March 31, 2021

The French-American Foundation hosted a Young Leaders Café on Wednesday, March 31 at 1pm ET / 19h CET with Ellen Stofan of the Smithsonian to discuss her career and recent transition from Director of the Air & Space Museum to Under Secretary for Science and Research, ongoing issues and evolutions in air and space, and women’s leadership in STEM at large. Joy Bonaguro, Chief Data Officer for the State of California and 2018 Young Leader, moderated the conversation.

Ellen Stofan: Ellen Stofan is the Smithsonian’s Under Secretary for Science and Research. She was most recently the John and Adrienne Mars Director of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Stofan started in April 2018 and is the first woman to hold this position.

Joy Bonaguro: Joy Bonaguro has spent her career working at the nexus of policy, data, design and technology. She is currently the Chief Data Officer for the State of California. Previously, she was Head of People, Operations, and Data at the cybersecurity startup Corelight, and also served as the first Chief Data Officer for the City and County of San Francisco, where she managed DataSF.

The Young Leaders Café series is exclusive to Young Leaders and alumni. Featuring a different topic of interest every one to two months, it is an informal online gathering for individuals from different class years to see each other on screen, share thoughts, and learn something new.