Faces of NASA: Office of Technology Incubation and Innovation Director Mary Lobo

“I am a Black woman in STEM. And when I was growing up, I cannot say that I saw a lot of faces that looked like mine in STEM careers. I had some limited exposure to some notables, like Dr. Mae Jemison. But the names were few and far between of the great scientists or engineers that were Black — let alone Black females. So for me, if anybody sees my picture and says ‘yes, I see someone who looks like me working in STEM’ — that right there is very fulfilling. Just to be seen and to be visible makes a difference.

"I also must provide words of encouragement because being in STEM can be difficult as is, let alone having to face the challenges of being a female in a male-dominated field. Or even being a double minority in the workplace.

"It’s a matter of being really self-assured that you can do it, despite the fact that you’re going to have failures, that you’re going to have setbacks, and that you’re going have people who may not believe in you, for whatever reason. You have to be self-assured that this is what you want to do and that it can be done. This 4’11” Black woman achieved this, not knowing that STEM was going to be my path or that I was going to end up at NASA — I did it, and I believe that you can do it too — but you have to believe it for yourself.”

— Mary Lobo, Director of Office of Technology Incubation and Innovation, Glenn Research Center

Interviewer: NASA / Thalia Patrinos