Together We Rise
NASA celebrates the contributions of our LGBTQIA+ employees and continue the work to create an inclusive, welcoming, and supportive environment
This Pride Month, NASA celebrates the significant contributions of LGBTQIA+ employees, respects the individuality of our employees, and recognizes their contributions to advance NASA’s priorities. We support the positive movement to promote self-affirmation, dignity, equal rights, build community and create awareness for diversity and gender variance.
At NASA, we support our employees' authenticity in the workplace and treat authenticity with integrity. This includes pronoun usage and the shift to foster a culture based on the employee’s identification and build an inclusive workplace with pronoun usage as the rule for everyone. In an environment that promotes safety in being one’s whole self, employees can be seen, respected, and valued, which elevates collaboration, innovation, and performance. Despite the obstacles in achieving full acceptance and protections for the LGBTQIA+ community, the progress made over the past decades has been significant, yet the work continues. Together we rise to achieve our goals as one NASA.
Tyrone McCoy
Public Affairs Specialist at NASA Headquarters
Tyrone E. McCoy, Jr. was born in Philadelphia, PA, and raised in Statesboro, GA. As a child, storytelling helped him escape the reality of growing up Black, gay, and proud in the Bible Belt of the 1990s. Today, Tyrone proudly calls that passion for storytelling his labor of love as a public affairs specialist at NASA’s Headquarters in D.C.
Tyrone has earned a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications from Savannah State University and a Master’s degree from Auburn University. Tyrone and his husband, Joshua, have one fur baby and share a love of travel, fitness, and weekend stints as foodies.
Amy Lendian
Fire Suppression Systems Engineer at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Amy Lendian is a Fire Suppression Systems Engineer currently working at Kennedy Space Center supporting the Artemis program. She has the responsibility of ensuring the fire suppression systems on the Mobile Launchers are always Ready to Support. Amy also serves on the KSC LGBTQ Employee Resource Group Leadership Team as Outreach Support.
Amy began living her authentic life 4 years ago. She is the parent of four, grandparent of seven and great grandparent of one. She, her fiancée Anne Barela, retired Senior Foreign Service Officer and engineer, and beloved dog Bowie live on the Space Coast of Florida.
Chasity Williams
Starport Deputy Operations Manager at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
Chasity has 19 years of progressive human resources experience covering the full spectrum of HR services including hiring, training, consulting, employee relations, training, workforce strategy, and relationship management. Chasity serves as the Deputy Operations Manager of the Johnson Space Center NASA Exchange aka Starport. She co-leads a dedicated team of employees tasked with providing employee engagement and morale-boosting activities designed to engage, enrich, and energize the JSC team. She is also the Chair Elect of the Out & Allied Employee Resource Group. From a kid from humble beginnings to now an out and proud leader at Johnson Space Center.
Darcy DeAngelis
System Safety Engineer for NASA’s Glenn Research Center
Darcy DeAngelis (she/her) is a queer woman working as a System Safety Engineer for NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) on a variety of high-profile projects including the lunar Gateway, Orion European Service Module, and Artemis I Mission Support. Beyond her engineering work, she is an active member of GRC’s Rainbow Alliance Advisory Group and serves as part of the Women at Glenn Advisory Group executive team. It is her goal and dream to make GRC a diverse and welcoming place to all employees, and to show that queer people can and should reach for the stars.
Mallory Carbon
Analyst at NASA Headquarters
Mallory Carbon (she/her) is an analyst at NASA Headquarters in the Strategic Investments Division. A proud queer woman, Mallory came out to the world via NASA’s Together We Rise video after spending her previous year as a NASA intern and National Director of the student and intern group at NASA, PAXC. She’s a huge advocate for the LGBTQIA+ community and has dedicated herself to making space accessible for all. When she’s not sharing her love of space, she can always be found at the theater performing, choreographing, or watching as many musicals as she can.
Michael Chandler
Artemis Campaign Development at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
"I have been a part of NASA’s Human Exploration endeavor for 15 years and am currently supporting the Artemis Program, which will take us back to the Moon and forward on to Mars. I discovered Johnson Space Center’s Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) about 6 years ago and have been a part of the Out & Allied ERG, which supports our LGBTQIA+ community of employees ever since. It’s been great to get involved in the different committees. June is my favorite month, when we participate in Houston Pride!"
Harel Dor
Robotics Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Harel Dor is a Robotics Systems Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, having started there in August 2020 after graduating from Caltech with Bachelor's in Applied Physics and Computer Science. They work as a Rover Planner for the Curiosity Mars Rover and as the Deputy Operations Lead for the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter. Their day-to-day work involves evaluating daily mission goals for feasibility and mission safety, preparing sequences of commands for execution, and developing operations software. In their free time, they enjoy tabletop board gaming, participating in puzzle hunts, and baking all kinds of desserts.
Dr. Michael E. Evans
Planetary Scientist at NASA’s Johnson Space Center
“NASA gives you the opportunity to grow over 4 decades of employment. Always question and learn! I started building institutional computer networks, but spent most of my first career in Mission Operations creating flight designs for Space Shuttle and Space Station Freedom. Then I left NASA to be a private lawyer but returned for my 2nd career as a planetary scientist. Recently I have been developing exploration requirements for Gateway and Artemis and building prototype instruments. I also teach undergraduate planetary science and hope to inspire and mentor new employees who will guide us to the Moon and Mars.”
Dr. Francis Raymond
Deputy Science Operations Team Chief for the Mars 2020 mission
Dr. Francis is an engineer with a specialty in mission science operations and autonomy. He is Deputy Science Operations Team Chief for the Mars 2020 mission, and a member of the SuperCam instrument team. He has worked Mars Science Laboratory operations since 2012, including as a member of the ChemCam team. He is the system engineer for the deployment of the AEGIS autonomous targeting software to the rovers. He was previously the system engineer for the Mars 2020 Science Team training program ("ROASTT"). Other previous work includes airborne science operations, field robotics and geology studies in a variety of environments, stratospheric balloon operations, and payload development for the International Space Station.
You are all set!
Your first Culture Weekly will arrive this week.