Carlos Pena
I met David around 1998 when he was section manager in the Avionic Systems Division (ASD) of JSC and I was employed by Lockheed as a contractor. As such he was responsible for three important Space Shuttle laboratories in building J16. These were the Inertial Systems Laboratory (ISL), the Electro-Optics Laboratory (EOL) and the JSC Avionics Engineering Laboratory (JAEL). Shortly after, ASD closed another laboratory in another JSC facility. That laboratory employed a senior technician who was hearing impaired. By law, and labor agreement the employee had “bumping rights” in other Lockheed supported facilities. Many JSC managers went on record stating that bringing in a hearing impaired person to their facility would present an insurmountable problem and would be unacceptable. I expected the same from Dave. Instead Dave took the high road. He immediately extended a welcome mat. He not only welcomed the employee but also arranged for a ASL class to be offered to any employee in the laboratory and asked the facility manager to make any changes necessary to insure employee safety in case of an emergency. Dave may have been an engineer by profession but he was Christian at heart. It was an honor and a privilege to know him I am a better person for having known him. Carlos D. Peña.