Sixth Annual Women in Leadership 2024 Exemplifies Astronaut Sally Ride’s Legacy of Reaching for the Stars

Among attendees were representatives from UC San Diego campus and Division of Extended Studies leadership, including Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Elizabeth H. Simmons; Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Becky R. Petitt; Dean of UC San Diego Extended Studies Hugo Villar; Senior Associate Dean of UC San Diego Division of Extended Studies Ed Abeyta; and Morgan Appel, Assistant Dean for Education and Community Outreach at the Division of Extended Studies.

The Women in Leadership event continues to grow each year and push the boundaries of inclusivity and aspiration. As Executive Vice Chancellor Simmons noted in her introductory remarks, the annual occasion serves to “inspire people of all gender identities to forge their own paths and become innovators in pursuit of their dreams.”

Each May, this gathering presents an opportunity to assess how far we’ve come and what’s ahead. EVC Simmons expressed that Women in Leadership highlights and celebrates milestones of achievement and moments of bold firsts, yet it’s also a time to reflect on continuing disparities, obstacles yet to be overcome, and the rigorous commitment required.

“Here at UC San Diego, we derive our strength from our diversity, and this is something we need to remind ourselves of every single day. True Tritons like Sally Ride understand that only by welcoming and respecting and listening to people with different backgrounds and perspectives, can we discover truly revolutionary ideas and make transformational changes,” said EVC Simmons. “I'm proud that UC San Diego has a commitment toward becoming a community where everybody is empowered to succeed. Upholding our progress to date and continuing to make improvements requires us all to be relentlessly self-reflective and to diligently keep actively driving toward positive change.”

UC San Diego Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Becky R. Petitt made brief remarks, reflecting on Ride’s history and legacy at UC San Diego.

“We are incredibly honored that Sally Ride served as a professor at UC San Diego…She was an amazing role model, willing to make herself visible, willing to make science accessible and willing to inspire future generations,” said VC Petitt. “As you saw in the [introductory] video, Sally was fond of saying,‘You can't be what you can't see.’ We're delighted to honor her legacy and to continue her work and celebrating women in leadership and cultivating the next generation of leaders at UC San Diego.”

VC Petitt noted the value and rewards of diversity in leadership.

“When women and girls are empowered to pursue leadership roles, we all benefit from the unique perspectives, innovation and experiences they bring to the work. Tonight we'll have the opportunity to hear from an inspiring group of women, each of whom has broken barriers and set new standards of excellence.”

The evening’s focus was the conversation with the esteemed panelists, who represented various ages, careers and life histories, but were united as risk-takers who have carved unique and bold paths as women leaders. Award-winning news broadcaster Sherr, who covered Sally Ride’s NASA Space launch in 1983 and became good friends with her—eventually penning her biography—introduced the program by reflecting on Ride’s legacy.

“Since Sally first crashed through the celestial glass ceiling, essentially telling women and girls that they could do anything, since that date, two generations have grown into young women,” recounted Sherr. “So, what is their future? How do they get there? That’s what we’re here to talk about.”

Sherr, who has participated as the Women in Leadership moderator since the first event in 2018, led the panelists through a dynamic discussion. Posing crafted questions interspersed with pre-submitted audience questions, she helped illuminate the panelists’ backgrounds and careers, weaving in their unique and shared stories and perspectives. 

Topics ranged in scope and touched on the significance of reinvention in women leaders’ lives and careers—showcasing the winding career directions of all three panelists—the nature and importance of mentorship, how to deal with pressures that come with leadership, what the world has missed by not having more women leaders, how to preserve ideals of equality, and the virtues of taking daring leaps to make great change. Lively and authentic, the two-hour conversation also included a brief segue to allow renowned chef Garten to answer an audience question about the one meal everyone should know how to make by heart. (Roast chicken, of course!)

Sherr wrapped up the discussion with some thoughts from an interview with Ride in 1983, before she had flown into space. Sherr asked her if she felt pressure, and Ride said she did: that she felt pressure to not mess up. 

“And I knew exactly what she meant,” said Sherr. “She didn't want to mess up for NASA because she really cared about NASA. She didn't want to mess up for the mission because she cared about the mission. She didn't want to mess up for her crewmates because she really cared about them. And she didn't want to mess up for other women, because she knew rightly or wrongly that if she didn't do a good job, it was going to be put on all other women.”

With that, Sherr put the focus back on women today with her own takeaway:

“We owe it to each other to stand up for ourselves—and for each other.”

The full broadcast of the Women in Leadership 2024 panel is available at UCSD-TV.