Aerospace Technologist and Quality Assurance Specialist

Sean Phillips is an Aerospace Technologist and Quality Assurance (QA) specialist at Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) Stages branch in the Vehicle Systems Department.

In this role, Phillips provides QA direction for EUS suppliers and during production at MAF. He assesses drawings, planning and purchase orders for readiness and Government Mandatory Inspection Points to reduce risk while minimizing government impact.

Previously at NASA, he supported the completion and delivery of the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage 1 to Stennis Space Center and participated in SLS Green Run testing. Phillips designed the inspection and operation strategy for SLS’s arrival at Stennis, including the lift into the stand, final production activities, on-the-spot Material Review Board resolution during major lift operations and Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) testing activities for Marshall and Michoud on the B-2 Test Stand.

Before that, he served as an SMA engineer in support of Commercial Crew Program SMA activities at Kennedy Space Center. He performed risk-based assessments on Falcon 9 and Atlas V rockets and mitigated nonconformance risks with the SMA Engineering Review Board for Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner production activities.

Phillips has a Bachelor of Science in aerospace engineering and mechanics from The University of Alabama.

HALO Quality Lead, NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC)

Randall “Randy” Holman, Jr. serves as the Quality Lead for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) element of the Gateway Program, where he is responsible for overall quality of HALO products and services, as well as assuring implementation of the HALO Quality Plan.

Holman previously held several positions over 19 years as a support contractor at JSC. He began his career in 2003 as a hardware design engineer at Invocon, Inc. where he helped develop hardware for the Shuttle Wing Leading Edge Impact Detection System for return to flight. He later served as Quality Manager and supported acceptance of the External Wireless Instrumentation System (EWIS) for the International Space Station (ISS).

In 2007, Holman served in several roles, including Configuration Management Engineer, EEE Parts Engineer and Quality Engineer with ERC, Inc., a teammate of Jacobs Technology, on the ESCG contract at NASA JSC. He supported various Space Shuttle hardware deliveries since the return to flight as well as various ISS projects, including ISS Crew Quarters (CQ), Potable Water Dispenser (PWD), International Low Impact Docking System (iLIDS) and Intravehicular Tissue Equivalent Proportional Counter (IV-TEPC).

In 2013, Holman served as the Senior Quality Engineer for the ISS EVA Battery Operations Terminal (EBOT) project with Oceaneering Space Systems and also supported the Orion Crew Module Uprighting System (CMUS). 

In 2017, Holman rejoined the Jacobs Technology team on the JETS contract, where he served as the Quality and Compliance manager and technical lead. He provided leadership for Quality Engineering, Quality Assurance, EEE Parts and Configuration Management personnel, and helped successfully lead an effort to obtain third-party AS9100D certification.

Holman began working as a civil servant for NASA JSC in 2022, where he supported the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) program by working to streamline the hardware acceptance and acceptance data package processes. Holman also served as an acting Government-Furnished Equipment Quality Engineering lead, where he provided technical guidance and problem resolution support and collected data and metrics.

Holman recently graduated as part of the 2024 Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Technical Excellence Program (STEP) Level 2 Cohort, where he completed the requirements for the Quality Engineering discipline. He previously received Group Achievement awards for his role on the Wing Leading Edge Impact Detection System team and STS-131 T-RAD Test and Integration team. He was part of the engineering and science contract group that earned a Significant Achievement Recognition team award for its support of the ISS Crew Quarters project. Holman received a NASA Silver Achievement Medal for his role on the ISS Treadmill team. He also received a NASA On-the-Spot Award for his support of the Orion Acceptance Data Package process and training.

Holman has a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Rice University.

Requirements Engineer for Safety and Mission Assurance, supporting Launch Services Program

Nilgun Leavitt is a Requirements Engineer supporting the Launch Services Program (LSP) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida. In this role, Leavitt is responsible for providing technical expertise, analysis, consultation and guidance to the Safety and Mission Assurance division. She supports LSP as Chief Safety Officer, and SMA Technical Authorities. She analyzes, manages, advises, coordinates and performs duties concerned with the LSP Requirements SMA program. 

Additionally, Leavitt was Quality Mission Lead for several LSP missions. As Quality Mission Lead, Leavitt oversaw, managed and advised on significant issues and concerns that posed risks to mission success. Leavitt participates and coordinates mission success reviews, supports risk boards and evaluates and supports watch item boards and corrective action boards. 

