Special Edition

Holly Ridings (NASA) - Female Leadership

In this podcast our Guest Hosts meet Holly Ridings, the Chief Flight Director of NASA, and discuss with her the career path she has chosen.  They explore together the challenges, as well as the opportunities, of working as Chief Flight Director as a woman.  They also discuss the importance of mentors and role models.  We hope this podcast will support you to reflect upon your personal practice as you apply some of the characteristics that Holly shares. 

Holly Ridings is the first female Chief Flight Director at NASA. She works at Mission Control in the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and is responsible for all NASA Human Space Flight missions including the International Space Station, the Orion Programme, NASA's return to the Moon, and future manned missions to Mars. Holly earned a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University in 1996. She joined NASA in 1998 as a flight controller in the thermal operations group and in 2005 became a Flight Director. In 2018 Holly became the Chief Flight Director responsible for the 32 flight directors who oversee all human spaceflight missions.

Dr Kate Black is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering, Centre for Materials and Structures. Her main area of expertise is in Additive Manufacturing. She leads a group of thirteen researchers working on new materials for 3D printing for the automotive and aerospace industry.    Kate is also the Chair of LivWiSE (Liverpool Women in Science and Engineering) which is a society that celebrates, supports and promotes women in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Sally Shaw is Senior Project Manager in the Strategic Change team; her role is to provide programme management for the Digital First Strategy & Masterplan. Prior to this Sally worked in the Computing Services Department, managing the team responsible for developing and supporting the University’s core mobile apps.

Claire Marsland is an Organisational Developer in the Academy at the University of Liverpool. A chartered member of the CIPD, Claire has a background in both HR and organisational development gained in a number of sectors. She is particularly interested in organisational culture and leadership, and in supporting people to be the best they can be in their chosen field. The central part of Claire’s role in The Academy is to manage the university’s senior leadership induction and aspiring top leaders programmes.

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