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(music)

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(music)

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I used to be the Range Commander of the launch range down at Wallops. 

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And one of the big problems you have when you’re trying to launch a rocket, 

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is you have to get the ships, all the boats out of the way

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and clear the surveillance area. It’s called the surveillance area, it’s this area 

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in front of the rocket that’s got to be cleared. The people that are out there

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are boaters their fisherman, their ship 

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captains, it’s a different population then the traditional NASA crew. 

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And for years we had interfaced with 

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those, with the boat captains through our Mission Control Center

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in a very formal and rigid way and it quite honestly it wasn’t

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very effective. We had a mission coming up an it was really important 

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for us to get this mission off on time and, 

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and in thinking about how to speak with 

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these boat captains on the day of launch we hit on the idea 

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of instead of using our normal crew, we reached into the local population 

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and there was a young women and 

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she spent all her life on the water growing up, she 

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knew most of these boat captains. So, what we did was we brought her onto 

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the Mission Operations team and on launch day she 

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was able to interact one on one with these boat captains; she knew 

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most of them by name. She was able to explain to them what we were doing 

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and why it was important for them to move and that if they could just 

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go to these safe areas it wouldn’t take long and they would get a great 

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view of a rocket launch. We never cleared a range as quick as we did that day

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And we were able to get that shut off, and from that point forward we included her on the 

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ops team. We never would of thought of that if we had stuck to the traditional way of 

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doing business but because we brought somebody else

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onto the team, somebody that had a very different perspective 

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and a different background that was a big success and something that lives on 

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to this day in the way that range operates. Hi I’m Jay Pitman and I’m the 

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Assistant Director for Strategy on Integration here at Goddard.

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(music)That does D&I and EEO mean to you?

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To me D&I done right

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means that we’re bringing the whole 

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force of the amazing workforce at Goddard to bare on the 

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problems that we have on the things we’re trying to accomplish.

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It means that we’ve, that we’ve got the right 

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mix of people here to give us every possible perspective 

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on the challenges that we face and it means 

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that we’re including them in the solution of those problems. So,

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it’s two parts really, it’s sort of like my spice cabinet at home. I enjoy cooking

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and I’ve got a great spice cabinet and what that means is; 

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and its diverse, it’s got a lot of different spices in it 

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but until I take those spices out and put them in the soup I’ve not really done anything,

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I’ve not changed the soup. So our job here is to make 

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sure that we have many perspectives, many 

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skills, many capabilities but more than that, that we actually 

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engage them in the solution of the problems

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that we’re trying to solve for this agency and this nation.

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(music) AS a senior leader what is the value of D&I and EEO in your role?

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As aa senior leader what is the value of D&I and EEO in your role?

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As a senior leader what we have to do is we have to demonstrate 

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the example that we want the center to follow.

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That means making sure that our teams are sufficiently

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diverse and inclusive to bring the full force of the Goddard 

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workforce to bare on the problems that we’re trying

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to solve and that’s especially important for the technical challenges 

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that we have. The problems that we approach as a center 

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are problems that essentially humanity 

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has yet to solve; there the hardest problems that there are. So

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we need the very best of all of us. And it’s our jobs 

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as leaders to make sure that the very best of all of us is in the

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the room when we’re trying to solve those problems.

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(music) What role do you play in Goddard’s D&I and EEO efforts?

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One of the things that I really enjoy is getting out 

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of my office, getting out of Building 8 and 

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being engaged with the people who work here. I’m always amazed by 

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what I find and I think that the face to face contact with

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our people is one of the most rewarding 

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things that I get to do.

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Our leadership team has a lot going on to run a ten-thousand-person

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person center is a huge job and so it’s hard to

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find the time, but I think that’s one of the things that I can 

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do is I can find that time and get out and interact with people where they 

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are and understand where their challenges are that

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day, and to see the kinds of 

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places where their involvement would strengthen 

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what our center is doing.

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(music) Why do you participate in Goddard’s D&I and EEO efforts?

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Every leader quickly 

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realizes that they’re not the ones doing the work. 

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What you realize as a leader is, that it’s

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the people that do the work and it’s your job to maximize

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what they can bring. I make an effort every month or so 

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to get together with the NDP group just to hear what’s, what are 

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their concerns. What do they see as the opportunities that we’re not 

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taking advantage of or the barriers that might be not visible

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to those folks who have been here for longer periods of time. 

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Those are some of the most energetic and delightful conversations that I have 

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and they give me a great perspective into the 

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additional skills and energy that, that group can bring

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to bare for our center. If I can help facilitate that kind of 

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energy on behalf of what we’re trying to do for NASA, 

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that’s like a dream.

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(music) What is one thing you would like to share about D&I and EEO?

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The one thing I’d like to share with the Goddard community about D&I 

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is that listening probably matters

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more than talking and questions, honest questions 

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questions probably matter more than 

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the answers. So ask question of your co-workers,

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they have so much to bring and then, and then listen.

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