Willis Meeks, JPL’s first African American flight project manager, died on March 21 after building a trailblazing career in science. It was a life grounded in helping the less fortunate.
Even before he became JPL’s first African American flight project manager, Willis Meeks was already working to ensure he would not be the last.
Meeks was honorably discharged in 1964 and worked at the Air Force Western Test Range. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cal State L.A. in eight years, juggling marriage and raising four children at the same time. He later studied international business at Stanford University. At JPL, Meeks developed programs to recruit underrepresented minorities at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other minority institutions. He also mentored at-risk youth, starting Adopt-A-School programs throughout Los Angeles, Pasadena and Altadena. Meeks also worked with management to implement an equity assessment review process, and held forums to talk about fair hiring, pay and promotion practices.
“Willis was a humanitarian,” Simmons said. “Many of the students we mentored went on to work at JPL and some of them are still there. Willis was like a brother and father to all minorities.”“He is widely admired and has had significant influence on his family, his church, on earth and even in outer space,” she said. “He was a very wise and intelligent man but rarely talked about his amazing achievements and the tremendous amount of things that God did through him. I will miss him dearly.
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