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The Brooke Owens Fellowship[1][2][3] is a non-profit program in the United States that provides paid internships and executive mentorship for undergraduate women seeking a career in aviation or space exploration.[4] The fellowship was created to honor the memory of Brooke Owens, a pilot and space policy expert who died of cancer at the age of 35.[5]
| Brooke Owens Fellowship | |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Exceptional undergraduate women and gender minority students in aerospace |
| Country | United States |
| First awarded | 2017 |
| Last awarded | 2024 |
| Website | brookeowensfellowship |
The program looks to improve diversity within the aerospace industry.[6] The program offers students paid summer internships at companies (including SpaceX, Avascent, Commercial Spaceflight Federation, Orbital ATK, Virgin Orbit, and Blue Origin), travel stipends and assigned mentors.[7] It was created by Lori Garver, a former NASA deputy administrator, along with aerospace executives William Pomerantz (Virgin Orbit) and Cassie Kloberdanz Lee (Vulcan Inc.).[8]
Fellows received two experienced aerospace mentors, one at their host industry, and another in an associated sector.[9] Mentors include Lori Garver, Diana Trujillo, Charles Bolden, Pamela Melroy, Dava Newman, Danielle Wood, Emily Calandrelli, Will Pomerantz and Cassie Lee.[10] The fellows are connected to a Fellowship class and an alumni network.[9] The program is run with Future Space Leaders, and emphasises creativity.[11] The annual Brooke Owens Fellowship conference happens during the Future Space Conference in Washington, D.C.[11] Whilst the program is open to international students, some institutions can only host US citizens or green card holders.[11][12]
The program's success has resulted in the creation of several spin-off fellowships, including the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship, Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, Zed Factor Fellowship, and Zenith Canada Pathways Fellowship.[13]
As of 2024, the Brooke Owens Fellowship has 343 alumnae across eight cohorts.[14] Fellows span fields from engineering and science to policy, journalism, and entrepreneurship.
Inaugural Class of 2017
- Jocelyn Clancy, (University of Southern California) — The Aerospace Corporation
- Katherine Carroll (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign) — The Aerospace Corporation
- Makiah Eustice (Texas A&M University) — The Aerospace Corporation
- Maryam Gracias (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) — Air Line Pilots Association
- Rachael McKee (Metropolitan State University of Denver) — Air Line Pilots Association
- Shreya Udupa (Arizona State University) — Altius Space Machines
- Morgan Irons (Duke University) — Avascent
- Mady Sargent (University of Kansas) — Ball Aerospace
- Taylor Zedosky (University of South Carolina) — Ball Aerospace
- Golda Nguyen (Georgia Institute of Technology) — Blue Origin
- Amy Comeau (Purdue University) — Bryce Space and Technology
- Caroline Juang (Harvard University) — Bryce Space and Technology
- Emily Sheffield (Harding University) — Commercial Spaceflight Federation
- Chelsey Ballarte (Arizona State University) — GeekWire
- Michaela Spaulding (Iowa State University) — Generation Orbit
- Karen Rucker (Texas Tech University) — HawkEye 360
- Maggie Goertzen (University of Utah) — Made In Space
- Hayley Lewis (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) — Mojave Air and Space Port
- Jasmine Q. Smith (Tuskegee University) — Mojave Air and Space Port
- Kaitlin Engelbert (University of Colorado, Boulder) — The Museum of Flight
- Pau Pineda Bosque (Purdue University) — Orbital ATK
- Sumayya Abukhalil (University of Central Florida) — Orbital ATK
- Maddie Miller (Union College) — Planet Labs
- Becca Thoss (University of Southern California) — Planetary Resources
- Dahlia Baker (Coe College) — Planetary Resources
- Karen Kuhlman (Oregon State University) — Scaled Composites
- Amanda Turk (University of Colorado, Boulder) — Sierra Nevada Corporation
- Justine Walker (College of Wooster) — Sierra Nevada Corporation
- Dawn Andrews (Georgia Institute of Technology) — SpaceX
- Roselin Campos (University of California, Los Angeles) — Space Sciences Laboratory
- Christine Reilly (University of Colorado, Boulder) — Virgin Orbit
- Diana Alsindy (University of California, San Diego) — Virgin Orbit
- Ninoshka Llontop Lozano (University of Illinois at Chicago) — Virgin Orbit
- Piper Sigrest (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) — Virgin Orbit
- Christine Chappelle (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) — Vulcan Aerospace
- Sasha Warren (Durham University (UK)) — XPRIZE
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