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I was just a little kid in elementary school when I first learned about Sally Ride, the

first American woman to go into space in 1983.

You know, June 18th is the 38th anniversary of her flight.

She shocks me.

I remember being there and it's unbelievable.

The audition and lift off, lift off of FDS 7 and America's first woman.

Tammalshaunase is a science writer, educator, and advocate.

And she knows Sally Ride probably better than anybody.

You know, if I had to list almost the labels that she liked.

She was an athlete.

She was a physicist.

And in fact, being a physicist was her favorite.

You know, it's who she thought she was, a physicist.

And then of course she was an astronaut.

And through that she became a role model for other girls and young women around the world

who thought, wow, if Sally Ride can fly in space, you know, maybe I can too.

Maybe I want to be an astronaut.

Maybe I want to be a scientist.

That passion for championing STEM education for kids, especially girls, with something

Tamm and Sally shared.

And it's what led them to co-found Sally Ride Science in 2001, a company focused on equity

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