The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers announced the winners of its 2023 achievement awards July 5. One recipient in the ERG Leadership category is Alicia Jose, who chairs the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Employee Resource Group at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
The Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers announced the winners of its 2023 achievement awards July 5. One recipient in the ERG Leadership category is Alicia Jose, who chairs the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Employee Resource Group at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
SASE presents this award to individuals who exhibit strong leadership and drive toward advancing AANHPI causes within their employee resource groups, according to its website.
“It’s an honor to be selected for the work that I’ve done,” Jose said. “But I definitely didn’t do it on my own. The whole ERG works together.”
Jose, who was born in Korea and grew up in Maryland, began working at NASA as a branch secretary in 2008. After joining the AANHPI group, she jumped from member to secretary to vice-chair, and now, as of this year, to chair. She was nominated for the award by her vice-chair, Kan Yang, as well as Goddard’s deputy director of the Engineering and Technology Directorate, Joanne Hill-Kittle, and Goddard equal opportunity specialist Gerald Tiqui.
“The work of an ERG chair is completely voluntary and in addition to the hours one puts in for their normal job,” Yang said. “With this award, I am thrilled that Alicia is getting the recognition she deserves.”
Her tenure with the group included leadership through the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jose and her team organized listening sessions, a forum about the AANHPI experience, and factsheets on how supervisors and peers could support their coworkers. Jose also helped celebrate several holidays at Goddard, including Nowruz and Diwali. Recently, Jose collaborated with the ERG to bring accent bias training to Goddard.
“She works with every level to make sure that we’re really moving the needle and making a difference,” Hill-Kittle said.
Jose has also had occasion to involve her family in her work with the resource group. For Goddard’s “Taste of Asia and the Pacific Islands” event, Jose’s mom and her troupe would perform Korean dance.
Jose credits some of her success in leadership with her own involvement in music.
“I used to perform and being on stage helped me with public speaking,” Jose said. “I still have trouble with my nerves when I do public speaking, but being a singer-songwriter has helped me with that.”
Jose will be recognized alongside the other winners at the 2023 SASE National Convention in October.
“Her diligence over the past few years to tackle challenges that face AANHPI individuals and organize events that celebrate the diverse elements of our workforce has made our center a more inclusive empathetic and equitable place for all,” Yang said.
By Ananya Udaygiri
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media contact:
Rob Garner
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
