We increase diversity in the space industry by bridging the gap between
art and science
At Proctor Foundation for Art and Science, we are dedicated to bringing community college students and educators on experiential journeys of scientific research and exploration. Our focus is on the BIPOC community: those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color.
Mission Statement
Founded by Dr. Sian Proctor who was the first Black woman to pilot a spacecraft, our mission is to encourage black, indigenous, and/or people of color (BIPOC) who are majoring in arts and humanities to use their knowledge and skills in careers that advance human spaceflight. We do this by exposing participants to experiential learning opportunities focused around science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
Space Camp and Art
Proctor Foundation is partnering with Space Camp to provide scholarships to Community College Students. Applicants must identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) and special consideration is given to students majoring in the arts or humanities. See below for full list of qualifications.
Proctor Foundation is also providing Space Camp scholarships to K-12 educators and Community College Faculty. Applicants must identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color and be employed full-time. See below for full list of qualifications.
Dr. Proctor along with her Inspiration4 crew members were inducted into the Space Camp Hall of Fame in 2022. The Art of Space Camp will take place during the Space Camp Inspiration4 week each summer.
Student Eligibility
Students must be 18 years or older and enrolled full-time as a community college student.
Students must identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or Person of Color (BIPOC).
- Students can be any major but special consideration will be given to students majoring in art or humanities subjects such as but not limited to art, literature, graphic design, music, poetry, creative writing, film or television production, immersive media, journalism, women’s studies, or gender studies.
Educator Eligibility
Educator must be either a full-time k-12 teacher or full-time informal educator at a museum or science center, or a full-time employee at a non-profit supporting educators in the state of Arizona.
Community college faculty must be full-time at an accredited community college in the United States.
Educator must identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or Person of Color (BIPOC).
- Educators can be from any discipline but special consideration will be given to educators who teach art or humanities subjects such as but not limited to art, literature, graphic design, music, poetry, creative writing, film or television production, immersive media, journalism, women’s studies, or gender studies
Applications are closed for the Space Camp Scholarship 2024!!
Space Camp is June 20-23, 2024 (4 days) *Hall of Fame Weekend*
The applications will close at the end of February each year. Students and faculty from across the United States are eligible to apply with special consideration going to students and faculty from the Maricopa Community College District.
Million Dollar Teacher Project Partnership!
We are now also accepting applications from BIPOC K-12 Teachers from Arizona through our new partnership with the Million Dollar Teacher Project. Educators, when filling out the application please select the community college faculty selection.
Donate Now to the Proctor Foundation Space Camp Scholarship!
We need your help raising $50,000 each year to send 16 community college students and faculty to Space Camp. Please help increase diversity in the space industry by bridging the gap between art and science.
Founded by Astronaut and Artist
Dr. Sian Proctor
Dr. Sian Proctor is a Geoscience Professor at the Maricopa Community Colleges, an Afrofuturism Space Artist, and an Astronaut. She is the Chief Inspiration Astronaut of Space2inspire and founder of The Proctor Foundation for Art and Science. She was the mission pilot for SpaceX Inspiration4, the first all-civilian orbital mission. She is the first woman commercial astronaut spaceship pilot and the only African American woman to ever be a mission pilot. She is also the first African-American commercial astronaut, and the first African-American to paint in space. She is currently serving as a member of the National Space Council Users’ Advisory Group representing the Maricopa Community Colleges and, in 2024, was selected to serve as new U.S. Science Envoy with the State Department. Her motto is Space2inspire where she encourages people to use their unique strengths and passion to inspire themselves and those within their reach. She uses her unique artistic style and poetry to share her love of human spaceflight and to bring her EarthLight experience down to Earth. She believes that we need to actively strive for a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive (J.E.D.I.) space both on Earth and beyond.
Executive Director: Chris Proctor
Chris Proctor is Sian Proctor's brother. As a sibling and long-time member of Dr. Proctor's inner circle, Chris is the Executive Director of the Proctor Foundation . He is charged with the day-to-day operations of the foundation and is a key component to the foundations success.
Proctor Foundation Awards
The Proctor Foundation also recognizes those that inspire and engage in education, exploration, and outreach aligned with Dr. Sian Proctor’s Space2inspire and J.E.D.I. Space (just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive) principles applied on Earth and beyond.
The J.E.D.I. Space Award
The JEDI Space Award is an annual award given in partnership with the annual Yuri’s Night Celebration. It recognizes a space community member, organization, or company actively striving to create a just, equitable, diverse, and inclusive space (JEDI Space) on Earth and Beyond.
2023 Award Recipient
Frank White, Human Space Program
Aerospace Orbit Award
The Aerospace Orbit Award is an annual award given in partnership with the Civil Air Patrol Arizona Wing. It recognizes a Civil Air Patrol aerospace officer from the southwest region who has gone above and beyond.
2023 Award Recipient
Lt. Cecelia Braithwaite, CAP
African American Aviatrix Award
The African American Aviatrix Award is an annual award given in partnership with the (TBD) organization. It recognizes an outstanding African American female pilot dedicated to inspiring other women and girls of color to pursue careers in aviation or aerospace.
