In the News

• 2006 Diversity Theme Contest
  
  The Goddard Diversity Action Team (GDAT)* is now accepting submissions for its annual Diversity Theme Contest. The winning entry theme will be used in all the 2006 promotion material including Celebrate Goddard activities.
  
  Entries should be emailed to gdat@listserv.gsfc.nasa.gov. The contest is open to all Goddard employees (civil servants and contractors). Theme idea must focus on diversity and be consistent with GSFC's Workplace Vision and the Diversity Strategic Plan, and be 10 words or less. You may submit more than one entry. Entries will be judged by the GDAT committee.
  
  Submission deadline is COB, Friday, December 16, 2005.
  
  *GDAT is an all-volunteer committee of Center employees who serve as a resource for the Diversity Council to implement year-long activities to educate and outreach to the Goddard community, and recognize and celebrate the diversity of the workforce. For more information on GDAT, go to http://diversity/porgrams_GDAT.cfm.

• Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Rights - The Progess to Date, and the Work Ahead
  
  Speaker:  Rep. Barney Frank
  Date/Location:  TBD
  Time:  1:00 - 3:00pm
  
  GLBTAC and FedGLOBE are pleased to have Rep. Barney Frank, the openly gay congressman from Massachusetts, speak at Goddard about the efforts to obtain equal rights for GLBT Americans. In previous Congressional sessions, Mr. Frank has introduced legislation that directly affects GLBT Federal employees, including the Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act of 2003, which would grant same- and opposite-sex domestic partners of federal employees the benefits currently only available to legal spouses of federal employees.
  
  Mr. Frank is in his 13th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, first elected in 1980. He is the Ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee, Previously, he was a Massachusetts State Representative and an assistant to the Mayor of Boston. A Harvard graduate, Mr. Frank has also taught at several Boston area universities.
  
  For more information on Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Advisory Committee or upcoming events, visit http://glbtac.gsfc.nasa.gov.


• Heritage Months Can We Talk Sessions
  
  Center Director, Dr. Ed Weiler is hosting focused Can We Talk sessions with employee groups as part of the various heritage month activities. This is in addition to the annual meeting that the advisory groups have with the Center Director.
  
  These sessions are patterned after the regular monthly Can We Talk, an informal dialogue session with the Center Director. There's no agenda, no set topics, no notes: just an opportunity for you to tell the Center's leadership what's on your mind.
  
  The basic intent of Can We Talk session is to provide an additional channel for the NASA community to voice its questions/concern and ideas to senior leadership. The sessions are intended to provide constructive dialogue that will respond to existing anxieties and heightened concerns of employees, and to achieve improved communications within NASA.
  
  The following upcoming Can We Talk sessions with the various constituencies:
  
  
  • Hispanic Heritage Month - Monday, September 19 from 1:00-2:30pm,
    contact Pilar Joy
  
  
  • People with Disabilities Month - Monday, October 3 from 1:30-3:00pm,
    contact Cheryl Jones
  
  
  • American Indian Heritage Month - Monday, November 14 from 2:00-3:30pm,
    contact Wanda David
  
  As you plan your activities for the upcoming heritage months, please keep these dates in mind. Please contact your representative or Nadine Gross to RSVP.
  
  For more information on Can We Talk, go to http://glbtac.gsfc.nasa.gov.

• Celebrate Goddard Activities
  Come out and Celebrate Goddard's Diverse Workforce from June 21 - 23, 2005. The following activities are planned:
  
  DRAMA PRESENTATION:
  Tuesday, June 21 at 1 PM in the Building 8 Auditorium
  Greg Ward and the professional actors with Orlando-Ward & Associates will present a comedy about diversity entitled "Solid Diversity and Work life", a short play on workplace diversity and work-life. The play is an engaging, informative and sometimes hilarious look at how diversity plays itself out in organizations that have already experienced some diversity training and have senior management commitment. The goal is to spark a powerful discussion on the business case for valuing and leveraging diversity in organizations where there is already a foundation-level understanding of what diversity is and means. Once the actors have played out the scenes, they lead a dialogue with the audience about the events, characters and situations in the play, focusing on key business case messages that we want to send to the audience. The groups has performed at a previous Celebrate Goddard event, as well as at other agencies and were well received as well.
  
  OPENING REMARKS:
  Wednesday, June 22 @ 10:30 am on the Mall
  Come and be part of the Official opening of the Celebrate Goddard events on the Mall! Deputy Center Director and Diversity Council Chair, Chris Scolese officially welcomes everyone to the Mall. The National Anthem will be performed by our own Sheila Jackson, with DC Scientific MarkieB (our own Mark Branch) emceeing throughout the day. Come see senior managers touring the Mall and visiting vendors and exhibitors.
  
  KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
  Thursday, June 23 @ 1 PM in the Building 8 Auditorium
  Come hear the Keynote speaker and stay to hold your seat for the Karaoke Competition commencing immediately after the Keynote Speaker! Jody Alyn, President of Jody Alyn Consulting will discuss the importance of "Valuing Workplace Diversity". Ms. Alyn weaves real-world stories into powerful messages with immediate application. She will speak about the ethic of Reciprocity in which valuing differences starts with what we have in common, and how diversity is personal, active and a process of continual learning.

• Federal Holocaust Remembrance Program
  In observance of the Holocaust, all Goddard employees are invited to attend the 12th Annual Federal Holocaust Remembrance Program on Wednesday, May 11, at 11:30am, at the historic Licoln Theatre in Washington, D.C. This year's features are Regina Spiegel, a survivor of the Holocaust, and Norah Bagirinka, a survivor of the genocide in Rwanda. RSVP for transportation by COB Monday, May 9 to Julia Knight at x6-9151 or Julia.A.Knight@nasa.gov.
  
  For more information, visit http://www.holocaustremembrance.org



• 'Through My Eyes' The Wallops Forum on Religious Diversity
  Join a panel discussion on what it means to create an equitable and productive workplace where people of all traditions and cultures are respected, on Monday, May 16, from 2-4pm, at the D-10 Gym at the Wallops Flight Facility. Limited seating is available on a chartered bus leaving from Greenbelt at 10am on May 16, in front of Building 8 and arriving back at 7pm. To reserve a seat, contact Keisha Tigner at x6-8822 or Michelle Jones at x6-8102. A sign language interpreter can be provided upon request. Contact Brenda Dingwall, x7-1412 at Wallops or Sharon Wond, x6-0475 at Greenbelt.