Haley Muff

I definitely attribute my success to integrity, and also dedication to a job well done. I think being passionate about what you're doing is crucial - I've always needed to feel a draw or connection to my work. Specifically in my job now, I'm passionate about inspiring the next generation to pursue careers in STEM and highlighting that culture is important and ties us all together, whether or not you are of that culture. I think bringing people together and highlighting that you can be anything you want, that you have so many opportunities in front of you, and that we're all a human race together - really, just working for a cause that I am passionate about and I believe in, that's what drives my success.

The best career advice I've ever received is to fill up your cup before you can fill up everyone else's. That's something I really struggle with sometimes - making sure that I look out for myself, like taking care of myself, eating right, sleeping right, and managing my stress before I can be productive and level-headed to make good decisions at work. You need to take care of yourself so that you can be a good coworker, manager, and leader.

I would definitely say hold your boundaries and don't overload yourself. Make sure you're pouring into your cup first and taking care of you. Also, stick to your values and what you believe in, and don't let anyone change what you know to be true to you and who you are. You stick to who you are, and you'll be alright.

I think the biggest challenges and opportunities are kind of one and the same. There are so many ever-changing parts to human spaceflight and especially in the museum world as well. We have a lot of things that can change politically, financially, environmentally, that can influence the human spaceflight field, but also the museum industry as a whole. I think that is hard, but it also gives us the chance to be resilient and adaptive, and work in a way where the parameters are constantly changing, but we're able to fulfill our guests' needs and our team's needs through that. So I think that's really a challenge, certainly, but it also gives you the chance to be innovative and adaptable.

Integrity is the most important value to me. That's something that I need in a leader, and that's a standard that I uphold myself to. I think if you have integrity, you're honest and you are trustworthy, and also you can make the best decisions in any situation if you have a strong moral background to fall on. You know how to be fair to each person involved, and really are considering the different implications of each of your decisions to make sure that you're really creating intentional decisions, programs, and interactions with your coworkers, guests, and external partners. If you have integrity, that will kind of carry you through and be your lighthouse in the storm. If you have your integrity and you have what you stand for, then from there, you're able to build on that only positively.