Tam O'Shaughnessy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tam O'Shaughnessy
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Tam O'Shaughnessy in 2013
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Tam Elizabeth O'Shaughnessy
January 27, 1952 San Andreas, California, U.S.
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| Education | Georgia State University (BS, MS) University of California, Riverside (PhD) |
| Partner(s) | Sally Ride (1985– died 2012) |
Tam Elizabeth O'Shaughnessy was born on January 27, 1952. She is an American writer who creates science books for children. She was also a professional tennis player and a professor of school psychology.
Tam O'Shaughnessy helped start a science education company called Sally Ride Science. She created it with her life partner, astronaut Sally Ride. Sally Ride was the first American woman to travel into space. In 2015, Sally Ride Science became a nonprofit group at UC San Diego. Tam O'Shaughnessy is now its executive director.
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Early Life and Tennis Career
Tam O'Shaughnessy grew up in San Andreas, California. She went to Troy High School in Fullerton, California. There, she was very good at tennis. When she was a young player, she was coached by the famous tennis star Billie Jean King.
Playing Professional Tennis
From 1971 to 1974, Tam O'Shaughnessy played tennis professionally. She competed in the U.S. Open in 1966, 1970, and 1972.
A doctor named Robert Walter Johnson also coached her. He helped many great tennis players, including Althea Gibson and Arthur Ashe. Dr. Johnson was part of the American Tennis Association (ATA). This group helped promote tennis for African Americans, but it welcomed all players. In 1966, Tam played in ATA tournaments and won the national championship for players 18 and under. This win allowed her to enter the U.S. National Championship.
Tam O'Shaughnessy also played in the 1972 Wimbledon Championships. During her tennis career, she was ranked as high as 52nd in the world for women's singles. She was also ranked 6th in the U.S. for women's doubles with her partner Ann Lebedeff. Tam won national doubles titles in both junior and women's divisions.
After she stopped playing tennis, Tam O'Shaughnessy helped start the newsletter for the Women's Tennis Association. Later, she went to college to study biology.
Becoming a Science Educator
Tam O'Shaughnessy earned degrees in biology from Georgia State University. She then earned a Ph.D. in school psychology from the University of California, Riverside. She taught school psychology at Georgia State University and later at San Diego State University.
Her research focused on helping children who had trouble with reading. She received funding from the U.S. Department of Education for her work. Tam later retired early to focus on Sally Ride Science. She became an associate professor emeritus at San Diego State University.
Tam O'Shaughnessy has a lot of experience helping kids get excited about reading, math, and science. She used to be a science teacher. She has also written 12 science books for children. Six of these books were written with Sally Ride. In 1995, they won an award for their book, The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth From Space. In 2015, Tam published a book about Sally Ride's life called Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space. This book shares stories and photos from Sally Ride's family and friends.
As a scientist and teacher, Tam O'Shaughnessy noticed that fewer women worked in science and technology jobs. Research shows that young girls like science just as much as boys. However, as they get older, girls sometimes lose interest. This can happen because of subtle gender stereotypes and not seeing enough role models in science.
In 2001, Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy, and three friends (Karen Flammer, Terry McEntee, and Alann Lopes) started Sally Ride Science. Their goal was to help more girls get involved in science.
From 2001 to 2015, Tam O'Shaughnessy was the Chief Creative Officer for the company. She oversaw all the content, including books, websites, and teacher training programs. She helped create programs like Cool Careers in STEM. These programs helped teachers and provided books for students. Tam also held other leadership roles at Sally Ride Science, including Chief Operating Officer and CEO.
In 2015, the University of California, San Diego took over Sally Ride Science. Tam O'Shaughnessy is now the executive director of this new nonprofit group, Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego.
Books by Tam O'Shaughnessy
- Tam O'Shaughnessy (2015). Sally Ride: A Photobiography of America's Pioneering Woman in Space.
- Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (2009). Mission: Planet Earth: Our World and Its Climate—And How Humans Are Changing Them.
- Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (2009). Mission: Save the Planet: Things YOU Can Do to Help Fight Global Warming!
- Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (2003). Exploring Our Solar System.
- Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (1999, 2006). The Mystery of Mars.
- Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (1994, 2004). The Third Planet: Exploring the Earth from Space.
- Sally Ride, Tam O'Shaughnessy (1992, 2005). Voyager: An Adventure to the Edge of the Solar System.
- Tam O'Shaughnessy (2010). Cool Careers in Engineering.
- Tam O'Shaughnessy (2008). Cool Careers in Earth Sciences.
- Tam O'Shaughnessy (2008). Ecosystems.
- Tam O'Shaughnessy (2006). The Inside Story of Earth.
See also
In Spanish: Tam O%27Shaughnessy para niños
