Lisa Hendy, a Chattanooga native and retired National Park Service ranger, is the keynote speaker for UTC’s Women’s History Month.
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga will recognize Women’s History Month in March with five events highlighting leadership in STEM, public service, the arts and history—creating opportunities for students, faculty and staff to engage with the contributions of women on campus and beyond.
The events are open to everyone on campus and are sponsored by the Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, the Department of History and the Environmental Studies Program.
“UTC looks forward to celebrating the achievements and leadership of women across our campus and community, honoring the past while empowering the next generation to lead boldly into the future,” said Women’s History Month planning committee member Priscilla Simms-Roberson, a UC Foundation associate professor in the College of Nursing. “This year, the planning committee intentionally developed programming that would appeal to students, faculty and staff across campus in various departments and degrees.”
Women’s History Month programming begins Tuesday, March 3, with a STEM panel from 12:30-1:45 p.m. in Metropolitan Building Room 231. The event will feature panelists working across the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics who will discuss their careers and reflect on the pathways that led them into their professions.
The panelists include:
- Maria Price, assistant city engineer and stormwater division director for the City of Chattanooga
- Megan Doman, a Master of Science in Data Analytics student and graduate assistant in the Gary W. Rollins College of Business
- Dawn Richards, a STEM education policy consultant and founder of the Baylor Esoteric and Molecular Lab
- Lani Gao, professor of statistics at UTC and senior biostatistician at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine – Chattanooga
An opening reception for the monthlong “Glimmer & Shine” art exhibition will take place from 5-8 p.m. on Friday, March 6, at Wavelength Gallery, 854 McCallie Ave.
The exhibit, hosted in partnership with Wavelength Space, highlights creative work aligned with the Women’s History Month themes of hope, resilience and innovation and will remain on display throughout March.
The Women’s History Month keynote event will take place at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 11, in the Guerry Center Reading Room.
Lisa Hendy, a Chattanooga native who recently retired after 30 years with the National Park Service, will speak on “Responsible Visitation and a Passionate Workforce: The Future of Our Public Lands.” The event is free and open to the public, and advance registration is encouraged.
Hendy began her National Park Service career as a volunteer at Yosemite National Park in 1993 and went on to serve in leadership roles at parks across the country, including Grand Canyon, Big Bend and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks. Over three decades, she worked as a ranger, supervisor and chief ranger, overseeing emergency response operations, search-and-rescue teams and large-scale special events. She received the National Harry Yount Award for Excellence in Rangering in 2011.
Among her assignments, Hendy oversaw National Park Service security operations on the National Mall tied to the 2020 Presidential Inauguration and carried the Olympic torch during the 2022 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, where National Park Service rangers supported mountain security operations.
She retired in December 2025 and returned to her hometown as Chattanooga became the nation’s first National Park City.
“One reason we chose Lisa Hendy to speak is Chattanooga’s recent designation as the first National Park City,” said planning committee member Farron Kilburn, project manager for the UTC College of Nursing’s Clinical Academic Partnerships: Breaking Down Barriers to Care program and an adjunct faculty member in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. “Lisa will share with us about her career and also the importance of stewardship and conservation of our public lands.”
“The future of our public lands hangs in the balance as demands increase,” Hendy said. “We will need our brightest minds and the widest diversity of experience, ideas and engagement available to us to preserve and pass on our wild places.”
Additional events later in the month include a UTC Book Club discussion of Bonnie Garmus’ “Lessons in Chemistry” at 3 p.m. on Friday, March 27, in UTC Library Room 440, and a UTC History Club screening of “Hidden Figures” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 31, in Derthick Hall Room 101.
“We hope everyone on campus will participate in at least one Women’s History Month event,” Simms-Roberson said.
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