Leavitt has supported more than 50 LSP missions flying various commercial launch vehicles, including Delta II, Delta IV, Atlas V, Pegasus XL, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy.

Leavitt began her career as a chemist working for Boeing Aerospace at Toxic Vapor Detection Laboratory where she was given the opportunity to lead the research and development efforts for toxic vapor analyzers used at KSC. As project lead, she tested all the potential analyzers and documented and presented her results at a joint Army, Navy, Air Force and NASA conference (JANNAF). She was published in the NASA Tech Brief on the Active Hydrazine Vapor Sampler and received the Certificate of Recognition for Creative Development of a Technical Innovation.

In 1995, Leavitt received the Space Coast Distinguished New Engineer of the year award from the Society of Women Engineers.

In 2000, Leavitt moved to the private sector, working for Progress Energy (Duke Energy) as Environmental Engineer at Anclote Power Plant, where she was responsible for all environmental activities and working with the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Transportation and Fish and Wildlife. She worked with multi-discipline organizations and oversaw contractors for projects in Continued Emissions Monitoring, Relative Accuracy and Test Audits, Particulate Testing and Cathodic Protection Testing for oil tanks. She also conducted environmental ratings based on risk management for contractors and was the focal point for environmental activities, including audits for industrial wastewater, storm water, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), wastewater, hazardous waste and Title V.

In 2005, Leavitt came back to the Space Coast as a Risk Assessment Engineer for ASRC-USTDC. In this role, she conducted problem analysis and resolution, planning, coordinating and leading risk management activities in support of KSC systems, equipment and facilities related to processing within the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) ground systems and other major laboratory facilities. 

In 2006, Leavitt took a position with SAIC supporting LSP as a Quality Engineer. In this role, Leavitt conducted risk management-based data analysis and trending for over 30 missions for various launch vehicles including Delta II, Delta IV, Atlas V, Pegasus XL and Falcon 9.

Leavitt began working for NASA in 2016 as a Quality Engineer supporting LSP. In this role, Leavitt continued performing risk-based comparative analyses to evaluate the health of NASA commercial launch vehicles and was Quality Lead for several missions. 

Leavitt has participated in numerous launch vehicle contractor and supplier AS9100 audits and NASA-led audits during launch vehicle certification efforts.

In 2018, Leavitt received the Exceptional Achievement Metal for her data analysis and trending activities and has received several Silver Group Achievement Awards supporting different missions and certifications. 

Leavitt has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of South Florida and a master’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Central Florida. 

Aerospace Technologist and Quality Assurance Engineer

Melanie Wallo is an Aerospace Engineer and Quality Assurance engineer at Marshall Space Flight Center, where she serves as the Mishap Manager and Quality Engineer for the Human Lander System (HLS) Program. In this role, Wallo develops and coordinates Mishap Preparedness and Contingency products with Moon to Mars and HLS providers. She also serves as a Quality Engineer for the HLS program, where she works with an HLS provider in an insight role and is helping develop the Risk-Based Assessment (RBA) for Product Assurance Actions (PAA) identification.

Prior to this role, she was the Planning lead for the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage and Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) lead for the Core Stage Thermal Protection System (TPS) and Structures, providing Artemis launch support. Wallo determined Government Mandatory Inspection Points (GMIPs) for Core Stage build and testing and provided TPS and Material Review Board (MRB) support. She also provided reviews for Core Stage design requirements and GMIP compliance to ensure engineering requirements were satisfied and risks were properly identified and mitigated.

Among several other positions, Wallo was a Quality engineer for Bastion Technologies, where she served as the Problem Assessment System Subject Matter Expert for Core Stage reported issues. She was a Material Science engineer for Lockheed Martin, where she worked on the Space Shuttle External Tank program and led test programs for the qualification of TPS materials and process verification and validations to ensure flight hardware performance.

She received the 2022 Agency Honor Award Silver Achievement Medal and has received Special Service and On-the-Spot awards.

Wallo received a Master of Business Administration from Tulane University, and a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering with a Chemistry minor from the University of New Orleans.

Quality Engineer

Margaret Chambers McPhail is a Quality Engineer at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

Currently, McPhail provides Quality Engineering expertise to the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) project by reviewing documentation, ensuring application of Government Mandatory Inspection Points (GMIPs) and developing an incremental acceptance review process that will expedite the final system acceptance review of the Orion hardware. She also provides support for MPCV activities to off-load tasks from the MPCV Quality Engineering lead.

