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Board of Directors for the Manned Space Flight Education Foundation.According to Johnson, the MSFEF helps guide and direct Space CenterHouston, the official visitor’s center of the JSC.Her accomplishments are catching the eye of many, and organizationsare scrambling to recognize her achievements. As Johnson racks upcareer highlights from year to year, she’s especially proud of the Womenof Color Government and Defense Award she received in 2002. Her plan– a screening and selection process for small businesses vying for governmentcontracts – garnered the award for her efforts in corporate responsibility.What was particularly importantabout it, Johnson noted, was that she’dbeen recognized for success in a field outsideof her own.With so much attention surroundingher in the scientific and aerospace community,Johnson is quick to acknowledgeTSU has had and influential place in herlife. Having earned a BBA (‘75) fromTexas Southern, she proudly acknowledgesthe impact that some of her college professorshad on her decisions to attend graduateschool (MBA, ‘78) and subsequently,mentor college graduates at Johnson Space Center.In her new role, Johnson has a clear vision of continuing to mentorothers as she was mentored by Willie Wright, the first black JSC procurementdepartment professional she met in the early 1970s. She creditsWright with providing her with guidance and support, and aspires to helpher employees maximize their skills and reach their potential. By doingso, Johnson ensures that her department doesn’t skip a beat.“Half of my work force has been there over 15 years and the otherhalf… has been there less than five,” she explained. “The only way I’mgoing to bridge that gap, as the first group starts into retirement age, is tomake sure that I have a formalized program set up so I can transfer thatknowledge.”“It was near and dear toour hearts when [the spaceshuttle] Columbia [crash]happened and when[space shuttle] Challenger[crashed].”Debra Johnson isn’t just receiving recognition from her employer.Recently, TSU honored Johnson with the Alumni of the Year Award, bestowed at an annualbanquet sponsored by the Jesse H. Jones School of Business. “I am both humbled and excited by thisaward,” she said in an interview with Kendra Phipps of the Johnson Space Center. “Even though I wasthe one…[who] accepted the award, I am aware that it is because of the many people to who took thetime along the way to mentor me and provide counsel.”Johnson credited the “phenomenal” TSU faculty and staff for encouraging her to pursue a graduatedegree and apply to NASA’s cooperative education program. Without one professor in particular,she explained, she never would’ve realized the value of continuing her education, nor had any idea thatNASA hired “anything other than science and math majors.”GENERATIONS OF PRIDE v Spring 2004 13