January Amelia Earhart Program

At our January 14, 2025 meeting, we were fortunate to have Rhode Island native Kierra Wilk join us. Kierra Wilk was awarded one of the coveted 2024 Zonta Amelia Earhart fellowships.  She is a Ph.D. candidate at Brown University studying planetary science.  In addition to studying the moon, she has published work on Mars and is interested in the geologic mapping of planetary bodies such as Europa. Ms. Wilk is actively involved with two upcoming NASA missions, Lunar Trailblazer and Europa Clipper. After completing her Ph.D., Ms. Wilk will join the Planetary Geology, Geophysics and Geochemistry Laboratory at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center as a research scientist. Beyond her research, Ms. Wilk is passionate about science education and outreach. She is involved in outreach programs aimed at encouraging young students, in particular young women and people of color, to pursue a career in STEM. Additionally, she is president of a graduate student organization Graduate Students of Color in STEM (GSOCnSTEM) at Brown University, which aims to build community for graduate students of color, increase interactions between faculty and graduate students and increase representation in STEM.