Rocket Science to Knowledge Diffusion: The Professional Journey and Vision of Ellen Stofan, Under Secretary for Science and Research at Smithsonian Institution

Send us Fan MailTruth is getting harder to find, and the stakes are not abstract. When an AI-generated TikTok video about a “monster fish” went viral, people poured into Smithsonian webpages to check what was real. That moment frames a bigger question we wrestle with here: in a world where technology can fabricate convincing stories at scale, who do we trust, and how do we rebuild shared reality without giving up curiosity or hope? We sit down with Under Secretary for Science & Research at Smithsonian Institution, Ellen Stofan, a scientist and leader whose career stretches from studying volcanoes on Venus and Mars to serving as NASA chief scientist and leading major Smithsonian work into a new era. We talk about the leadership skills that actually move complex missions forward: creating space for ideas from every level, making a rigorous win-win case, and building teams that don’t collapse into ego. Ellen also gets candid about imposter syndrome, being the only woman in the room, and how failure can trigger an endless self-analysis loop unless you learn to take the lesson and put it down. Then we open the “front door” of the Smithsonian and walk into what most people never see: 157 million artifacts, vast natural history collections, and a mission rooted in the “increase and diffusion of knowledge.” We explore why digitization, genomics, and AI-powered search can unlock scientific discovery, protect pollinators and agriculture, and bring museum-grade knowledge to a kid who may never visit Washington, DC. If you care about women in STEM, science communication, digital trust, museums of the future, or how to lead with humanity in public institutions, this conversation delivers. Subscribe, share this with a friend who loves science and history, and leave a review with the most trusted “house of real” in your life. Follow me on Instagram at: shontrapowell_provennotperfectFollow me on Facebook at: Proven Not Perfect™️Watch and listen on YouTube:  Proven Not Perfect™️Join the community for ideas and events at www.provennotperfect.com. I'd love to hear what you think!