Dorothy Johnson Vaughn was an integral part of the success story at NASA, even before it was NASA (nee NACA). She was a defacto supervisor but due to her race and gender not recognized formally as such for years.
With foresight and determination, she taught herself and her staff the programming language of FORTRAN.
Ms Vaughn worked tirelessly for recognition of her all female black staff, including Katherine Johnson and Mary Jackson as well as other women. These three female mathematicians contributed significantly to the US achievements during the Space Race. Vaughn specialized in calculations for flight plans and computer programming over a career that spanned nearly three decades. Although FDR had issued executive orders for desegregation of federal government staff, it was still not a reality for Vaughn and her department until they were deemed essential to the space program in the 1960's.
In the popular movie depicting the Hollywood history of their 'herstory', Vaughn's role is played by Octavia Spencer.