NASA announced on Friday that Dorothy Hayden-Watkins, assistant administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity programs, is departing the agency. She served in her position since 2003.
During her tenure, she reorganized and used NASA’s Diversity and Equal Opportunity Board to advocate agency-wide diversity and equal opportunity principles and practices, and she revitalized NASA’s compliance programs for grant recipients in Equal Opportunity in Federally Assisted and Conducted Programs.
Hayden-Watkins also managed the implementation of the “Culture Suite” including the “Can We Talk” initiative. The program addressed workplace cultural issues and opened direct dialogue among the agency’s diverse communities and senior NASA leadership.
Her career spans more than 25 years. Hayden-Watkins has published articles on diversity and education, hosted a public affairs talk show, and lectured at universities. She chaired or served as an independent director on a variety of boards and commissions and has received numerous awards and honors such as Outstanding Woman of the Year and the UNC Trailblazer Award. She also participated in the U.S. Government Reinvention Initiative and the White House Conference on Welfare to Work.
Hayden-Watkins holds a doctorate in community and human resources and a master’s degree in education and administration.
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