First award will be announced in 2023
Educator Space2inspire Award
The Educator Space Award is an annual award given in partnership with a (TBD) District. It recognizes an outstanding community college professor dedicated to inspiring students through the melding of science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics (STEAM).
First award will be announced in 2023
Board of Advisors
Dr. Maria Bailey-Benson
Maria Bailey Benson is Business Faculty at South Mountain Community College and a serial entrepreneur. She describes herself as having an innate understanding of how things work. Maria holds Bachelor and Master of Science degrees in Industrial and Systems Engineering, both from Georgia Tech. She is the co-author of “A Girlfriend’s Guide to Social Media” and loves to share her passion for technology and social media as well as how to successfully leverage it both personally and professionally. Her community affiliations include The Phoenix Chapter of the Links, Inc., Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Phoenix Emerald Foundation, and The National Smart Set. She is the founder of The Red Dress Cocktail Party, an annual heart-healthy celebration, and currently serves on the national board of the Black Women Health Imperative.
Maryliz Bender
MaryLiz is a creative storyteller, musician, filmmaker, explorer, and technologist. She’s on a mission to inspire hope, elevate empathy, and unite through experiences of awe and wonder. As Co-founder and Creative Director of Cosmic Perspective, she has been documenting and telling the story of this new space age through cinematic films, VR experiences, and multimedia shows. As a musician, MaryLiz has spent the last decade producing albums and taking her stage shows on tour. Currently, she is touring the world with her latest music gloves performances under the monicker, “Annu.” Often performing with astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor, this awe-inspiring immersive, multimedia show lifts audiences to space to gift them the astronaut’s perspective of our beautiful planet, offering an important message for today and a hopeful vision for the future.
Erin Bonilla
Erin Bonilla is an analog astronaut, human spaceflight advisor, space artist, and freelance adventurer. For the last 5 years, Erin served as the Vice President of Training Programs for STAR HARBOR, a
50+ acre space training facility and R&D campus being built in Lone Tree, Colorado. In this role, she worked closely with astronauts, subject matter experts, and industry partners to lead the
development of space training facilities, equipment, and training programs. Throughout her decade-long career at NASA and in the commercial aerospace industry, Erin has developed expertise in digital strategy, educational outreach, space training program development,
equipment design, and expedition management. Prior to her career in aerospace, Erin worked as a creative director in fashion advertising leading the design and campaign development for 20+ luxury fashion labels.
David Lockett
David Lockett serves as the Co-PI for the SACS Data Science Academy: Promoting Data Science with Robotics and NASA Geospatial and Extraterrestrial Big Data for Grades 9-12 The project combines robotics and big data, at the Meharry Medical College School of Applied Computational Sciences (SACS) The key objective of the program is to stimulate curiosity in the cross-cutting field of data science through data science-driven, hands-on, STEM activities deploying real-life application scenarios and industrial grade robotic systems.
Chris Sembroski
Chris “Hanks” Sembroski resides in Gig Harbor, WA, and works as an Avionics Testing Engineer for Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket. Early in his career, Chris led teams as a camp counselor at U.S. Space Camp, and he served in the U.S. Air Force maintaining a fleet of Minuteman III ICBMs. As a citizen-lobbyist, he successfully passed legislation through congress promoting increased access to space. In September 2021, Chris flew to space in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft representing the Generosity seat aboard Inspiration4 which raised $250 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Mike Mongo
Mike Mongo is an astronaut teacher. In 2022, he was selected by Uplift Aerospace to be an astronaut on the first-ever Web3 commercial crew, Space+5. He is the author of children’s book The Astronaut Instruction Manual. And its follow-up, Kid Astronaut Training Manual (winter 2022). He serves on the Board of Advisors of Students for Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) and is one of the co-founders of Yuri’s Night Space Coast at Kennedy Space Center.
Kyle Schember
Kyle Schember is co-founder and CEO of Subtractive Inc. His entertainment career spans 25 years and has included a range of projects from scripted film, television, music videos, and commercials. He began his producing career working on the feature film "Forever Fabulous" in the late 1990's with Jean Smart & Robert Wagner. He also spent 15 years with the Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival as a content producer for the now legendary webcast. From the concert stage he then graduated to aerospace where he continues to function as a director and producer for the SpaceX webcast.
Lisa Young
Dr. Lisa Young is an educator with nearly 30 years of experience teaching and inspiring students and faculty. She currently serves as Faculty Administrator of Open Education and Innovation at the Maricopa County Community College District. Her work in higher education has ranged from teaching hydrology, sustainability, and geography classes, being the first faculty member to teach online at her college in the mid-90s, to being the Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning. Her current passion is leveraging open educational resources to provide accessible and inclusive learning materials for students. She serves on the Board of Directors for OE Global, an international open education organization.
Donate & Support
Please Donate Now
You can make a one-time or recurring donation directly to Proctor Foundation through our partnership with SpaceKind Foundation. Thank you for the support!
Partner with us
Do you want your organization to help elevate our work on a larger scale? If you see ways that we can support one another, please contact us about becoming an organizational sponsor.
Our Partners
