Thumbnail picture from STScI/NASA GSFC

I am not only a planetary scientist; I am also the Executive Officer (XO) for the Habitable Worlds Observatory Project Office (HWO PO) based out of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. HWO is NASA's next flagship telescope, on the scale of the already-launched James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) or the soon-to-launch Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. HWO will improve on both JWST and Roman's observational capabilities to detect and characterize Earth-like planets in the habitable zones around a variety of stellar types. HWO is still in its planning stages and won't launch until the 2040s, but right now is when key decisions are being made about what instruments it will carry, how large will it be, and what kinds of science questions it will answer. The most important one of all: are we alone?

In my role as XO, I am accountable for many managerial aspects of this enormous mission. I am accountable for ensuring certain items (such as engineering designs and key reports) are being done on time; facilitating communication between team members and partner institutions, including industry partners; creating and editing content for the wider HWO community of 1000+ space scientists; planning and running workshops and in-person meetings, including logistics and technical support; working with NASA GSFC accountants to manage the budget; producing documentation as needed by the HWO PO; and keeping team members aware of their responsibilities and individual deadlines.

As part of my duties, I use Gantt charts and responsibility matrices to keep the HWO PO organized, and have taught the team to use these tools to keep the mission moving!

This work is current as of February 2025.