Karen Bradford has been nominated for a Corporate Responsibility Award at the Women of Color STEM Conference, which will be held virtually October 8-10.

Over the course of 15 years, Bradford has served as the center’s partnership agreement liaison/lead to NASA HQ, and to key partners such as Intel, Google, and a foundation dedicated to empowering people.

Bradford has been the Ames Research Center sponsor for the United Negro College Fund STEM program for more than five years. The program is designed to provide support for African American high school students who aspire to earn science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees and to pursue careers in STEM fields.

In collaboration with Google, Howard University, and other Bay Area companies, Bradford worked to start a foundation for a possible Historically Black College and University (HBCU) West presence in Silicon Valley. The program has continued to grow in partnership with Carnegie Mellon University. As of last year, it had over 25 students participating from minority institutions.

“Over the decades I’ve known her, Karen has impressed me with her hard work and dedication towards mentoring students and expanding STEM career opportunities for students. I cannot think of anyone who is more deserving of this recognition,” said Eugene L. Tu, Center Director.

Currently, Bradford serves as the director of strategic partnerships at NASA Ames Research Center. She is also chair of the Partnerships Review and Evaluation (PRE) team and has served in this role ever since she was asked by the center director to develop a review process for Space Act Agreements that are a central part of the center’s partnership work.