Tam O'Shaughnessy | |
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 Tam O'Shaughnessy in 2013 | |
| Born | Tam Elizabeth O'Shaughnessy (1952-01-27)January 27, 1952 (age 73) San Andreas,California, U.S. |
| Education | Georgia State University (BS,MS) University of California, Riverside (PhD) |
| Partner | Sally Ride (1985– died 2012) |
Tam Elizabeth O'Shaughnessy (born January 27, 1952) is anAmericanchildren's sciencewriter, associate professor emeritus of school psychology, and former professionaltennis player. She co-founded thescience education companySally Ride Science together with her life partner, astronautSally Ride – the first American woman and third woman inspace.[1][2] 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.[3][4][5]
O'Shaughnessy was born inSan Andreas, California, and attendedTroy High School inFullerton, California, where she was active in tennis. As a junior player, she was coached byBillie Jean King.[6]
O'Shaughnessy went on to play on the women's professional tennis circuit from 1971 to 1974. She competed in theU.S. National Championships (now known as theU.S. Open) in1966,1970, and1972.
O'Shaughnessy was coached by Dr.Robert Walter Johnson, a physician who played a key role in the tennis careers ofAlthea Gibson andArthur Ashe. Johnson was an official of theAmerican Tennis Association (ATA), an organization that promotes tennis forAfrican 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 toU.S. Tennis Association junior events.[7] 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 the1972 Wimbledon Championships. During her tennis career, she wasranked as high as No. 52 in the world in women's singles by theWomen's Tennis Association and as high as No. 6 in the U.S. in women's doubles (with Ann Lebedeff) by the USTA.[8] O'Shaughnessy won national hard-court doubles titles in the junior division (with Ann Lebedeff) and in the women's division (withPam Austin).[9]
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.
O'Shaughnessy earned B.S. and M.S. degrees in biology fromGeorgia State University and a Ph.D. inschool psychology from theUniversity of California, Riverside.[10] She was assistant professor of school psychology at Georgia State University from 1998 through 2001, and then associate professor of school psychology atSan Diego State University from 2002 until 2007. O'Shaughnessy's research on preventive interventions for children withreading difficulties was continuously funded by theU.S. Department of Education starting in graduate school. She retired early to concentrate onSally Ride Science, and was named associate professor emeritus atSan Diego State University.[11][12]
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.[13] They received theAmerican Institute of PhysicsChildren's Science Writing Award in 1995 for their second book,The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth From Space.[14] 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.[15][16]
As a scientist and educator, O'Shaughnessy became deeply concerned about the underrepresentation of women in science and technical professions.[17] 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 subtlegender stereotypes and lack ofrole models.[18] 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.[19]
From 2001 to 2015, O'Shaughnessy served as the company'sChief Creative Officer, overseeing all content—books, websites, and teacher training curricula. She guided the creation of theCool Careers inSTEM andKey Concepts in Science programs, which combine professional development for teachers with student books and teacher guides.[20] 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 theUniversity of California, San Diego, in October 2015. O'Shaughnessy is since executive director of the resulting nonprofit entity, Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego.[21]
O'Shaughnessy was the romantic partner of NASA astronautSally Ride from 1985 until Ride's death in 2012.[22]
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