Tam Elizabeth O'Shaughnessy (born January 27, 1952) is an American children's science writer and former professional tennis player who co-founded the science education company Sally Ride Science together with her partner, astronaut

Sally Ride Sally Kristen Ride (May 26, 1951 – July 23, 2012) was an American astronaut and physicist. Born in Los Angeles, she joined NASA in 1978, and in 1983 became the first American woman and the third woman to fly in space, after cosmonauts ...

, the first American woman and third woman in

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

. The company was relaunched as a nonprofit entity, Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego, on October 1, 2015. O'Shaughnessy serves as executive director.

Childhood and early career

O'Shaughnessy was born in

San Andreas, California San Andreas (Spanish for "St. Andrew") is an unincorporated census-designated place and the county seat of Calaveras County, California. The population was 2,783 at the 2010 census, up from 2,615 at the 2000 census. Like most towns in the regio ...

, and attended Troy High School in Fullerton, California, where she was active in tennis. As a junior player, she was coached by Billie Jean King.

Tennis

O'Shaughnessy went on to play on the women's professional tennis circuit from 1971 to 1974. She competed in the U.S. National Championships (now known as the U.S. Open) in 1966,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

, and

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using mean solar tim ...

. O'Shaughnessy was coached by Dr. Robert Walter Johnson, a physician who played a key role in the tennis careers of

Althea Gibson Althea Neale Gibson (August 25, 1927September 28, 2003) was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American ...

and

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Un ...

. Johnson was an official of the American Tennis Association (ATA), an organization that promotes tennis for African Americans but welcomed players of all backgrounds. During the summer of 1966, O'Shaughnessy, who is not African American, competed in ATA tournaments in addition to U.S. Tennis Association junior events. She won the ATA national 18-and-under championship, and so was automatically entered into the U.S. National Championship draw. O'Shaughnessy also competed in the

1972 Wimbledon Championships The 1972 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was scheduled to be held from Monday 26 June ...

. During her tennis career, she was ranked as high as No. 52 in the world in women's singles by the

Women's Tennis Association The Women's Tennis Association (WTA) is the principal organizing body of women's professional tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women and was founded to create a better future for women's tenn ...

and as high as No. 6 in the U.S. in women's doubles (with Ann Lebedeff) by the USTA. O'Shaughnessy won national hard-court doubles titles in the junior division (with Ann Lebedeff) and in the women's division (with Pam Austin). After retiring from tennis, O'Shaughnessy was the founding publisher of the Women's Tennis Association newsletter for several years before going to college to study biology.

Science educator

O'Shaughnessy earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the largest institution of hig ...

and a Ph.D. in

school psychology School psychology is a field that applies principles from educational psychology, developmental psychology, clinical psychology, community psychology, and behavior analysis to meet the learning and behavioral health needs of children and adol ...

from the

University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside (UCR or UC Riverside) is a public land-grant research university in Riverside, California. It is one of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The main campus sits on in a suburban distr ...

. She was assistant professor of school psychology at Georgia State University from 1998 through 2001, and then associate professor of school psychology at

San Diego State University San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...

from 2002 until 2007. O'Shaughnessy's research on preventive interventions for children with

reading difficulties A reading disability is a condition in which a person displays difficulty reading. Examples of reading disabilities include: developmental dyslexia, alexia (acquired dyslexia), and hyperlexia (word-reading ability well above normal for age and IQ ...

was continuously funded by the

U.S. Department of Education The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...

starting in graduate school. She retired early to concentrate on Sally Ride Science, and was named associate professor emeritus at San Diego State University. O'Shaughnessy has extensive experience cultivating girls' and boys' interest in reading, math, and science. Besides being a former science teacher, O'Shaughnessy has written 12 children's science books, including six with Sally Ride. They received the

American Institute of Physics The American Institute of Physics (AIP) promotes science and the profession of physics, publishes physics journals, and produces publications for scientific and engineering societies. The AIP is made up of various member societies. Its corpora ...

