MIT graduate Janelle Wellons recently became a Spaceflight Operations Engineer for a space company in Tokyo, Japan after spending nearly six years at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory where she made amazing inroads as an Instrument Operations Systems Engineer. I caught up with Janelle during her transition between jobs and had an opportunity to have a fun, casual, and insightful conversation with her about the challenges and rewards of navigating a career in aerospace. 

• Born in Santa Monica, California
• Age: 27
• Languages: English & Spanish
• 
  Education:
  • University of Southern California
    Master of Social Work - MSW
    2012-2023
  • University of Washington
    Sociology
    2011-2015
• Started running at 7
• Normally travels 3 times a year to Panama (pre-pandemic)
• Parents are Donna Washington (born in Colon, Panama) and John Woodruff (born in NY).
• She is the 2nd of 5 siblings. Her sister Yasmin also runs, she competes in the 100 and 200 meters and is a UCLA Alumni (c/o of 2013)
• Mother Donna played college soccer
• She was one of the top long hurdlers in the state of California, placing fourth in the 300-meter hurdles at the 2011 CIF finals 
• She set her PR in the CIF prelims, clocking 42.24 for the fastest prelim time ... that mark ranked her 18th nationally in 2011 and 10th among all graduating seniors
• She stepped up to the 400-meter hurdles at the 2011 USA Junior Championships, as she placed 10th overall in 1:03.10 
• She was second in the CIF Southern Section finals in the 300-meter hurdles, clocking 42.37 
• Won the Santa Fe/Santa Cruz League title in the long hurdles as a senior 
• Her junior year, placed sixth at state in the 300m hurdles in 42.91 seconds and also won the CIF-SS finals
• Ran the third leg on St. Mary's 4x100-meter relay that placed fourth at the state finals in 46.87 
• Also lettered in cross country in 2009 and 2010 
• Graduated with a 3.8 GPA. 

Aubriana Davis has been acting, singing and dancing since she was a little girl living in Albany, GA. Known as a "triple threat", it was not until she moved to Atlanta, GA at the age of 7, that she was introduced to the many facets of acting and began to fall even more in love with it. At the age of 11, she appeared in her first film "Jason Banks" (2011) and from there she landed her first lead role in a musical production of "High School Musical, Jr." (2013) without any prior professional training. A lover of theatre, she went on to perform lead in several musicals such as "Fame" (2017), "Cinderella" (2017), "42nd Street" (2018) and "Cover of Life" (2019).

Aubriana landed a big break when she hit the big screen with Director Clint Eastwood in the American biographical drama film, Richard Jewell (2019) (2019) at only 18 years old! Very shortly after, she went on to work with Director Barry Jenkins in The Underground Railroad (2021) (2021) and Director Anthony Hemingway in a recurring role on the National Geographic series, Genius (2017): Aretha (2021), starring Cynthia Erivo, Courtney B. Vance and Pauletta Washington. She then landed the role of Janelle Carr for season 2 of Netflix's Raising Dion (2019) (2021). Aubriana's additional television credits includes the Season 4 premiere of The Resident (2018) (2021).

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Team Aubriana

Father's Day, while generally a very special day for most, whether in the present or with loving memories, for many, it can be bittersweet. I am one who lost my father some 35 years ago and still cherish the moments I had with him who I idolize to this day. So, in the present, I appreciate the times I get to spend with my friend, Brigadier General Charles McGee, an upstanding, humble, patriotic, God fearing gentleman, who rightfully so, is a true national treasure, perfectly representing the Dads who served to protect our country.

After many years of everyone interviewing Brigadier General Charles McGee and his family members about his amazing and storied military flying career, it occured to me how nice it would be to talk with the General and his family about the family side of his legendary accomplishments. And, although I have been close to them for a number of years, I was pleasantly surprised with their candor about family life in the shadow of their iconic father as well as his about meeting expectations at work and at home.

As you will hear, there are some revealing comments from all four of them that show their human side and put an exclamation point on the realities of the kind of military life so many have and currently do experience.

