Suzanne Gillen has been named NASA’s associate administrator for the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs.
“Suzanne has a long history of working with NASA on Capitol Hill, and she provides a valuable asset for the agency in its critically important congressional relationships,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “NASA has an exciting future ahead, and we look forward to Suzanne helping us communicate that exciting story to our legislative partners and strengthening the bipartisan collaboration that has enabled this agency to do so much for the American people.”
Gillen spent 14 years in the U.S. Senate, where she served as professional staff for NASA, civil space, and aviation policy for Chairman John Thune on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation from September 2013 to March 2018. In this position, she managed the development and legislative advancement of both the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015 and the NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017. She also worked as part of the team drafting the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act. Gillen also served in various staff roles for several U.S. Senators and the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works.
Since March 2018, Gillen has served as the senior director of government relations and public policy at Maxar Technologies, where she mainly focused on NASA and civil and commercial space policy and strategy with Congress.
Gillen earned her Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies with a minor in Chemistry at George Washington University. She also received her Master of Science degree in Environmental Science and Policy at Johns Hopkins University.
Suzanne and her husband live in Silver Spring, Maryland.
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