 California Space Education and
Workforce Institute
The California Space Education and Workforce Institute (CSEWI) was established in late 2004. As a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation, CSEWI was formed to:
- Create understanding, enthusiasm and appreciation for space enterprise and space technology
- Inspire parents, educators and students to engage in California-based space-related education and enrichment activities
- Stimulate greater awareness and understanding of the California space enterprise workforce and research needs throughout academia
- Attract, integrate and retain a robust California space workforce
Working closely with the California Space Authority (CSA), the State of California, appropriate federal agencies and other space education and workforce stakeholders, the California Space Education and Workforce Institute utilizes the California Space Enterprise Strategic Plan and other industry/government studies to determine its appropriate scope of work and priority programs and activities.
CSEWI plays a major role in coordinating the activities of the Space Education and Workforce Collaborative as it works to implement the performance objectives in the 2004 California Space Enterprise Strategic Plan.
Now in the process of developing the strategic alliances which will allow the Institute to move into program development, CSEWI is exploring funding and partnership opportunities. If your organization is interested in discussing how CSEWI can meet your education support objectives, please contact Andrea Seastrand at (805) 349-2633 or email her at
andrea.seastrand@californiaspaceauthority.org
California Space Education and Workforce Institute Board of Directors
President: Stephen Bridge, Principal, Bridge Business and Engineering Services
Vice President: Larry Gooch, PhD, Senior Technical Advisor, California Space Authority
Board Secretary: The Honorable Andrea Seastrand, Executive Director, California Space Authority
Treasurer: Michael J. Gallo, President/COO, Kelly Space & Technology, Inc.
Directors:
Paula Arvedson, PhD, President, Satellite Educators Association
Bruce E. Gardner, PhD, Principal Director, Learning Systems Center, The Aerospace Institute, The Aerospace Corporation
Virginia Hamilton, Executive Director, California Workforce Association
New Space Professionals
Working Group
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Rebecca Cohl
Co-Chair, NSPWG
Co-Chair, New Engineer Focus
Mechanical Engineer
Lockheed Martin |
Ray Alde, Co-Chair
VP Chair, CONNECT
Responsible Design Engineer, Northrop Grumman |
The New Space Professionals Working Group (NSPWG) is a sub-set of the Education and Workforce Development (EWD) Collaborative. As outlined within the Space Education and Workforce Initiative within the 2004 California Space Enterprise Strategic Plan, fewer students are choosing the science and technology fields and over 40% of the space professional workforce will reach retirement eligibility during the next five years. This creates a need to understand the new space professional perspective, helping to better recruit, integrate and retain new space professionals.
Comprised of space professionals with less than five years of experience, the NSPWG was recently formed in support of an EWD performance objective from the 2004 Plan. Currently at 30 participants from all three space domains (civil, commercial, national security), the NSPWG, through the organizational networks of its participants, can communicate with several thousand new California space professionals.
The goals of the NSPWG are to generate insight into recruiting, integrating and retaining new space professionals; provide a line of communication between current space enterprise leadership and the new workforce; and engage new space professionals in a statewide inter-organizational network of their peers and space enterprise leaders.
NSPWG’s first project is executing a statewide survey of new space professionals to better understand how and why they entered space careers, how they view their current profession and what they are seeking, long-term, from an industry affiliation. The NSPWG is also helping to establish linkages between academic institutions seeking internships for students and space-related organizations offering internship opportunities.
CSA members and public-sector space enterprise stakeholders interested in participating on the NSPWG may contact Matt Everingham at CSA, 805-349-2633 x18 or e-mail
matt.everingham@californiaspaceauthority.org.
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CSA Briefs General Lance Lord on California Space Education/Workforce
 In early April, a CSA team comprised of Executive Director Andrea Seastrand, CIO Jamie Foster, and Research Analyst Matt Everingham, briefed General Lance Lord, Commander, Air Force Space Command, about CSA’s 2005 activities. Gen. Lord was especially interested in CSA’s public outreach, education and workforce development efforts, including the formation of the New Space Professionals Working Group (see article this page).
