Dr. Kathryn Sullivan is a one-of-a-kind woman.
The Tiffany Circle, a community of women leaders within the American Red Cross dedicated to engaging and embracing women, will be hosting the Women in Leadership Award ceremony virtually this Wednesday, April 21, noon-1 p.m.
The event will honor Sullivan and give her the opportunity to speak on her numerous accomplishments and the challenges she overcame to achieve them. With former Ohio Supreme Court Justice Yvette McGee Brown serving as moderator, Sullivan will also discuss how the increase in natural disasters is impacting the Red Cross mission and the communities it serves.
Sullivan’s list of achievements is quite literally unmatched. As the first American woman to take a spacewalk, she has now been to outer space three times as a NASA astronaut.
Last year, Sullivan traveled nearly seven miles down in the Pacific Ocean in a submersible to the deepest point on our planet, the Challenger Deep, making her the eighth person and first woman to accomplish this feat.
She is now the only person in the entire world to have traveled both to outer space and the deepest point on Earth.
In 2004, President George W. Bush appointed her to the National Science Board. She was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate as Under Secretary of Commerce and administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Not only is she a national hero, Sullivan also has a rich connection with the state of Ohio. She served as the inaugural director of the Battelle Center for Science and Technology Policy within Ohio State’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs, and from 1996 to 2006, she was president and CEO of COSI.
At the awards ceremony, Red Cross CEO and President Gail McGovern will be giving remarks as well as a special presentation. With three different accomplished women speaking, the event is sure to inspire men and women alike. To view the ceremony for free, register online at www.womenonamission.givesmart.com.
Sarah Grace Smith is an editorial assistant. Feedback welcome at feedback@cityscenemediagroup.com.
