Come Home Louisiana: Dr. Renee K. Horton

When Dr. K. Renee Horton steps off a plane in her home state, a unique sense of peace wraps around her like a warm Louisiana night. “Time away makes you very aware of and appreciative of what home has for you,” she says. “My soul is the calmest when I'm on a plane headed back to Louisiana.” 

That feeling has been alive with Horton since she began her career at NASA in Huntsville, Ala.

“My first job was with NASA in Huntsville,” Horton recalls. “They were sending me back to the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans for a project I was on. I would stay for about two weeks, then I’d go back to Alabama. I was dreadfully homesick.”

Her journey to this role was as challenging as it was inspiring. Horton grew up in Baton Rouge, attended McKinley High School, and initially joined the Air Force ROTC. But just before her 18th birthday, she discovered she was hearing impaired—an undiagnosed condition that had affected her school years and shaped her early adulthood. “I found out that I was hearing-impaired at 17,” she recalls, “and during that time, I ended up dropping out of college, getting pregnant, and marrying my then-sweetheart.” Determined to reclaim her future, she later returned to LSU, completed her bachelor’s in electrical engineering and pursued a master’s in physics before earning a Ph.D. in material science with a concentration in physics from the University of Alabama. 

Finally, the stars aligned, and Horton was offered a role at Michoud Assembly. “I wanted to be in my state, making the kind of impact my grandkids could be proud of,” she says. For Horton, Louisiana’s magic lies in its ability to nurture and inspire.

As the NASA Airworthiness Deputy for the Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstrator, she’s at the forefront of pioneering advancements in aerospace. Beyond her role with NASA, Horton is also the founder of Unapologetically Being Inc., a nonprofit based in New Orleans focused on community empowerment and supporting marginalized voices.

Through her work with Unapologetically Being, Horton hopes to inspire others to embrace their authenticity and advocate for their communities. Her organization emphasizes community support, education and empowerment. It’s a mission Horton sees as inseparable from her commitment to Louisiana.

Her message to others who’ve left Louisiana is simple yet profound: “If you found some solace and peace here as a child, and you're doing big things, come home. Some things need change, but there are so many things we get right, and it's enough to cradle you and comfort you.” 

The power of her words speaks not just to Louisianans but to anyone who holds their roots close to their heart. “If enough of us come home, we can make a change.”