WASHINGTON, May 13, 2024
/PRNewswire/ -- Universities Space Research Association (USRA), an
association of 120 universities, unveiled today the
appointment of Lesa B. Roe as
Trustee following her election at USRA's annual meeting held on
March 22, 2024.
With a wealth of experience spanning public company board
executive roles, CEO and COO positions, and 37 years of executive
leadership in aerospace research and development, Lesa Roe brings a unique ability to navigate
complexity and analyze disparate information into successful
collective solutions. Throughout her career, she has spearheaded
large-scale initiatives aimed at optimizing operations, managing
risk, and executing complex international missions and
projects.
She rose to second in command at NASA over her 33-year career,
beginning as a Space Shuttle communications engineer at Kennedy
Space Center and rising through the ranks as International Space
Station Research Program Manager at the Johnson Space Center,
Center Director of the Langley Research Center and finally to
NASA's Deputy Administrator in Washington, D.C. As Deputy Administrator and
Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Lesa led strategy, execution,
operations, and corporate management nationally across all ten NASA
field centers and five primary product lines, managing a
$19.6 billion annual federal agency
with $31 billion in assets and
oversight of 17,000 employees. She led program and project teams on
product/mission delivery, acquisition strategy and approval,
partnership and international strategy, stakeholder advocacy,
research and development, and risk management. Additionally, she
led an agency-wide restructuring of NASA's technical capabilities
and business services, driving critical Agency divestment decisions
while strengthening innovation in critical areas needed to advance
NASA's missions. Lesa Roe's
leadership at NASA led to numerous science, space, and aeronautics
breakthrough innovations that advanced our nation's leadership and
international knowledge of aeronautics and space.
Currently, Roe is President and CEO of Front Roe Services, LLC,
providing corporate advisory and review services on governance,
strategic plans, programs, business services, and business
transformation. She currently serves on the Board of Directors and
Audit and Governance Committees of Solid Power (NASDAQ: SLDP) and
on the Board of Directors of Space Dynamics Laboratory, a
mission-focused, technology provider for the DOD, industry, and
NASA.
In addition to public company board experience, she has
extensive private/non-profit board experience.
Roe received her M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the
University of Central Florida, her B.S.
in Electrical Engineering from the University
of Florida. She is a current member of the National
Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). She completed the
Finance for Senior Executives from Harvard
Business School in 2020. She also completed the University of Michigan Executive Management and the
Smith College Management Fellowship
Programs.
Dr. Jeffrey Isaacson, USRA
President and CEO stated, "Lesa
Roe's appointment as Trustee marks an exciting development
for our organization. With her extensive experience in aerospace
executive leadership, she will undoubtedly strengthen USRA's
governance and help USRA to achieve its strategic objectives. On
behalf of USRA's Board of Trustees and 120 member universities, we
welcome Lesa and look forward to working with her."
About USRA Governance
USRA governance is grounded in the university community. USRA is
an association of 120 universities engaged in space- and
aeronautics-related research and education. University
representatives compose the Council of Institutions. The Council
establishes the corporate bylaws and conducts elections for members
of the Board of Trustees. The Board has sixteen members including
ten regional trustees (one for each of ten geographic regional
groups of universities), four at-large trustees, the Chair of the
Council of Institutions, and the President and CEO (who is
appointed by the Board).
ABOUT USRA
Founded in 1969, under the auspices of the National Academy
of Sciences at the request of the U.S. Government, the Universities
Space Research Association (USRA) is a nonprofit corporation
chartered to advance space-related science, technology, and
engineering. USRA operates scientific institutes and facilities and
conducts other major research and educational programs under
federal funding. USRA engages the university community and employs
in-house scientific leadership, innovative research and
development, and project management expertise. More
information about USRA is available at www.usra.edu.
Contact:
Suraiya Farukhi
sfarukhi@usra.edu
443-812-6945
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SOURCE Universities Space Research Association