Aeronautics Honoree

Vanessa E. Wyche Director, NASA Johnson Space Center

Vanessa E. Wyche is the Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, home to America’s Astronaut Corps, Mission Control Center, International Space Station, Orion and Gateway programs, and more than 10,000 civil service and contractor employees. She is responsible for overseeing a broad range of human spaceflight activities, including the development and operation of human spacecraft, commercialization of low-Earth orbit and Johnson’s role in landing the first woman and first person of color on the surface of the Moon. Wyche previously served as Deputy Director of NASA Johnson Space Center, which she has held since 2018. Other key leadership positions include: Assistant and Acting Deputy Director of Johnson; Director of the Exploration Integration and Science Directorate; Flight Manager of several missions of the retired Space Shuttle Program; Executive Officer in the Office of the NASA Administrator; and led other center-level technical and program organizations. Before joining NASA in 1989, Wyche worked for the Food and Drug Administration in Washington DC. A native of South Carolina, Wyche earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Master of Science in Bioengineering from Clemson University. In recognition of her contributions to the engineering profession, she was inducted into the Thomas Green Clemson Academy of Engineers and Scientists at Clemson University in 2019. Wyche is a passionate promoter of science, technology, engineering and math and serves as a member of the Clemson University College of Engineering, Computing and Applied Sciences Advisory Board, University of Houston’s C. T. Bauer College of Business Advisory Panel, Houston Exponential Board of Directors and is past Chair of the Space Center Houston Board of Directors. She is the recipient of two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals, two NASA Achievement Medals and is a current International Women’s Forum Fellow. Wyche is married to George Wyche Jr. Esq, and has one son, George Wyche III. Follow Wyche on Twitter at twitter.com/V_Wyche.