Congratulations to Caitlin O'Brien on becoming a Brooke Owens Fellow in the Class of 2023. Caitlin is a fourth-year undergraduate at The Ohio State University (OSU) majoring in Astronomy and Astrophysics with a double major in Physics. She is pursuing a minor in Science and Engineering in the Public Interest, intending to combine her love for space with her interest in public policy. Caitlin serves as the Assistant Director of SciAccess, Inc., an international nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing disability inclusion in STEM. She acts as the Commercial Space Liaison for Mission: AstroAccess, applying universal design principles to space architecture toward the future of human space exploration.

In 2020, she met Anna Voelker, Brooke Owens Fellow Class of 2018, who introduced her to their mission of promoting accessibility in STEM. Together, they founded the SciAccess Zenith Mentorship Program, working with blind and low-vision high school students interested in space science from around the world. Caitlin helped run the SciAccess 2020 conference and served as Deputy Director for the SciAccess 2021 conference. She has co-authored several publications and traveled worldwide speaking at conferences about best practices for accessible science communication. In 2021, she was nominated for the American Astronautical Society Molly K. Macauley Award, recognizing her space policy proposal advocating for the inclusion of a Deaf person as part of NASA's astronaut corps.

Caitlin will be working with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) as a space policy intern for the summer of 2023.

To read more about the Brooke Owens Fellowship and Caitlin’s achievements click here.