Deputy Assistant Administrator, Systems
National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
In May 2007, Ms. Harper began serving as the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) Deputy Assistant Administrator, Systems. She is responsible for the overall policy direction, coordination, and management of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA’s) satellite acquisitions, including the ground systems. In this role, she also coordinates NOAA’s system engineering, mission assurance, and acquisition activities with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Department of Defense, other Federal agencies, and the private sector.
Before joining NOAA, Ms. Harper was the Assistant Systems Program Manager for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Series R (GOES‐R) at NASA. She provided systems engineering and programmatic support for the NOAA Systems Program Director. In that role, she also supported the development of business and technical structures and provided oversight of risk reduction and procurement efforts.
Ms. Harper has diverse experience in space development, from mission assurance, to systems engineering, and to program/project management, for both earth and space science missions. As the Acting Director and Deputy Director of Systems Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, she was responsible for ensuring the development and application of rigorous processes for mission success.
Prior to that, Ms. Harper held increasingly responsible positions in engineering and technical management, serving as the Chief of Electronic Parts and Materials Office, Observatory Manager for Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), Project Manager for Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO), and Program Manager for the Solar Terrestrial Probes Program.
TRMM and STEREO research satellites have provided valuable operational data for NOAA users. Ms. Harper is delighted by the application of the research data by NOAA users and enthusiastic about her own transition to operational satellites.
Ms. Harper holds a Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from George Washington University; a Bachelor of Science in General Engineering from the University of Illinois; and a year of bioengineering study at the University of Sussex in Sussex, England.
