PHENOMENAL FACTS:

§ Bachelor's Degree, Human Resources Management

Cleveland State University

§ Master of Business Administration

Cleveland State University

§ Senior Executive Fellows Program

Harvard Kennedy School of Government

§ Women's Leadership Forum

Harvard Business School

§ Serves as chair of the St. Vincent Health Campus Board

§ Serves as member of the board of directors for the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland

§ Serves as member of the board of directors for Girl Scouts of North East Ohio

§ Served as Chair of the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland Board of Directors

§ Served as board member of the Cleveland Public Library Foundation

§ Served as board member of the National Center on Nonprofit Enterprise

§ Served as community trustee of the Cleveland State University

§ Selected as NASA Glenn Research Center's first African American female senior executive

§ Recognized by the President of the United States with the Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive Award, which honors the top five percent of federal senior executives

§ Recognized by Women in Aerospace with the Aerospace Awareness Award

§ Recognized by the YWCA with the Woman of Achievement Award

§ Recognized by Crain's Cleveland Business with the Crain's Women of Note Award

§ Recognized by the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio with the Women of Distinction Award

§ Recognized by the Junior League of Cleveland with the Frances Payne Bolton Award

§ Recognized by Career Communications Group with the National Women of Color Technology Award for Community Service

§ Recognized by Career Communications Group with the Minorities in Research Science Trailblazer Award

PhenomenalWoman:What'snextforyou?

RG: I'm not sure what comes next. There are a few things I'm interested in, but I need to complete some of the projects on which I am currently working. I'm very excited about being a member of the group working with the Sisters of Charity to establish a health campus with the St Vincent Health System. This is a big and innovative project which is going to bring wonderful opportunities to the City of Cleveland and its Central neighborhood, and the best thing about the project is the involvement of all the stakeholders: the residents, the Health System, the Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland, the board members and advisors, and the Sisters of CharityCongregation.

Phenomenal Woman: NASA is a unique organization, so if you are examining your role in comparison to others in a similar position would you say that women are well represented, or not so much? In what ways canwechangethat?

RG: There are some areas where women are still underrepresented at NASA. The reasons vary. There has to be an available pool of candidates and to further those efforts our STEM group works every day to create and offer programs which seek to capture the attention of K-12 students and also to offer research programs, technical challenges and internships which inspire college students to pursue careers in STEM and with NASA. However, it is incumbent upon all of us who work at NASA to ensure we have a progressive and welcoming environment which supports the hiring and retention of women. I must note that, of the nine NASA Center Directors, three are women.

Gordon's journey highlights the importance of flexibility when choosing career paths, and the impact childhood experiences can have when navigating change. A strong family grounded in faith with an emphasis on education was the strength supporting her throughout her journey.

In conclusion, she gave this assessment of her career:

RG: I have a wonderful and interesting career. I have been able to do things others have only dreamed of doing. I've had the opportunity to meet and work with a long list of women who inspire me: Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden, Nichelle Nichols, the stars of the Hidden Figures movie, Lilly Ledbetter and so many other trailblazing women of NASA. My work to advance STEM education in America has been recognized by leading technical organizations and the women's aerospace society I have been recognized with a Presidential Rank Award which honors the top five percent of highperforming senior career employees for "sustained extraordinary accomplishment." Executives from across government are nominated by their agency heads, evaluated by citizen panels, and designated by the president. Winners of these awards are deemed to be "strong leaders," professionals, or scientists who "achieve results" and "consistently demonstrate strength, integrity, industry, and a relentless commitment to excellence in public service."<