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Michael Chandler has provided configuration and data management support at Houston\u2019s Johnson Space Center for the last 13 years. After roughly seven years supporting the Exploration Systems Development Division, Chandler transitioned to the Moon to Mars Program Office in 2019. He and his team work to ensure that the baseline for Moon to Mars products, like agreements and documents, is appropriately controlled and that configuration and data management processes are integrated across the office\u2019s six programs \u2013 Orion, Gateway, EHP, Space Launch System, Human Landing system, and Exploration Ground Systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most rewarding part of my job is not only the magnitude of what I have the privilege of working on every day, returning humans to the surface of the Moon, but also the experience I get in working with such a diverse group of members of the aerospace community,\u201d said Chandler, a contractor with The Aerospace Corporation. \u201cIt\u2019s also so rewarding to work as a team on a common goal and to look forward to the work I do every day!\u201d<\/p>\n
Chandler has been an active member of the Out & Allied Employee Resource Group (OAERG) since 2018 and says his involvement with the group led to some groundbreaking life events. \u201cI was very shy and reticent about revealing who I was until I got involved with Out & Allied,\u201d he said. \u201cI now believe that being \u2018out\u2019 is a way to support and encourage others to be themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chandler learned about OAERG while attending a training about how to be an ally for the LGBTQ+ community. In his first year with the group, he helped organize a panel discussion on allyship and creating safe workplaces. He then became co-chair of OAERG\u2019s Pride Committee, working with ERG colleagues and others to plan the group\u2019s LGBTQ+ Pride Month events and participation in Houston\u2019s annual Pride Parade. \u201cI had a wonderful experience managing events and bringing everyone together for Pride,\u201d he said \u2013 efforts that earned him a Trailblazer Award.<\/p>\n
Chandler said he has grown personally and professionally through his involvement with OAERG. \u201cI was very shy and kind of uptight at the first meeting that I went to, but everyone was so kind and accepting, and I slowly started taking on responsibilities and planning events,\u201d he said. \u201cThese activities helped me grow as a communicator and a leader in my regular work and personal life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Chandler belongs to other employee resource groups (ERGs) at Johnson to support different communities and find opportunities to collaboratively promote diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) at the center, and he encourages others to do the same. \u201cEven if you only participate when you have time, it can lead to knowledge and ways to support other communities that have the same challenges in this world,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Chandler has been impressed with agency and center leadership\u2019s involvement in DEI efforts and support for ERGs to date. He suggested that increased communication around DEI initiatives may help to quell anxieties about the political landscape and developments outside of NASA by reassuring team members that their employer supports them for who they are. He believes that every person at Johnson can help create an inclusive environment by being respectful, listening with an open heart, and joining the fight to ensure that everyone can be themselves. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe most important thing is that everyone needs to be their true self,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s so rewarding and makes life so much more fun!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n