Tahara Dawkins Joins Patti Grace Smith Fellowship Executive Team
The Patti Grace Smith Fellowship – the award-winning program that recruits highly talented Black undergraduates into the aerospace industry – is proud to announce that Tahara Dawkins, a distinguished leader in space policy and innovation, has joined its executive team. With a career dedicated to advancing opportunities in the aerospace sector, Dawkins brings a wealth of experience and passion to the fellowship’s mission.
Dawkins has played a key role in shaping national and international space policy. She is currently the Director of Policy at Astroscale U.S., where she leads policy efforts on space sustainability and debris remediation. Previously, she served as Chief of Staff for the White House National Space Council, where she helped coordinate space policy initiatives across federal agencies and the Office of the Vice President on national space strategy. Dawkins also served as Director of the Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Affairs Office at the Department of Commerce, overseeing U.S. satellite imaging regulations. Her expertise spans the civil, commercial, national security, and nonprofit space sectors, making her a valuable addition to the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship’s leadership team.
“The Patti Grace Smith Fellowship is a transformative program that opens doors for the next generation of Black aerospace professionals,” said Dawkins. “I am honored to join this extraordinary team and help continue the legacy of Patti Grace Smith by fostering opportunities for students who will help shape the future of space.”
Dawkins is the newest addition to the five-person volunteer team that runs the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship. She is stepping into a role long held by program co-founder Tiffany Lockett.
“We are thrilled to welcome Tahara Dawkins to our Executive Team,” said program co-founder and aerospace industry executive William Pomerantz. “Her leadership and her deep commitment developing the American aerospace workforce for the future align perfectly with our goals, and she has already been an important mentor and role model to many of our Fellows. We are all immensely grateful to Tiffany Lockett, and she can never be replaced in the minds and hearts of our Fellows, but I know she is as excited as any of us to see how Tahara can help us build on the great success of our program to date.”
The Patti Grace Smith Fellowship recently announced its fifth class of Fellows, which raised the program’s impact to a total of 175 “Patties” and nearly $500,000 in scholarships awarded to date. With approximately 80% of Patti Grace Smith Fellowship alumni continuing to pursue careers in aerospace, plus another 10% in very closely related fields like robotics – as massive increase over the nationwide statistics for aerospace disciplines, which often see attrition of over half of enrolled students – the program has a remarkable and proven ability to recruit, train, and retain high performing aerospace professionals.
To learn more about the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, its leadership team, or its track record of success, please visit pgsfellowship.org