What and honor and privilege it has been to share the celebration and acknowledgement of Father's Day with such an iconic, yet humble family. I felt fortunate to be in their presence and cherish the special bond and friendship we have formed. I guess you could say, they make me feel like one of the family, and it doesn't get any better than that.

I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did.

Here's a little on his background for keepsake:

On December 7th, famed Tuskegee Airman, Air Force Retired, Brigadier General Charles E. McGee will turned 101 years old. And, what a world class example of positivity, humility, and patriotism he is. Imagine what Brigadier General McGee has seen, since being born over a century ago, in 1919. Why just in 2020 alone, by the time he was honored by NASA, participated in this year’s Super Bowl Coin Toss, had his General’s star pinned on at the White House, and saluted the world during the State of the Union, Brigadier General McGee was already at full throttle before Black History month was even over. 

The Tuskegee Airmen story by itself is worthy of its own conversation. Of the nearly 1,000 pilots, more than a third of them flew combat missions; And almost 10,000 Tuskegee Airmen were support personnel, yes, very much like ‘Hidden Figures’, there were thousands of African Americans who supported the Tuskegee Airmen pilots that flew into harm's way. They were maintenance, operations, administration, food services, intelligence officers, and the list goes on, and on, and on. Brigadier General McGee will tell you in a heartbeat, how vital the role of operational support was to safety and security of the Tuskegee Airmen, and that they could not have completed their missions without them.

Brigadier General Charles McGee is originally from Cleveland, Ohio; At 21 years of age, he received the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award; Not long after that, he was “selected” while studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Illinois to head to Tuskegee, Alabama for the Tuskegee Airmen flight training program; that was in 1942; by June of 1943, Brigadier General McGee was a Tuskegee Airman; since then, he has flown 37 different aircraft, received more medals and accommodations than we have time to list, this week; and has flown 409 missions in three wars; World War II, the Korean Conflict, and Vietnam; he also commanded bases and flight squadrons both overseas and here in the United States.

Dr. Carlos E. Del Castillo is the Chief of the Ocean Ecology Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. He was previously a member of the Senior Professional Staff and Section Supervisor with the Space Department of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. Dr. Del Castillo is an Associate Research Professor at the Johns Hopkins University Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Dr. Del Castillo started his career at the University of Puerto Rico studying the effects of oil pollution in tropical marine environments. Later, at the University of South Florida, he became interested in organic carbon biogeochemistry and the carbon cycle. This led him to study biogeochemical and physical processes in the oceans through a combination of remote sensing and field and laboratory experiments. While working at NASA as a researcher, Dr. Del Castillo served as Project Manager at Stennis Space Center, MS, and served twice as Program Scientist at NASA HQ (2004-2005; 2011).

Dr. Del Castillo has chaired NASA and NSF workshops, served in several inter-agency working groups, NASA Senior Reviews for Continuation of Missions, the NASA’s Carbon Cycle and Ecosystem Management and Operations Working Group, and three National Research Council panels. Dr. Del Castillo chaired the Science Definition Team for a new NASA satellite mission, PACE, and was elected Chair for the Ocean Optics XXI Conference in Glasgow, Scotland (2012).

Dr. Del Castillo has several well-cited publications, co-edited a book on the application of remote sensing techniques. He is a frequent reviewer for technical journals, and served as associate editor for the Journal of Geophysical Research. Dr. Del Castillo received the William Sackett Prize for Innovation and Excellence in Research from the University of South Florida (1999), the NASA Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (2004), and the Emerald Honors Trailblazer Award (2007), and other awards.

Lydia is a Certified Sommelier from the Sommelier Society of America and holds the WSET Level 3 Advanced Certification; currently a WSET Level 4 Diploma student. Originally from Panama, Lydia’s passion for wine began while living in Paris and having the opportunity to travel to multiple French wine regions. After moving to New York, she worked in Marketing and PR for multiple industries before pursuing her dream of becoming a wine evangelist. Lydia worked as a Marketing Manager for the Wine Cellarage, a fine wine online retailer, and founded her private wine education, tastings and events company, Vino Concierge, in 2017. She was a Senior Account Executive at Colangelo & Partners, an integrated communications agency focusing on wine, food and spirits, working with their Spanish and South American accounts; and as of January 2021, she is a PR Manager for Taub Family Companies: Palm Bay International & Taub Family Selections.

