PRESS CONTACT
John Eding, Manager of Communications and PR
303-594-2133 | john.eding@state.co.us

The first woman in space from the US military and the first woman to live aboard the International Space Station, Helms presents her personal history during the public engagement initiative known as Women’s Vote Centennial Colorado, the nation’s most comprehensive statewide commemoration of the largest voting-rights expansion in US history.

Bold Women. Change History. Speaker Series: Susan Helms
Thursday, January 9, 7 p.m.
History Colorado Center
1200 Broadway, Denver CO 80203
303-HISTORY | h-co.org/boldwomen
Tickets: $25 / Members $15 / Students $5

The History Colorado Center offers complimentary onsite childcare for children ages 6 to 12 for Bold Women. Change History. events by request. Please complete the childcare request form—available at h-co.org/boldwomen—48 hours in advance of the event date. Guardians are required to stay on the premises and must complete a check-in form and present ID at pickup.

About Susan Helms
Astronaut Susan Helms (Lieutenant General, USAF, Ret.) is a retired astronaut, flight-test engineer, and military officer. An alumna of the US Air Force Academy—where she was in the first class to include female cadets—as well as Stanford University and the USAF Test Pilot School, Helms flew in more than 30 types of aircraft prior to her selection for NASA in 1990. She flew on five space missions during 12 years with the agency, including a nearly six-months-long stay on the International Space Station in 2001. Helms and her crewmate on this final mission, Jim Voss, performed a world-record Extravehicular Activity (better known as a spacewalk) for eight hours and 56 minutes.

After her career at NASA, Helms returned to the  Air Force and became a Division Chief for USAF Space Command in Colorado Springs. She then held leadership positions at Patrick Air Force Base in Florida and Randolph Air Force Base in Texas. As a General Officer, Helms has served in such roles as the Commander of the 45th Space Wing, Director of Plans and Policy for US Strategic Command, and Commander of the Air Force Space Command’s 14th Air Force. More information is available at AstronautSusanHelms.com.

About Bold Women. Change History.
The primary public forum of the Women’s Vote Centennial Colorado—a grassroots initiative led by History Colorado, the governor’s Women’s Vote Centennial Commission, and you—Bold Women. Change History. features scholars, authors, and history-makers who illuminate what happens when voters knock down barriers and prohibit discrimination. All events take place at the History Colorado Center (1200 Broadway). Human rights advocate Carol Anderson—author of the critically acclaimed White Rage (Bloomsbury, 2016)—and Harvard scholar Liette Gidlow join Helms among upcoming presenters in the series. Bios, event details, and tickets for all events are available via h-co.org/boldwomen.

Call to Action
History Colorado, the state agency leading the Women’s Vote Centennial Colorado, invites interested organizations and individuals across the state to collaborate together to create space and events for civic engagement, commemoration, impact and support. Statewide partnerships between local museums, libraries, clubs, schools, arts organizations and individuals in communities will provide settings for voting-related events and dialog. For more information about ways to get involved and participate, visit COWomensCentennial.org, call 303-620-4933, or email HC_COWomensHistory@state.co.us. 

MORE
As an effort that empowers Coloradans to see themselves making an impact in their communities, Bold Women. Change History. mirrors several ongoing initiatives at History Colorado. They include What’s Your Story?, a new core exhibit opened October 19 that introduces visitors to 101 passionate Coloradans, and guides guests to their own powers for positive change; the Year of La Chicana, a community partnership that connects the core issues of the Chicano movement with present day issues of social justice, identity, and inclusion; and the Museum of Memory project, a public-history initiative to help communities reframe challenges and struggles into histories of resilience and pride, which garnered more than 480 participants last year.

About History Colorado
Inclusive, values-driven, and intentional, History Colorado has become a force for finding new ways to serve people in Colorado. In 2018 History Colorado provided programs to more than 18,000 students in their own schools, and assisted more than 40 schools with bus funds, to expand efforts that now serve more than 85,000 students annually. Its all-day Hands-On History program at El Pueblo History Museum responds to the four-day school week that is now administered by 61% of Colorado school districts.

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and nine other museums and historic attractions statewide. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information.

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