Women's history month: Mae Jemison

This Women’s History Month, I want to recognize women who took chances and lived by their convictions.  As a woman of action, I am inspired by role models who fearlessly took calculated risks. Rather than waiting for the world to be changed for them, these women took matters into their own hands. These particular women may not be the most well known, but they are truly role models who serve as an inspiration for the next generation of women.  

One woman who has personally stood out to me is Mae Jemison, whom I first learned about from her TED talk, Teach Arts and Sciences Together.  Her talk opened my eyes to the fact that the separation of science and arts is illusory, explaining that “science provides an understanding of a universal experience, and arts provide a universal understanding of a personal experience.”  The two subjects at hand indeed have more kinship than dichotomy. With this sense of clarity, it’s no doubt that Mae’s accomplishments are practically innumerable. Because she dared to follow her dreams, she shattered proverbial glass ceilings as she excelled as an author, dancer, engineer, physician, NASA astronaut, and entrepreneur.  She boldly used the platform she gained from becoming the first black female astronaut to travel into space to speak out against unacceptable disparities between the quality of healthcare in the United States and third world nations.
 
Mae’s achievements inspired me to use my platform on Jezuba to bring solar LED technology to off-grid communities in rural Burma.  Every purchase of Little Sun solar LED lamp from Jezuba will help us donate the same solar LED lamp to a child in need. Together, we can light up the world with solar technology.  
 
Stay tuned for more women we will be recognizing this historic month!
 
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Rebecca Liao
Co-founder and Director, Jezuba

Jemison in July 1992