McPhail provides MPCV Quality support to the audits of the Eagle Picher/Yardney battery for the MPCV command module battery. Her participation has provided continuity with the previous 2011 audit and allowed a more focused emphasis on addressing and correcting issues that have carried over to the new facility operations.

McPhail reviews the Defense Contract Management Agency’s proposed GMIPs for MPCV hardware. Given the programmatic perspective of cost and schedule impacts, she evaluates the necessity and type of each proposed GMIP to determine the added value. She also provides support for government-furnished equipment hardware issues as required.

Prior to this role, McPhail served as a NASA contractor in a hardware manager position, providing technical support for the readiness of flight-required Extravehicular Activity (EVA) tools and hardware for the transition of Class III EVA tools and hardware to the United States for processing and maintenance to support pre-flight training activities. She was also a test engineer, supporting calibration and performance evaluation of flight hardware, and a fit-check engineer, validating hardware compatibility and documentation for EVA Class I tools and hardware. McPhail has more than eight years of engineering experience in translating training requirements into high- and low-fidelity shuttle and space station mock-ups and materials for astronaut training.

Prior to joining NASA, McPhail spent 13 years with Houston Lighting and Power as an engineer, where she gained experience in power plant systems with comprehensive knowledge in thermal cycles, fluid dynamics and performance monitoring and testing.

McPhail received a Master of Mechanical Engineering with an emphasis in bioengineering and a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, both from the University of Houston. She is a registered professional engineer in Texas and a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, the Wyle Houston and Johnson chapters of the National Management Association and Pi Tau Sigma, the mechanical engineering honor society.

McPhail has two sons and one grandson and is an avid runner, quilter, gardener and yoga practitioner/instructor.

Deputy chief Safety Officer and Systems Safety Lead

Cris Andes, a 24-year NASA employee, began as a Management Support Assistant in the Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Directorate at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Andes moved from secretarial support to a Developmental Quality Assurance (QA) position while completing a 2-year degree in Aerospace Technology and then a bachelor’s degree in occupational safety and health. 

Andes became a journeyman-level Quality Assurance Specialist (QAS) supporting numerous projects at KSC. These included support on the International Space Station components such as the airlock, cupola, multi-purpose logistics modules, and the Canadian arm. In addition, she supported off-line payload processing assuring science payloads were ready for shuttle integration for launch and shuttle de-integration post landings. Andes became a senior-level QAS and led the payload effort for STS-134 overseeing all payload testing and integration for that mission. After the shuttle was retired, Andes supported the Lunar Atmospheric Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Project at Ames Research Center. This project allowed her to grow in the Quality Engineering area and supported such things as drawing reviews, integrated and chaired material review boards, supported document reviews, identified QA oversight for the project and assessed and verified safety hazard controls. 

After 13 years at KSC, Andes’ career began at Ames Research Center where she became a Quality Assurance Lead for the System Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate. She supported the Rodent Research Project as the Mission Assurance Manager, where she led an SMA team for five years. The leadership role led her to a position as the Deputy Chief Safety Officer and Systems Safety Lead for the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) project. Andes currently supports the VIPER project and has also joined the HelioSwarm team as the Systems Safety Lead.

Quality Assurance Aerospace Scientist and Contracting Officer Representative

Andrea Davis Muir is a Quality Assurance Aerospace Specialist and Contracting Officer Representative (COR) working for Armstrong Flight Research Center (AFRC). In this position, she has had the opportunity to work with multiple programs and projects on many aircraft that are currently at the center. She is currently the COR for the new X-59 aircraft and has also worked on the associated fighter jets like the F-15 and F/A-18 to test out many technologies that went into creating its unique design for NASA’s Quesst Mission. She is on the Mishap Investigation Board and also lends her time to the Human Factors Task Force.   

Muir began her career as an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) Mechanic on unmanned aircraft and started at NASA as an Avionics Technician. She has a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace from Embry Riddle. Her main passion is scuba diving, where she has achieved her Divemaster rating and enjoys traveling the world.

Head of Technology, Google Public Sector Google Cloud Platform

Joel Minton leads the Office of the CTO for Google Public Sector, a US team of technology executives and senior engineers. Joel engages with US government executives to deliver new technology, maximizing technical capabilities and constituent outcomes. Prior to Google, Joel worked in the White House founding and delivering login.gov, a government identity platform increasing security, usability and privacy for the United States government and the tens of millions users it supports.

