In this episode:
We meet Sean Wilson, Director of Media and Public Relations at Northrop Grumman Space Systems. Starting her career as an enlisted Satellite Systems Operator for the U.S. Air Force, Sean has since held a number of different roles in space communications, including stints as a Communications Analyst and Astronaut Instructor at Futron Corporation, a Public Relations Specialist at NASA Johnson Space Center, and Director of Corporate Communications at Orbital ATK. In her current role at Northrop Grumman Space Systems, she’s a big part of shaping the company’s messaging and strategies for communicating to the public, company shareholders, and media.
In our conversation, Wilson discusses how her career path led her to specialize in communications, the time she spent as an astronaut instructor, her approach to simplifying industry jargon into consumable communications, how her team coaches high-level executives to speak to the public, and the components of communications plans for launches and missions. She also explains how the role of social media has evolved in the PR arena, the most emotionally taxing events she has had to field as a professional communicator, and the children’s book she authored.
In describing how she got her earlier job with NASA, Sean says, “I spammed, faxed, and snail-mailed, and barraged every contractor within the greater Houston area that had anything remotely to do with NASA, and I think I finally broke one down and they said, ‘Please, if you’ll stop emailing us, we’ll hire you!’”
To learn more about Northrop Grumman, visit northropgrumman.com.
Introductory and closing music: Paint the Sky by Hans Atom © copyright 2015 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/hansatom/50718 Ft: Miss Judged
Alan Mittelman – Founder, CEO, and President of Eagle Eyes Optics
Jonathan Gardner – Deputy Senior Project Scientist, James Webb Space Telescope
Joe Urso — Founder/CEO ActivePure Technologies
Jack Gregg — Author of ‘The Cosmos Economy’
Jason Reimuller – Executive Director, International Institute for Astronautical Sciences & Project PoSSUM
Emily Carney – Space Hipster, Writer, and Podcaster
Lori Garver & Courtney Stadd — Former Presidential Transition Staff Members
Sarah Cruddas – Space Journalist
Sarah Noble – NASA Program Scientist, Psyche Mission
Erin Macdonald – Tattooed Scottish-American N7 Rebel from Starfleet Academy
John Olver – Emisshield, Inc.
Dylan Taylor – Voyager Space Holdings & Space for Humanity
Katharine Forth – Zibrio
Steve Howard – Spaceport Camden
Robert Gregg & Toby Elery — Robotic Prosthesis Built with ISS Motors
Rebekah Hyatt and Adlena Jacobs — SystemsGo
Aaron Shepard – NASA Robotics Intern & Founder of Cogito
Giorgio Coraluppi and Michael Hockenberry — Compunetix
Meredith Garofalo – WeatherNation
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