November 2023

I am pleased to welcome you to this new blog series – what my team affectionally calls, “Nicky Notes.” Through this platform, I hope to regularly share updates about all of the exciting work we do in the Science Mission Directorate, while offering some more candid reflections.

My first post is dedicated to a topic near and dear to me – our efforts in the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) space.

SMD’s IDEA Annual Report covering July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2023, has been published online here: https://science.nasa.gov/about-us/idea. This is the second year we have formally documented our efforts striving towards NASA’s core value of inclusion and in it you will find significant work accomplished across every organization within SMD. My heartfelt thanks go to all of you for your commitment to creating an inclusive work environment and ensuring our missions, programs, and research are conducted in alignment with our values. Fostering diversity on our teams is essential to producing excellent science, and ensuring inclusion is paramount to our pursuit of exploration and discovery.

As we look ahead, SMD remains committed to our IDEA values. We will continue to strive to be an environment where all SMD team members are valued for their diversity of thought, unique backgrounds, and whole selves. We will also continue to ensure IDEA principles and practices are embedded across the SMD portfolio. This year, we plan continued reflection on our internal practices, updates of the IDEA strategy, and further implementation of actions towards our goals. In recent conversations with many science divisions and cross-cutting organizations across the NASA Science family, I have been heartened to hear your questions and comments that exemplified your steadfast commitment to IDEA.

Thanks to all of you for your dedication to ensuring SMD lives our value of Inclusion. As I read through all that has been accomplished, I am reminded of the words our NASA Administrator, Bill Nelson, who stated, “We each must embrace a culture of IDEA principles in the same way that we have successfully created a safety-conscious culture at NASA”.

This kind of change requires time, but I am encouraged by the commitment across our organization and what is to come. Thanks to all of you for making SMD a more inclusive work environment.

Nicky