Women in Leadership 2019

“Where on an imagined clock of equality do we now stand?” asks veteran journalist Lynn Sherr at the start of this year’s Women in Leadership panel.

Listen in as Sylvia Acevedo, Chelsea Clinton, Jedidah Isler answer that question and share their thoughts on the present and future of the role of women in America. Each panelist reflects on her road to leadership and details the support mechanisms and mindsets needed to get there when faced with adversity.

This is the second annual Women in Leadership panel – convened to celebrate and honor the legacy of Sally Ride, the first American woman to fly in space.

Watch — A Conversation with Sylvia Acevedo, Chelsea Clinton, Jedidah Isler, and Lynn Sherr

Sally Ride Forever!

When the United States Postal Service chose UC San Diego as the site to unveil its new Sally Ride Forever postage stamp, the UCSD community could not have been more thrilled. Ride, the first American woman in space, taught physics at UCSD after finishing her stellar run at NASA and then, through Sally Ride Science, inspired a new generation to embrace STEM. As seen in the Stamp Dedication Ceremony [uctv.tv/shows/33665] and the Women in Leadership [uctv.tv/shows/33160] discussion that followed, Dr. Ride’s fellow trailblazers Billie Jean King, Ellen Ochoa, Lynn Sherr and Condoleezza Rice, proudly honored the memory of their late friend.

Watch Women in Leadership Presented by Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego.

Honoring Sally: Tam O’Shaughnessy Aboard the R/V Sally Ride

8232Want a break from the onslaught of bad news? A chance to feel good about the world? Then spend 20 minutes with Tam O’Shaughnessy, the life partner of the late astronaut Sally Ride, as she describes a remarkable friendship that began long before Sally’s historic flights on the Space Shuttle Challenger and later blossomed into a romance that ended with Sally’s death from cancer in 2012. As Executive Director of Sally Ride Science@UC San Diego, Tam continues their mission of encouraging girls to embrace STEM.

Sitting in the pilothouse of the newly commissioned R/V Sally Ride, Tam shares her profound pride in being named the sponsor of the first naval academic research vessel ever named for a woman. Crew on the R/V Sally Ride, operated by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, will conduct research on the environmental issues she and Sally cared most about – understanding the universe and protecting planet Earth.

Watch Honoring Sally: Tam O’Shaughnessy Aboard the R/V Sally Ride

In Memoriam: Reach for the Stars with Sally Ride

UCTV's "Reach for the Stars with Sally Ride"

Sadly, we learned today that Sally Ride, the first American woman in space, UC San Diego Professor Emeritus, and an advocate for science education, passed away at her home in San Diego. She was 61.

The UC San Diego campus, where Ride became Professor of Physics in 1989, is already relatively quiet this summer break, but the news of Ride’s premature passing due to pancreatic cancer has created a more somber tone. Her loss will obviously also be felt at the San Diego-based company she founded, Sally Ride Science, which provided science education materials and assistance to teachers and schools.

In February 2011, Ride visited UC Berkeley to deliver the UC Berkeley Physics Regent’s Lecture titled “Reach for the Stars with Sally Ride.” In the talk, which aired on UCSD-TV last April, Ride advocates for a stronger foundation of math and science education by describing her own path into the space program. There’s no better way to honor this distinguished woman’s memory than listening to her heartfelt dream that every student — not just future rocket scientists — learn to love math and science.