’s history. This mini-series honors women in the fields of GEOINT—specifically those who have made unique contributes in the land, sea, and space domains.

These women span the gamut of a multitude of STEM skillsets that fuel the core of Geospatial Intelligence.

Today, we recognize Marie Tharp, an oceanographer and geologist who made great strides in advancing our ability to chart the seas.

Thursday, March 26, 2020

SEA – MARIE THARP

 (1920 – 2006)

Birth Location – Ypsilanti, Michigan

Death Location – Nyack, New York

Education – University of Ohio

  You may have heard of the “Round Earth vs Flat Earth” debate, but are you also familiar with the fact that people used to believe the ocean floor was just a plain, flat bed of mud?

Today, we can credit Marie Tharp for playing a crucial role in enhancing our ability to not only map the ocean floor, but to also keep key navigational documents, like the U.S. Notice to Mariners, up to date for our vessels at sea.

Tharp was a geologist and oceanographer who helped produce one of the world’s first ocean maps, and she helped to confirm several theories regarding the geological developments of our planet.

Tharp’s family moved around constantly as she was growing up, and she attend more than 15 schools before she graduated from high school. Afterwards, she attended the University of Ohio and graduated with a Music and an English degree. Tharp then continued her education in Michigan, where she earned a Master’s degree in Geology and another bachelor’s degree in mathematics.

Contributions – Tharp’s colleague, Bruce Heezen, helped her to accurately map Earth’s waters, since women at that time were not allowed to travel on ocean voyages. So, while Heezen was at sea, he sent Tharp SONAR data, which she then transcribed into visual renderings using nothing but paper, pens, and pencils. Tharp’s work depicted 3-dimensional maps of the canyons, mountains, ridges, and troughs that we now know form the foundation of the ocean floor. She also proved the continental drift theory, which stated that continents shifted by moving across the ocean bed. Previously, the theory was unsupported by many geologists, oceanographers, and scientists. However, Tharp’s fastidious research and dedication to her craft eventually helped her garnish enough support for the theory to be widely accepted and held in very high regard.

(Picture Above from Smithsonianmag.com: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/seeing-believing-how-marie-tharp-changed-geology-forever-180960192/)

Tharp’s contributions culminated in the 1977 publication of a map entitled, “The World Ocean Floor,” which showcased the ocean map for the entire planet.

My Take – Tharp worked during the midst of WWII, in a time when women maintained the labor force while men were on the battlefield, but were somewhat restricted in what they could do. However, Tharp did not let this stop her. She conquered these societal barriers, broke through the ocean’s barriers, and made astonishing revelations that most professionals during her time had not considered. Tharp credits her father with one of her favorite quotes, “When you find your life’s work, make sure it is something you can do, and most important, something you like to do.” It is because Tharp charged forward with her passion that she was able to chart previously uncharted paths and forge new paths—making huge waves for future generations.

For this, we thank her.

Fun Fact – Tharp later opened a map making business from her home in South Nyack, New York. Throughout her lifetime, she was not always credited for her work. However, she did receive an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Society of Women Geographers in 1996. In addition, the Library of Congress’ Phillips Society honored her as one of the 20th Century’s Outstanding Cartographers in 1997. (Picture above from C250.columbia.edu: http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/marie_tharp.html)

Website References:

https://exploration.marinersmuseum.org/subject/marie-tharp/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marie-Tharp

https://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/content/marie-tharp/