Prior to the White House, Joel was an engineering leader at eBay, Intuit and other Silicon Valley companies. At eBay, he delivered software to enable large-scale optimization of internet marketing and eBay site experiences. Joel started and led the team that built eBay Fashion and eBay Partner Network, eBay's affiliate platform. At Intuit, he held leadership roles in TurboTax online, site operations and data. In one of Joel’s roles at Intuit, he and his team architected and implemented the TurboTax data warehouse and personalization engine, driving significant business growth and tailored experiences for millions of Americans.

Joel has a Bachelor of Science from CSU Chico in Computer Information Systems and an MBA from Columbia University and UC Berkeley, where he was Class President.

Stavros Katsas

Deputy Chief Quality Engineering, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Stavros Katsas joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in January 2021 as a Senior Quality Engineer, and was assigned to the On-Orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing-1 (OSAM1) program. In this role, he oversaw prime contractor activities for both the servicing payload and spacecraft bus platforms, ensuring quality compliance across on-site and remote operations. Since 2023, he is also serving as the Associate Head of the Quality Engineering Branch, where he leads continuous improvement efforts and implements metrics-based monitoring in line with the aerospace industry to elevate quality standards across Goddard missions. 

Katsas has over 15 years of Quality Assurance (QA) management experience leading aerospace organizations to achieve world-class QA performance, consistently meeting high standards and achieving zero customer rejections. Before NASA, he held QA managerial roles in aerospace manufacturing and participated in corporate QA task force teams, contributing his expertise to crisis management, audit support and process improvement at facilities across North America, Europe and Asia. 

Katsas holds a doctorate in metallurgical engineering and is certified as a lead internal auditor for ISO 9001:2015/AS9100D, in addition to being a Six Sigma Green Belt.  

Alan Wallace

Quality Assurance Branch Chief, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center

Alan Wallace is the acting Quality Assurance Chief within the Safety and Mission Assurance Directorate at Armstrong Flight Research Center. In this role, he is responsible for planning, coordinating and overseeing the center’s Quality Program. He is also the Armstrong representative to the NASA Workmanship Standards Technical Committee, the Human Factors Task Force and serves as the aviation advisor to the agency Quality Assurance Steering Group. 

Previously, Wallace served as Chief of the Quality Inspection Branch, where he managed Armstrong’s quality control program, and the Engineering Support Branch, overseeing the manufacture and environmental testing of NASA flight hardware. He oversaw the development of the center’s ESD Control Program and Metrology Program. 

Wallace's technical background encompasses more than 27 years of work in manufacturing and testing of flight hardware for NASA aerospace projects. He was the first person at AFRC to achieve a Level 4 in the Safety and Mission Assurance Technical Excellence Program (STEP) for Quality Engineering. He is the recipient of 19 NASA center and agency awards, including NASA’s Exceptional Service Medal and NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Medal. 

Jessie Leitner

Chief Engineer, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Jesse Leitner has served as the Chief Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA) Engineer for NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) since 2009, responsible for the technical direction for NASA GSFC’s Directorate for Safety and Mission Assurance (SMA). In this role, he develops policies and procedures to ensure technical excellence and engineering integrity for SMA practices across GSFC; coordinates, recommends solutions for and reports on problems and issues across the center; and facilitates technical coordination for activities in engineering, SMA and projects and programs at GSFC. 

Dr. Leitner was the principal creator of the risk-based SMA organization at GSFC, including organizational structure, new positions and a range of processes, procedures and standards involving risk analysis and risk-based engineering approaches. Dr. Leitner has performed aggregate risk assessments for a variety of missions, including Parker Solar Probe and James Webb Space Telescope, and he led the team that developed the Science Mission Directorate Standard Mission Assurance Requirements for Payload Classification D (SPD-39) published in April 2021. His current research and application efforts are in risk-based safety and mission assurance. 

Dr. Leitner received a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology in the area of Flight Mechanics and Control, a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech and a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.  

James Ingratta

Deputy Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer, NASA Kennedy Space Center

James Ingratta serves as Deputy Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer (CSO) for the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). As Deputy CSO, Ingratta is responsible for the Safety and Quality of NASA-crewed missions to the International Space Station, with emphasis on ensuring safety and quality integration into the program designs, architecture and concept of operations. This also entails continued scrutiny and surveillance in a Shared Assurance role, to verify continued adherence to the certified configuration of the design (through changes, nonconformances and anomalies), as well as assurance of hardware and software builds across Ground, Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft elements. Ingratta and his team review provider program hazard analyses, audits, surveillance insight, integrated risk assessments and anomaly resolutions, and support console operations for launch, flight and docking phases.  

