The Heising-Simons Foundation is proud to regularly see its grantee partners featured in media outlets across the country, providing an expert voice on a timely issue or being highlighted for their accomplishments and hard work. Here are some news items that have featured our grantees in January 2020.

How the Tiny Exoplanet-Hunting ASTERIA Satellite Showed Scientists What Cubesats Can Do.
Space.com, January 2020
This article summarizes the technological and engineering breakthroughs that have been enabled by the Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics satellite (ASTERIA), a first-of-its-kind “tiny satellite” that studies on-orbit exoplanets. The ASTERIA project is supported by the Foundation’s Science program.

AT&T, Amazon, IKEA, others join new Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance
Electrek, January 23, 2020
Environmental nonprofit Ceres has formed the Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance to help corporations move to electric vehicles, and to help “coordinate support for policies that enable fleet electrification.” The alliance is comprised of companies like Amazon, AT&T, and IKEA North America, among others. Ceres is supported by the Foundation’s Climate and Clean Energy program.

Advocates of Illinois Energy Overhaul Say New Federal Rules Could Raise Bills for ComEd Customers
Chicago Tribune, January 21, 2020
“This plan would force Illinois consumers to pay more for dirty power we don’t need,” Citizens Utility Board Executive Director David Kolata said in this story about a recent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission decision that would increase consumers’ power bills. Citizens Utility Board is supported by the Foundation’s Climate and Clean Energy program.

Netflix, NBC, ABC Lead in Depictions of Wrongful Actions by People of Color in Crime Dramas, Study Finds
Variety, January 21, 2020
“When we miseducate people about how systems work and when we normalize injustice on our TVs, we make it OK for certain people to be treated only as heroes and certain people to be treated only as villains, and that does not move us forward,” said Rashad Robinson, president of Color of Change. The article is based on Color of Change’s latest report about the ways in which scripted TV shows represent the criminal justice system. Color of Change is supported by the Foundation’s Human Rights program.

Report For America To Hire 250 Reporters By June
MediaPost, January 20, 2020
With support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Facebook Journalism Project, the Google News Initiative, and the Heising-Simons Foundation, among others, Report For America will place 250 reports across the country this summer. It is “one of the biggest local journalism hiring surges in memory,” said a Report For America spokesperson. Report for America is supported by the Foundation’s Community and Opportunity program.

New Report Paints a Bleak Picture of Displacement in San Jose
San Jose Spotlight, January 19, 2020
This article amplifies a recent report studying how the housing crisis in San Jose is fueling displacement. Working Partnerships USA and SOMOS Mayfair are among the organizations that participated in the creation of this report. Working Partnerships USA and SOMOS Mayfair are supported by the Foundation’s Community and Opportunity program.

California’s Largest Private Giant Sequoia Stand Saved From Development
San Francisco Chronicle, January 13, 2020
Save the Redwoods League has successfully completed the purchase of a vast grove of giant sequoias in Tulare County, California. The organization will invest almost $5 million on restoration work, ecological research, and a public access plan, with the ultimate goal of transferring the property to the U.S. Forest Service for inclusion in Giant Sequoia National Monument. Save the Redwoods League is supported by the Foundation’s Community and Opportunity program.

How Can STEM Fellowships Evaluate Applicants More Equitably?
Diverse Education, January 8, 2020
This article highlights the work of Dr. Joyce Yen in helping the Heising-Simons Foundation’s 51 Pegasi b Fellowship refine its evaluation process to be “more welcoming to female scientists.” Dr. Yen is the director the University of Washington’s ADVANCE Center for Institutional Change, a center that promote women in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) on campus.