US Senate Confirms Kathryn Sullivan as NOAA’s Leader
She took on the role of acting NOAA administrator on Feb. 28, 2013. Prior to that, Sullivan was the assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction and deputy administrator for NOAA. In 1993, Sullivan was appointed as NOAA’s chief scientist.
“With her impressive background as a scientist and astronaut and her excellent record of building bridges between diverse environmental stakeholder communities and federal policymakers, Kathy brings a great blend of scientific rigor, team-building skills, and strategic sensibility to the important job of NOAA administrator,” said John P. Holdren, assistant to the president and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Joining the NASA astronaut corps in 1978, she was the first American woman to walk in space.