Biography:
Sheyene Gerardi (Born April 13) is an Italo-Venezuelan former actress, producer, media proprietor, and mining executive. She is the Lead of Robotics Outreach at NASA (CLASS), where she co-founded the NASA´s Planetary Landing Team in 2018. Gerardi is the founder of the Sheyene Institute and operates two philanthropic organizations through the Sheyene Gerardi Foundation. The Sheyene School was established to address technological literacy, while the Sheyene e-health is an electronic healthcare information delivery network for rare diseases. This initiative was born after Gerardi became a survivor of an unclassifiable splenic hairy small B-Cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, a rare cancer.
Sheyene is a member of The International Political Science Association (IPSA), the American Society of International Law, and the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom. She dedicates herself to working with governments to introduce robotics education into low-resource communities or conflict-affected areas such as rural schools, refugee camps, non-formal school systems, and the prison system.
Early Life and Career in Entertainment:
Sheyene’s career as a professional model began while she was pursuing her medical education. Even before attending university, she represented her school in mathematics and chemistry competitions. Sheyene studied medicine at the Universidad Central de Venezuela but also worked as a part-time model. It was during this time that she participated in the Miss Venezuela Pageant and caught the attention of a TV producer.
Sheyene’s big break came when she landed a starring role on a popular soap opera series that was broadcast internationally. Her talent and success in the entertainment industry brought her to more than 30 countries, including Russia, Germany, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Puerto Rico. Sheyene’s influence on culture led to the establishment of a non-profit charity foundation in Barlovento, Venezuela, named after her, called the Sheyene School.
Awards:
– Emmy Award
– 2 de Oro award
– Key to the City of Barlovento
– Meridiano de Oro award
– Imagen Awards
Later Career:
Sheyene went on to found the Sheyene Gerardi Network (SGN), a platform dedicated to fostering awareness related to the space revolution. In 2020, she began hosting a TV show documentary titled To the Moon and Back with Sheyene Gerardi, which is distributed through cable television. With this show, Sheyene aims to educate the audience about leading-edge technological developments. She also serves as the executive producer of this series.
NASA Involvement:
Sheyene Gerardi is actively involved in NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Swamp Works and the Florida Space Institute (FSI). She collaborates with these organizations to teach planetary engineering and create robotics competitions for low-income children through the Sheyene School.
Sheyene’s contributions to robotics outreach and her commitment to technological education for disadvantaged communities have made her a respected figure in the field. Her work with NASA and her philanthropic endeavors continue to inspire future generations to pursue their passions in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).