CSA was invited by General Lord to give a second briefing focusing specifically on the space education and workforce development-related aspects of the 2004 California Space Enterprise Strategic Plan, as well as an overview of a prospective Vandenberg area public education project. Presenters for the May, 2005 CSA briefing will be John Parsons, retiring Co-Chairman, California Space Enterprise Advisory Council (SEAC), Sr. Vice President, The Aerospace Corporation; Janice Dunn, CSA Director of Federal Government Relations and CSA consultant Victoria Conner.
Space Education and Workforce Development (EWD) Collaborative
The goal of the Space Education and Workforce Development initiative in the 2004 California Space Enterprise Strategic Plan is to “Enhance space-related education and ensure appropriate 21st century space workforce”. The statewide collaborative built around this initiative has four co-chairs: Dr. Bruce Gardner, Principal Director, Learning Systems Center, The Aerospace Institute, The Aerospace Corporation; Dr. Jack Gregg, Dean, Space University, Northrop Grumman Space Technology; Dr. Allen Haile, Director, Community and Government Relations, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Professor Robert Twiggs, Director, Space Systems Development Laboratory, Stanford University (see photos, pg. 8).
The EWD Collaborative coordinated presentations and three aerospace-related education/workforce panels for CSA's January Space Enterprise Advisory Council (SEAC) meeting: industry, academia and new space professionals. Presenters/panelists included (from top left, clockwise): Dr. Fred Brown, Graduate Advisor, Loyola Marymount University; Jordi Puig-Suari, Department Chair, Aerospace Engineering, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; John Blowers, Professional Development, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; John Jacklin, Mechanical Engineer (and new space professional) SpaceDev, Inc.; Kris Tueller, Sr. Manager, Technical Operations, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co.; Dr. Michel Kamel, Director, Industry Relations, University of California, Irvine
Of the twenty-four Strategic Plan performance objectives for which the EWD Collaborative is responsible, most of the 2005 activity has been focused on the following:
- Working with industry, academia and government to promote and enhance university partnerships in providing 300-400 level aerospace and systems engineering offerings that feature "hands-on" interface with California space enterprise companies and assets (cont'd on page 8)
 Rick Stephens, Sr. Vice President, Human Services, The Boeing Company, was the featured speaker at the EWD Collaborative meeting held April 1 at the Discovery Science Center in Santa Ana. He shared how the Collaborative might become engaged in a national grassroots coalition to enhance U.S. education and workforce development, addressing the nationwide need for more scientists and engineers. See new website at www.birth2work.org.
CSA Executive Director Serves on “Troops to Teachers” Award
Selection Committee
High School Math and Science Teacher Ed Brown, Troops to Teachers Award candidate from Butte Valley Unified School District, Dorris, California |
The Honorable Andrea Seastrand, Executive Director of the California Space Authority (CSA), recently served on the award selection committee to interview nominees for the California Troops to Teachers Award in the High School category. California is the first state in the program to give annual awards to “Troops to Teachers” educators in the following categories: elementary, middle school, high school and vocational/special education.
The Troops to Teachers program is designed to assist separating or retiring military personnel in pursuing a second career in public education (elementary, secondary or vocational) while also facilitating employment in public schools. Funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the U.S. Department of Defense through the Defense Activity for Non-traditional Educational Support (DANTES), the goal of the program is to help improve American education by providing mature, self-disciplined and dedicated personnel for our nation’s classrooms. The program is especially interested in recruiting potential math and science teachers.
The Los Angeles and San Diego Unified School Districts have partnered with the California Troops to Teachers program to attract prior military personnel to fill teacher vacancies in high-need areas. Qualified Troops to Teachers members receive pre-service training in the District’s Intern Program and then are placed in a classroom with full pay and benefits. While teaching for the following two to three years, the intern completes all requirements to obtain a California teaching credential.
More information on Troops to Teachers: Michael Carlson, E-mail mcarlson@caltroops.org |
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