Daily Business Report-Sept. 30, 2019
Astronaut Jessica Meir
Welcome to Space
Astronaut Jessica Meir is greeted by members of Expedition 60 at the International Space Station (ISS) six hours after blasting off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, as seen in a NASA broadcast. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography alumna will be on board the ISS until spring 2020, conducting a wide range of science experiments during her mission. Meir is a member of the 2013 class of NASA astronauts.
“It feels like home already,” said Meir in a response to a question beamed from Earth Thursday. “It’s going to be an amazing six months.”
Back on the ground, nearly 100 of Meir’s family and friends celebrated Meir’s 6:57 a.m. PDT launch with a morning celebration at Scripps’s campus venue Surfside. Featuring commemorative cookies, Tang and freeze-dried ice cream, the event even featured an appearance by Meir’s friend, recording artist Grace Potter.
Scripps art director Chris Toombs designed a commemorative patch for Meir to bring with her to the ISS. The imagery of the patch was inspired by Meir soaring past her time at Scripps and getting one step closer to the her childhood dream of going to the moon. The crescent moon is a nod to the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Six stars on the patch represent each member of Meir’s family, whom she credits for their support and inspiration.
This story appears in “explorations now,” Scripps Institution of Oceanography’s ocean and earth science magazine.
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Gov. Newsom must decide whether to sign
#MeToo bills that Jerry Brown vetoed
Gov. Gavin Newsom is deciding whether to sign several bills inspired by the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment, including repeats of bills Jerry Brown vetoed last year, CalMatters’ Laurel Rosenhall reports.
Newsom must decide between two important constituencies:
- Business interests which contend the measures will increase costs and litigation.
- Feminist and worker advocates who say progress shouldn’t slow just because public outcry about harassment has quieted.
Political consultant Nathan Ballard predicted the #MeToo bills will be a way Newsom differentiates himself from Brown. Ballard has worked for Newsom and sits on the board of First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s gender equity nonprofit:
“Jennifer Siebel Newsom is a feminist activist who is engaged in these issues every single day of her life. That brings a valuable perspective into the governor’s orbit that most male governors just don’t have. She is up to her ears in feminist activism, and that makes a difference.”
To read Rosenhall’s full report, click here.
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SDSU Alumnus Ellen Ochoa to deliver
address at President’s Lecture Series
San Diego State University alumna Ellen Ochoa, the first Latinx woman to go to space and the former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, will deliver an address at the President’s Lecture Series on Wednesday, Oct. 2, on campus.
The event will take place from 2 to 3:30 p.m. in Montezuma Hall in the Conrad Prebys Aztec Student Union. The event is free and open to the public.
During the event, the honorary degree of Doctor of Science will be conferred upon Ochoa in recognition of her extraordinary role in space exploration and her commitment to the scientific education of young people across the country.
Ochoa capped a 30-year career with NASA by serving for the last five as director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Supervising a workforce of 10,000, Ochoa was the first Latinx director of the Johnson Space Center and its second female leader. Ochoa graduated from SDSU in 1980 with a degree in physics and later earned master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University.
Click here to read a Q&A with Ellen Ochoa and the SDSU News Team.
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The Rosie Network and Stella Labs awarded
$50,000 each in SBA accelerator competition
The Rosie Network and Stella Labs of San Diego have been awarded $50,000 each as winners in the Small Business Administration’s Growth Accelerator Fund Competition.
The awards support startups and entrepreneurs researching and developing STEM-related innovations.
The Growth Accelerator Fund Competition will infuse the accelerators and incubators with additional operating capital to provide focused assistance to entrepreneurs. This assistance includes support for company formation as well as awareness and education on the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Notably, the prizes are not for direct investing in the entrepreneurs’ small businesses.
“Both The Rosie Network and Stella Labs, AKA Hera Labs have provided inspiration and exceptional resources to San Diego’s small business community for many years,” said SBA San Diego District Director Ruben Garcia. “SBA’s San Diego District Office has partnered with them on various projects over the years and look forward to strengthening our relationships. We encourage local entrepreneurs to explore the programs offered by these two organizations and take advantage of the wealth of assistance they offer.”
“As the daughter of a Vietnam veteran who went on to become a business owner in California, I believe in the American Dream of small business ownership,” said Stephanie Brown, founder and CEO of The Rosie Network. “The Rosie Network has been serving our active duty, veteran and military spouse entrepreneurs for almost a decade. This grant demonstrates the SBA’s commitment to those who serve in uniform and allows us to continue to empower the next generation of military business owners with no cost training, resources and mentorship.”
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Cubic vice president honored with
National Business Achievement Award
Jannet Walker Ford, vice president of government relations at Cubic Corp., will be honored with the first-ever National Business Achievement Award for her leadership and dedication to the transportation industry during the Miami Women Who Rock’s sixth annual Fifty Shades of Pink RockStar Awards Luncheon in Coral Gables, Fla.
Miami Women Who Rock is a women’s network that promotes health and wellness causes and initiatives for women in local communities, throughout the U.S. and globally. Its mission is to support and cultivate a powerful, health-driven women’s network through fundraising and other programs that serve to educate and empower women.
Walker Ford has more than two decades of leadership experience in the transportation industry. At Cubic, she advocates for bipartisan political support for major infrastructure investment in the U.S. She works with congressional staff on new transportation authorization language and acts as a liaison with the Executive Branch, other key transportation administrations and lobbyists to advance for transportation policies and programs.
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AFTERSHOCK