Children's Science Writing Award in 1995 for their second book, ''The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth From Space''. In October 2015, O'Shaughnessy published a children's biography of Ride, ''Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space''. The book combines reminiscences from Ride's family and friends with photos, including many family and personal photos. As a scientist and educator, O'Shaughnessy became deeply concerned about the underrepresentation of women in science and technical professions. Research shows that young girls like science and have the same aptitude for it as boys, but in adolescence, girls tend to drift away from science, in part because of subtle stereotypes and lack of role models. In 2001, Ride, O'Shaughnessy, and three like-minded friends—Karen Flammer, Terry McEntee, and Alann Lopes—founded Sally Ride Science with the goal of narrowing the gender gap in science. From 2001 to 2015, O'Shaughnessy served as the company's chief creative officer, overseeing all content—books, websites, and teacher training curricula. She guided the creation of the ''Cool Careers in STEM'' and ''Key Concepts in Science'' programs, which combine professional development for teachers with student books and teacher guides. O'Shaughnessy also served as chief operating officer of Sally Ride Science from 2009 through 2013, chairman of the board of directors from 2013 to 2015, and chief executive officer from 2014 to 2015. Sally Ride Science was acquired by the University of California, San Diego, in October 2015. O'Shaughnessy is executive director of the resulting nonprofit entity, Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego.

Personal life

O'Shaughnessy was the romantic partner of NASA Astronaut

from 1985 until Ride's death in 2012.

Selected publications

* Tam O'Shaughnessy (2015). ''Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space''. Roaring Brook Press, * Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (2009). ''Mission: Planet Earth: Our World and Its Climate—And How Humans Are Changing Them''. Random House Children's Books, * Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (2009). ''Mission: Save the Planet: Things YOU Can Do to Help Fight Global Warming!'' Random House Children's Books, * Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (2003). ''Exploring Our Solar System''. Random House Children's Books, * Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (1999, 2006). ''The Mystery of Mars''. Random House Children's Books, * Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (1994, 2004). ''The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space''. Random House Children's Books, * Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (1992, 2005). ''Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System''. Random House Children's Books, * Tam O'Shaughnessy (2010). ''Cool Careers in Engineering''. Sally Ride Science. * Tam O'Shaughnessy (2008). ''Cool Careers in Earth Sciences'', Sally Ride Science, * Tam O'Shaughnessy (2008). ''Ecosystems''. Sally Ride Science, * Tam O'Shaughnessy (2006). ''The Inside Story of Earth''. Sally Ride Science, * Tam E. O'Shaughnessy, Kathleen L. Lane, Frank M. Gresham, Margaret E. Beebe-Frankenberger (2003). "Children Placed at Risk for Learning and Behavioral Difficulties". ''Remedial and Special Education'', doi: 10.1177/074193250302400103 * Kathleen L. Lane, Frank M. Gresham, and Tam E. O'Shaughnessy (2002). "The Efficacy of Phonological Awareness Training with First-Grade Students Who Have Behavior Problems and Reading Difficulties". ''Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders'', doi: 10.1177/106342660100900402 * Kathleen L. Lane, Frank M. Gresham, and Tam E. O'Shaughnessy (2002). ''Interventions for Children With or At-Risk for Emotional and Behavioral Disorders''. Pearson, * Tam E. O'Shaughnessy (2000). "A Comparison of Two Reading Interventions for Children with Reading Disabilities". ''Journal of Learning Disabilities'', doi: 10.1177/002221940003300304

References

External links

Tam O'Shaughnessy
{{DEFAULTSORT:OShaughnessy, Tam 1952 births 20th-century American women scientists 20th-century women writers American female tennis players American psychologists American women children's writers American children's writers American women psychologists Georgia State University alumni Lesbian sportswomen LGBT academics LGBT people from California LGBT scientists from the United States American LGBT sportspeople LGBT tennis players Living people People from San Andreas, California Sally Ride San Diego State University faculty Scientists from California Tennis people from California University of California, Riverside alumni American lesbian writers Lesbian scientists