Dr. Kathy Sullivan

Dr. Sullivan is a distinguished scientist, astronaut, and executive. She was one of the first six women to join the NASA astronaut corps in 1978 and holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space. She flew on three space shuttle missions during her 15-year NASA tenure, including the mission that deployed the Hubble Space Telescope. Dr. Sullivan holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Sciences from University of California at Santa Cruz and a Ph.D. in Geology from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia. She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and numerous other professional associations. Dr. Sullivan’s many honors and awards include election to the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Astronaut Hall of Fame, Women Aviators Hall of Fame, Women Divers Hall of Fame and Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame. She has also been recognized as one of the 46 distinguished First Women by Time Magazine in 2017, the 15 Women Changing the World by the World Economic Forum in 2015 and Time’s 100 Most Influential People (2014). She has been awarded the Explorers Club Medal, Two Lowell Thomas Awards, the Rachel Carson Award, an Emmy, and nine honorary degrees. She is currently a Fellow of the Potomac Institute and Ambassador at Large for the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum and serves on the Board of the International Paper Company. She was named WAN Woman of the Year in 2015.