1) She persevered in the face of discrimination

Similarly to Mary Jackson, Annie Easley lived through a period of racial segregation.

As an African American woman during this time, she was subject to regular discrimination in both her personal and professional life.

She was overlooked for promotions, received lower pay than her peers, and was denied financial aid for professional training. One time she even once had a picture of her er face cut out of a display board (Source: Modis).

But she was not deterred, and found her own way to further her career in the face of these barriers.

One of her most prominent successes was her contribution to NASA’s Centaur project, which helped to pave the way for the advancement of space shuttle and satellite launches.

Additionally, she was a committed contributer to outreach programs, including through her role as a equal employment opportunity (EEO) counselor at NASA, helping to address issues of gende, racial and age inequalities and discrimination within the organisation.

2) She was adaptable to challenges and the changing world around her

Annie Easley initially began her training as a pharmacist but dropped out of university to move to Cleveland with her husband. Unfortunately for her at the time, there was no pharmacy course at the university there for her.

So she pivoted her career plans and applied for a job at NASA (then NACA) after reading about twin sisters in the local newspaper who worked as “human computers” there.

So began her STEM career in 1955 as a “human computer” doing complex computations and calculations by hand.

But as these “human computers” were slowly replaced by machines, she too evolved with the times.

She became a proficient programmer, learning and using “languages like the Formula Translating System (Fortran) and the Simple Object Access Protocol (SOAP) to support a number of NASA’s programs.” (Source: NASA TV)

3) She was an advocate for lifelong learning

As seen in her commitment to learning new code later on her career, she was dedicated to a life of continued professional and personal development.

For example, in her mid 40s she returned to university to earn a Mathematics degree from Cleveland State. Around this time, she also decided to take up skiing for the first time! (Source: Energy.gov)

For more info on Annie Easley, check out:

• Interview transcript with Annie Easley as part of NASA Headquarters History Office “Herstory” Project, 21 Aug 2001 - NASA History Portal

• Meet Annie Easley, the barrier-breaking mathematician who helped us explore the solar system - Massive Science

• Annie Easley helped make modern spaceflight possible - Engadget