Karen Flynn

Karen Flynn is the Deputy Associate Administrator for Management, responsible for the formulation and execution of the Directorate’s $6+ billion budget, as well as the guidance and oversight of all strategic planning and policy development activities. She is also responsible for the provision of administrative support to the Directorate's approximately 150-person Headquarters organization.

Previously, she served as the Engineering and Technology Directorate Deputy Director for Planning and Business management at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC). In this role she served as principal operating official for one of NASA’s largest engineering organizations, providing end-to-end products and support to Earth and space science missions, ranging from suborbital and small-sat projects to flagship missions. