A Special Update from Molly Stuhlsatz, BSCS Associate Director for People & Culture

Dear friends,

This October, our entire staff came together, in person, for the first time in 992 days. For more than half of us, that meant getting on a plane and traveling into Colorado Springs, our headquarters. This Home Week gathering was a time for reflection, reconnection, and celebration. 

As we kicked off Home Week, we acknowledged the toll that the pandemic has taken on our communities, our families, and our work. In those 992 days, we celebrated the birth of babies (who are now preschoolers), we watched as children grew to teenagers, and we supported young adults leaving our homes into an uncertain world. We missed important time with our extended families and friends, and we canceled much needed vacations. We each experienced immense losses that will be felt for generations. 

In those 992 days, we also had moments of joy as we spent more time at home. We did puzzles, went on walks, and some of us adopted new furry friends. We supported each other and the teachers in our lives as we did school from home. We spent so much time on Zoom that the phrase “you’re muted” became a silly moment.  

In those 992 days, we launched several new programs for science educators and students. We felt motivated to double down on our commitment to advancing science education to redress injustice as we watched Black, Asian, and Indigenous communities stand up and speak up for social justice. We looked inward and evaluated our organizational culture, which ultimately led us down a path to restructuring our organization to better support the needs of our people. And along the way, we welcomed over 20 new staff members to the BSCS family – all of whom share our values and a dedication to our mission!  

As we gathered for Home Week, we all agreed – 992 days is a long time. Too long. So we fully embraced the opportunity to reconnect, dig deeper into our work, go adventuring outdoors, laugh hard, and engage in a highly spirited trivia competition. 

It brought me so much joy to spend quality time with my colleagues and celebrate all of our wins and learnings over the last 992 days. And I couldn’t be happier knowing that our next Home Week is just around the corner. 

From our BSCS family to yours, happy holidays!

Molly