Karen Bassett Stevenson

Karen Bassett Stevenson is the daughter of Charlie and Jeannie Bassett. Charlie was a member of the third group of astronauts and was scheduled to pilot Gemini IX. He and flight commander Elliot See were killed in a T-38 accident in St. Louis, Missouri on February 28, 1966.

Karen was born on the far eastern tip of Long Island (where her dad watched Sputnik orbit) and earned a bachelor’s degree in Landscape Architecture from Texas Tech University. She continued graduate studies in American History at Portland (Oregon) State University.

Her career has been shaped by 501(c)(3) organizations. She’s worked on heritage preservation and tourism projects in Oregon and Houston and with environmental conservation organizations in South Dakota, Chicago, and Seattle. She served as a board member for community organizations in Chicago dedicated to teaching school children in inner-city food deserts and the training director for Texas Master Naturalists in San Antonio. As the director of communications for The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, she reshaped institutional communication programs. She now lives in Fredericksburg, Texas, where she serves as the director of visitor and volunteer services at the National Museum of the Pacific War.