Prior to this position, Ingratta supported the Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program SMA office to publish and evolve program hazard reports, mishap preparedness plans, and System Safety assessment reports, payload safety requirements and processes, and evaluation of architecture and design alternatives for safety and operability within a program budget. He developed and implemented independent safety assessment processes for program risks, ensuring that risks are credibly scored and that they adequately captured safety risk posture. 

Prior to NASA, Ingratta performed System Safety engineering, logistics and Reliability and Maintainability tasks in support of multiple programs for a local defense contractor. 

Ingratta received the NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal Award and has received On-the-Spot Awards, Group Achievement Awards and employee-of-the-month recognition during his tenure at NASA. 

Ingratta has a Bachelor of Applied Science in electrical engineering from the University of Windsor (Canada) and a Master of Science in systems engineering from Florida Institute of Technology. 

Steve Jara

VIPER Mission Chief/Safety and Mission Assurance Officer, NASA Ames Research Center

Steve Jara has been at NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) for 34 years. Jara started his career as a Model Maker in the Model Development Branch fabricating wind tunnel models, aircraft engineering analysis test equipment and biological experiment hardware for the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.

Jara transitioned over to the System Safety and Mission Assurance (SS&MA) division in 2002. Since the transition, Jara has utilized his fabrication knowledge and experience in providing SS&MA project support. 

Jara has served in a variety of technical leadership SS&MA support roles, such as safety representative on biological payloads, Verification and Validation Lead on the Biological Research Project, Ground Operations Mission Assurance Manager and Quality Assurance on several hardware elements on Kepler and Chief Safety and Mission Assurance Officer (CSO) on the Lunar Atmospheric Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) Project. Additionally, Jara served as the SMA Transition Lead at Lockheed Martin in Waterton, Colorado on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) Program. The GOES transition activities consisted of SS&MA oversight of all transitioning processes, hardware and manufacturing implementation readiness moving to Waterton.

Jara presented at the 2015 Trilateral Safety and Mission Assurance Conference (TRISMAC) on “Safety & Mission Assurance for Sub Class D Missions” in Italy. After his support to GOES-R, he returned to Ames to restart Ames Quality Management System (AQMS) for AS9100 and worked to define the appropriate implementation for ARC’s business goal in 2016. After the initial start-up of the AQMS, he supported several small R&D projects before moving to Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER).

Currently, Jara is supporting the VIPER Project as the CSO. VIPER will explore the south pole of the Moon for the resourcing of water. 

Ronnie Knight

Quality Engineer Subject Matter Expert, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center (Bastion Technology)

Ronnie Knight is a Quality Engineer (QE) Subject Matter Expert with Bastion Technologies. He develops Model Based Mission Assurance (MBMA) methods at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama.  

Prior to the MBMA assignment, Knight worked launch operations for the Artemis I mission, training launch team members in his branch at MSFC, authoring branch-specific launch support plans and staging practice launch simulation events. He received a Center Director’s award for his work on Artemis I. 

Knight’s other aerospace QE experience includes fabrication of the mirror substrates for the James Webb Space Telescope, fabrication of Shuttle Booster components and operations for the Space Transportation System’s External Tank project during 15 Shuttle missions.   

Jeffrey Savage-Skaja

Quality Engineer, NASA Kennedy Space Center

Jeffrey Savage-Skaja is a retired U.S. Air Force (USAF) Officer and NASA Engineer with 30+ years of experience and expertise spanning the entire lifecycle of launch vehicle and satellite development. He has served in a variety of unique positions in both civil and military space systems, leading both technical and acquisition teams. 

Savage-Skaja entered the USAF in 1994 through the Officer Training School (OTS) with his first assignment as rocket engine test engineer at Phillips Laboratory, Edwards AFB. As an officer (active and reserve), he commanded and supported multiple teams through multi-billion-dollar acquisitions and operations on military launch vehicles and satellites. During this time, he authored and implemented the USAF New Entrant Certification Guide to support the development and acquisition of new launch vehicles (SpaceX Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy) for National Security Space (NSS) missions. He deployed in support of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Fallujah Iraq (2006). 

