OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – An opportunity to work for NASA doesn’t come around often, but one Oklahoma woman has been selected to help the agency with diversity, equity, and inclusion. She’s also the only Oklahoman serving in that capacity.

“To be somebody from Oklahoma, to raise my hand, come in with my little twang and want to lean in, to have those conversations, to be a part of the problem solving and to really just grow greatness is a very special opportunity for me,” S.E. Puett said.

It’s a special opportunity indeed for Mrs. Puett. She’s a native Oklahoman who is set to become a diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI practitioner for NASA.

“We will sit as a cohort and review policies, proposals and programming that NASA’s interested in building out to attract and sustain and grow their diverse talent,” she said.

Throughout her life, she’s lived in a number of smaller communities across Oklahoma.

After years of work and experience, Puett said learning organizational development and more has helped and will help her provide insight at NASA into things like a diverse work force, policies, training, infrastructure, operations, and logistics.

“To ensure that those diverse teams are given an opportunity to not just meld together and collaborate, but to go grow greatness and thrive,” she said.

Puett said growing up in Oklahoma has prepared her for this moment.

She also added that our state is more diverse than some might think as she gets ready to take on a new challenge with big responsibility.

“It’s not lost on me on what kind of responsibility that is in terms of representation and something that I always kind of take pause to reflect on is ensuring that I am reflecting the voice of my people in my community,” Puett said.

Puett said she will be grouped with practitioners from across the country who will meet virtually doing reviews and going into deeper conversations.

She said that will develop how often they’ll meet and what they will talk about going forward.