Today on the podcast, we speak with Joan Melendez-Misner, a rocket scientist, science communicator, and influencer who has 14,000 followers on Instagram. When she is not making waves with her TikTok videos, Joan is a Mission Integration Systems Engineer at NASA, where she works for the Launch Services Program, managing space and aeronautical flight systems for all non-crewed and scientific missions. She works on design and operational requirements definition, hardware and software development, testing, and verification. Joan shares with Emily how she sees her role as a science communicator, how she is making STEM more accessible to people through her fun yet educational videos, and what she is hoping to communicate to others who might believe that they aren’t smart enough to be in the field. Listeners will also hear how she eventually got a job offer from NASA, what it was like starting on the team during the pandemic, and why she decided against medicine in her first year of college. Being the first one in her family to get a college degree, Joan also shares how her mom encouraged her to pursue formal education to make a better life for herself, and she emphasizes the importance of women pulling tougher and hyping each other up to break the negative stereotypes they face in male-dominated industries.
Sn. 1, #21 STEM, Rocket Science, and Girl Power with Joan Melendez-Misner
Emily Soloby
Emily received her BA in Women’s Studies and JD from Temple University. Early on, she worked as a legal advocate for women in domestic violence cases. After practicing law, Emily began working on the business side of things. She is the co-owner of AAA School of Trucking, a truck and heavy equipment safety training firm, which she has spent the last 10 years growing into a thriving national business through government and military contracting and corporate partnerships.
As an executive in the transportation industry, darting from client meeting to trucking range required safety boots that met her style standards, and when she couldn’t find them anywhere, she created Juno Jones Shoes. Emily trained in shoemaking in Cuernavaca, Mexico and at the Brooklyn Shoe Space, and assembled a powerhouse team of designers, consultants, and industry experts to bring Juno Jones to life. Through Juno Jones Shoes, Emily is fulfilling her dream of not only providing women with safe, stylish footwear options for their jobs but of helping to normalize and empower women in traditionally male-dominated fields.
For more information go to junojonesshoes.com.