While maintaining his service to the USAF through the reserves, Jeff started his civilian career on the NASA Space Shuttle program with United Space Alliance (USA) as an OMS/RCS and APU engineer, eventually transitioning to Chief Test Conductor (CTC) and Orbiter Test Conductor (OTC). As a CTC and OTC, he controlled the daily servicing operations and launch countdown of the Space Shuttle. Eventually, he transitioned to civil service, filling the roll of NASA Test Director (NTD) and Landing Recovery Director (LRD) overseeing the Space Shuttle daily program activities. 

Currently, Savage-Skaja serves as the SMA lead at the Denver Resident office, overseeing the development and certification of the ULA Vulcan-Centaur and Blue Origin New Glenn launch vehicles. 

Savage-Skaja has been honored with the NASA Space Flight Awareness Award, NASA Launch Director Award, USAF/SMC/LR Reservist of the Year and Field Grade Officer of the Quarter, as well as other team and leadership awards and commendations throughout his career. 

Savage-Skaja holds various military leadership and acquisition education certificates for Systems Planning, Research and Development, Research Development and Engineering, Test Evaluation, Science & Technology Management and Program Management through Defense Acquisition University (DAU) Squadron Officer School (SOS), Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) and Air War College (AWC). Jeff holds a BS in Aerospace Engineering and Mechanics (U of MN), MS in Space Systems (FIT) and MS in Finance and Risk (U of CO).

Miguel Guerrero-Gonzalez

Quality Engineer, NASA Kennedy Space Center

Miguel Guerrero-Gonzalez is a member of the Resident Office at Hawthorne, California, and supports the LSP’s SMA Quality Team with mission production analysis, launch production studies and on-floor surveillance. 

He has completed his B.S in Aerospace Engineering from California Polytechnical University, Pomona and is currently pursuing his Masters in Aerospace Systems/Propulsion from California State University, Long Beach. 

Before his arrival with the Safety and Mission Assurance Team, he began as a Quality Inspector for an Aerospace Milling House focused on providing finished metallic assemblies to Boeing, Lockheed, Airbus and others, while supporting wind tunnel operations at the university’s subsonic facility, testing the F-22 Raptor’s subsonic aerodynamics using Particle Image Velocimetry. 

Guerrero-Gonzalez also served as a former participant of the NASA NCAS program and was a recipient of the Community College Innovation Challenge award. Guerrero-Gonzalez uses his understanding of manufacturing processes and quality operations to assist the SMA Quality team in formulating logic and processing flows, which allows greater analysis capabilities in-house while providing high confidence validation methods.  

Tom Jones

Quality Engineer, UCF Research and Development

Tom Jones is an industrial engineer from Orlando, Florida. 

Jones is a senior member of the American Society for Quality (ASQ) with the following certifications: CRE, CQE, CSSBB, CMQ/OE and CQA. He is a contributing author on the fourth edition of the ASQ’s Certified Reliability Engineer handbook. Jones has worked as a quality engineer and industrial engineer in the aerospace, defense and automotive industries leading change and improvement. 

Jones has extensive experience in new product development and introduction, and operational excellence including Lean Six Sigma and in stabilizing processes. His research has centered on digital transformation and the implementation of Industry 4.0 with an emphasis on developing user-friendly systems.

John Orme

Senior Technical Advisor, Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

John Orme has over 35 years of NASA experience serving at multiple centers and headquarters and has been practicing risk management (RM) in various forms throughout most of his professional career. John is an agency thought leader in risk management, receiving senior leadership recognition for his exemplary approach to mission directorate-level risk management and communications.

John serves as a senior technical advisor for enterprise risk and project development within the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) at Headquarters. John designed and implemented a mission directorate-level framework and methodology to help infuse risk management and risk-informed decision making into ARMD’s key functional areas.

In 2023, John was selected to support the Agency Risk Management Tiger Team chartered by Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy to focus on the steps NASA can take to strengthen the risk management framework to support mission directorates, centers, and program and project managers in managing and communicating their risk effectively. Findings and recommendations of the Risk Management Tiger Team were accepted and are now in the process of being implemented.

Since March 2024, John has been on a detail to OSMA, where he serves as a Program Executive for the Agency Risk Management Officer (ARMO). He works closely with and supports the efforts of the NASA ARMO, Dr. Mary Skow, to establish an agency-level framework that enables leadership to maintain awareness of the top risks impacting NASA’s strategic goals and objectives. John is leading ARMO’s effort specifically in the area of revised RM training to support agency organizations as they implement practices that will help them align with agency risk management principles, policies and guidance.

