During the 2025 Responsible Care & Sustainability Conference and Expo, ACC will proudly welcome NASA astronaut, Colonel Eileen Collins, as a keynote speaker. Colonel Collins kindly shared her perspective on issues of safety, leadership, and education with ACC in a pre-event interview. Learn more about what to expect from the keynote presentation below and register todayto join leading safety and sustainability professionals at the Responsible Care & Sustainability Conference and Expo in Fort Lauderdale May 4-7!
Question 1 - Safety: As a NASA astronaut and the first woman to command a Space Shuttle, how did you approach safety in such a high-stakes environment? What approaches do you think would benefit the chemical industry’s safety initiatives?
Honestly, I could write a book on this! But the bottom line in safety is for every employee to speak up! Just as important, every leader and manager need to listen and visit the workforce where they are. Ask specific questions like: “If you could change one thing, what would it be?”, “What frustrates you in your job?”, or “What do you think about XYZ?” (a new proposal, for example). I find that general questions like, “How are things going here?” won’t get you to the root problems every time.
Also, a leader or manager needs to ensure they are encouraging, not intimidating. For example, when someone speaks up, say something rewarding like, “I appreciate your comments”, “That is a good point”, or “I love that question”. Make employees feel good about themselves, so they will tell you when something is potentially unsafe. To support worker transparency and accountability, help ensure there is a confidential reporting system, where someone can anonymously let you know if they are uncomfortable with something at work.
My experience in Air Force flying squadrons, as well as the space shuttle program, is that present, proactive leaders are essential to operational safety. Formal safety programs are vital, but no matter what safety strategies you are using, leaders should work to ensure people are aware of them and have opportunities to practice using them in simulated situations.
Question 2 - Risks and Problem Solving: During your missions, unexpected challenges could arise at any time. How did you prepare and manage crisis situations? What lessons from spaceflight could improve crisis and risk management in the chemical industry?
Without a doubt, the most important confidence-builder is to practice emergencies in simulations. These can be time-consuming and potentially resource intensive, but I believe this is a major factor in averting and minimizing accidents. In the space shuttle program, we simulated everything. We practiced launches, landings, spacewalks, zero gravity, experiments, satellite deployments, and I could go on. Every simulation had “fake emergencies” that the team had to work out together. We also simulated medical emergencies and cyber intrusions. We had “training teams” that are like “red teams” that set up the malfunctions/emergencies. They would watch us, and follow-up with a post-sim debrief. The real way to understand a system with confidence is to understand how it fails.
One other thing: Teach “case studies”, so everyone in the organization understands how systems have failed in the past. In the space industry, the most famous cases are the Challenger accident (1986), and the Columbia accident (2003). I will discuss the Columbia accident in my presentation at the Responsible Care & Sustainability Conference in May.
Question 3 - Leadership: What leadership principles or qualities did you find most valuable in your career? What is the most surprising quality you find vital for successful leadership?
Most valuable:
First: Knowledge of my job. You don’t have to (and can’t) know everyone else’s job, but you must have a deep knowledge of one aspect of your industry.
Second: Effective communication. Knowing the people you work with and staying in touch with them routinely.
Finally: Integrity. I believe integrity is not only honesty, but also knowing that you can expect honesty in the future. It is honesty plus trust.
Surprising quality: Humility. I was not a very humble person when I started my career. Back at the beginning, I felt like I had to be a “know-it-all”. I learned fast that people do not appreciate that. Rather, a humble leader will ask questions and thank people for speaking up. Let people know that you need them, and they are valuable. When they have a good idea, make sure that person gets credit for it.
Question 4 - Education: You’ve earned multiple STEM degrees, including a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and economics and masters of science in Operations Research. How did your STEM education prepare you for your career? How can the private sector encourage and support students to pursue STEM degrees?
STEM knowledge and practical use are essential in an astronaut’s career. But I will propose that STEM concepts are important in EVERY career. Why? STEM teaches problem solving. Math teaches you to define a problem, find the tools needed to solve that problem, put the tools in the right order, then iterate until you feel confident you have a correct answer. This also applies to the scientific method and solving engineering problems.
One more thing: I emphasize that STEM is not only problem solving, but it is also creativity. I will talk about creativity on May 5. Every day we did a simulation, we would ask, “Is there a better way to do this?”, or, "Is there a more efficient way?” Creativity in daily thinking is an essential part of STEM teaching.
For the private sector, encourage employees to take courses that are aligned with their skills or interests. For example, in the space industry, there are opportunities to take single courses online in various areas. The world is rapidly changing, and the pace of change is also accelerating. Employees not only need to stay informed on current technologies but also should expand into similar career fields to aid in their creativity and prepare them for future leadership positions. Individual companies can help by suggesting specific courses and assisting with tuition costs and/or time off.