Reaching for the Stars, with Dr. Rhea Seddon (Space, Healthcare, Entrepreneurship, Author)

Dr. Rhea Seddon is a woman of many firsts. One of only six women in her medical school class of 100, she was the first woman ever accepted to the surgery residency program at her university. In 1978, she was one of the first six women accepted into the Astronaut Corps, and when she married fellow astronaut Capt. Robert “Hoot” Gibson, they became the first active astronauts to wed. Together they produced the first official “astrotots” (children born to two astronauts). In addition to her space career, Dr. Seddon’s life experiences have led her from surgeon to licensed private pilot, to healthcare executive, entrepreneur, author, president of a large women’s charity group and now, professional speaker.Entering the Astronaut Corps in 1978, she served the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for nineteen years, spending thirty days in space aboard three Space Shuttle flights.After leaving NASA in 1997, Dr. Seddon was appointed the Assistant Chief Medical Officer of the Vanderbilt University Medical Group in Nashville, where she focused on innovative systems and methodologies for improving teamwork in healthcare. Eleven years later, she continued that work as a founding partner of LifeWings Partners, LLC, which teaches those concepts to healthcare institutions across the United States.She is a member of both the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame and Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame, and her significant contributions to aeronautics and science were recognized in 2015 when she became the eighth woman inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. That year, she also published her autobiography, Go For Orbit, and in 2016, she was awarded the Independent Book Publishers Association Ben Franklin Gold Award for Best Autobiography/Memoir.Based on her diverse life experiences, Dr. Seddon enjoys sharing the wisdom gained and lessons learned as she speaks nationally and internationally about teamwork, leadership and inspiring others to recognize and act upon life’s many opportunities.

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