Dr. Mary Skow

Agency Risk Management Officer

Dr. Mary R. Coan Skow, Ph.D., is the Agency Risk Management Officer. In this role, which she helped formulate and establish, Dr. Skow integrates risks from various boards and forums to achieve perspective on top-enterprise risks. 

Additionally, she champions risk leadership initiatives through the facilitation of risk communication and clarifies risk posture. Dr. Skow also develops and implements best practices to integrate Enterprise Risk Management processes into day-to-day operations and decision-making, while investigating and developing methods to create and manage top risks for the agency.

Prior to her current position, Dr. Skow served as the strategic evaluation program manager for the Chief Program Management Officer at NASA Headquarters, where she excelled at motivating varied teams and initiating strategic initiatives. She previously held the role of portfolio analyst at Headquarters for the Office of the Chief Financial Officer, where she was responsible for understanding and working with the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate for the Human Landing System, Gateway and Spacesuit User Interface Technologies for Students (SUITS).

Dr. Skow began her career at NASA as a graduate student in the co-op program at Kennedy Space Center working on In-Situ Resource Utilization. Following her co-op, she became a project manager at NASA Johnson Space Center for Environmental Control Life Support Systems.

Dr. Skow graduated from the University of Rochester with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. She received her PhD in chemical engineering with a focus in microelectronics from Texas A&M University. Dr. Skow actively participates in outreach programs, mentoring underprivileged children and college students and promoting NASA's mission to the next generation of scientists and engineers.

Alvin Boutte

Workmanship Standards Program Manager

Alvin Boutte has worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) since August 2010. Over the course of his tenure, he has held several positions with increasing responsibility, mainly focusing on radiation engineering, safety, and quality assurance. Boutte's career began as an Aerospace Engineer, serving as a test engineer in the GSFC Radiation Effects and Analysis Group (REAG) where he was responsible for evaluating the susceptibility of Electrical, Electronic and Electro-mechanical (EEE) components to the space radiation environment, developing and implementing test plans for various microelectronic components, analyzing test data and providing technical recommendations for flight projects, and representing the radiation discipline during key project milestones.

In addition to his radiation engineering duties, Boutte also took on roles related to safety and ESD control serving as the branch safety representative for Code 561, ensuring workplace safety through inspections and hazard mitigation. Later Boutte acted as the Code 561 ESD Program Monitor managing ESD-related activities in Code 561 lab spaces. This eventually led to a new role as the GSFC Quality Programs Manager he serving as the technical expert for ESD control at GSFC, providing guidance to projects and reviewing waivers against the GSFC ESD Control Plan.  As the GSFC Quality Programs Manager he contributed to the development of new ESD training courses and participating in ESDA standards meetings. In addition to his ESD control work he played a key role in developing and documenting the GSFC process for reviewing and approving NASA Workmanship Alternative Process Evaluation (NWAPE) documents submitted by projects. This process involved resolving problems, developing new techniques and methods, and exercising scientific and engineering judgment to determine the feasibility of project proposals.

Boutte's career progression led him to take on more leadership and management responsibilities serving a temporary detail as Acting Deputy Program Manager for NASA Workmanship, working on policy development, budget, and outreach initiatives for the Agency Workmanship Program which eventually led to him assuming the role of NASA Workmanship Standards Delegated Program Manager.  

As the NASA Workmanship Standards Delegated Program Manager, he has a range of responsibilities related to establishing and maintaining quality standards for the agency's mission-critical hardware.  Throughout his tenure he has achieved several notable accomplishments such as developing a process and tool to evaluate the risk of workmanship operators, inspectors, and instructors with expired training credentials during the COVID-19 pandemic, updated NASA STD-8739.6, supplementing the ESD requirements to the adopted industry standard ANSI/ESD S20.20, and leading a multi-chartered Lean Six Sigma project designed to investigate all aspects of workmanship training to create a set of requirements and processes for a smooth transition from the existing mixed environment (NASA-developed workmanship standards and adopted industry VCSs) to a future environment with exclusively adopted industry VCSs.

Boutte's career trajectory showcases a consistent dedication to ensuring the quality and safety of NASA's mission-critical hardware and systems.