In September 2020, Lydia launched an exciting passion project alongside wine colleagues Maria Calvert and Ivonne Nill called Hispanics in Wine, a social space dedicated to showcasing Hispanic/Latinx roots in the beverage and hospitality industries. Whether it's a producer, sommelier, retail store, restaurant, or vineyard steward, we are committed to empowering, amplifying and supporting the great work and business ventures our community is doing within the industry!

Contact at info@vinoconcierge.wine for more!

Less travel planning and more living. That’s the CrushGlobal approach.

Whether you’re doing it for the ‘gram, the memories, or, to help change the world, CrushGlobal Travel provides all of the tools to get you started. We work directly with locals around the world to create authentic experiences that strengthen local economies and allow you to plan less so that you can enjoy more. 

Solo travelers, groups, lovers and friends -- we curate itineraries for your specific needs and budget, because we believe that travel should be accessible for everyone. All you need is the keys to do it.

ABOUT THE FOUNDER

Kristin Braswell is a writer and entrepreneur committed to changing the world through travel. She has visited over 20 countries and created lasting memories with people and places that inspire her brand, CrushGlobal. She regularly contributes travel pieces to Vogue, Architectural Digest, Essence, CNN, USA Today, and more.  She encourages her clients and readers to discover new worlds with reverence and open eyes. Follow her on Instagram @crushglobal. 

The Alma G. Davis Foundation was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Atlanta, GA.  Founded by Alma G. Davis as a result of her own personal trials and triumphs with domestic violence, the foundation strives to ensure that women and young girls break the vicious cycle of abuse that is constantly on the rise.

“Having received my own first set of black eyes at the tender age of 14, I felt it was only right to reach back and grab those who are pushing their way forward”, says founder Alma G. Davis.  Now a successful and respected business woman and community leader, Davis has made it her passion to uplift women and teen survivors.

Due to the alarming statistics of  “1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men (aged 18+) in the U.S. has experienced domestic violence in their lifetime", and “1.5 million high school students nationwide experience physical abuse from a dating partner in a single year”, we utilize this platform to embrace, educate, encourage and celebrate those that are having the courage to say “no more” and are trying to rebuild their lives.  This is an important initiative to our community, as we must all do our part in wrapping our arms around these women and young girls and continue to encourage them to move forward with positive, healthy lifestyles."

Services Rendered

• Social Services (advocacy, counseling, legal assistance, safety planning, etc.)
• Pre-employment and work maturity skills training (resume writing, interviewing, hygiene and grooming)
• Job Placement
• Financial Literacy
• Education and training (STEM, Media & Entertainment)

How We Do It

By utilizing our corporate and community partners to help us provide health and wellness, training, job assistance and other services, to date we have been able to positively affect thousands of victim’s lives. This has resulted in the documented success and sustainable transition of survivors out of domestic violence shelters and situations.
With a core of dedicated staff and volunteers, we have been able to create sustainable programs that support domestic violence victims.  Due to the high volume of need and limited available resources for survivors, we are always in need of additional funding in order to maintain our current high-demand programs.

Our foundation provides direct services and training to victims on pre-employment and work maturity skills, financial literacy, healthcare and social services.  We also work with survivors by helping them find residency in local shelters and job placement within established community and corporate partners.

Across the country, we support shelters and work with individual victims of domestic violence (women and girls (13+) both currently residing in shelters and those in transition. In Georgia alone, we work with over 64 facilities across the state in the following counties: Clayton, Cobb, Dekalb, Fulton, Gwinnett. 

We also work directly with students in middle and high schools, colleges and universities on dating violence prevention and education. We provide hospitals with domestic violence transitional services to include post discharge assistance and holistic wellness care.

Services Rendered

• Social Services (advocacy, counseling, legal assistance, safety planning, etc.)
• Pre-employment and work maturity skills training (resume writing, interviewing, hygiene and grooming)
• Job Placement
• Financial Literacy
• Education and training (STEM, Media & Entertainment)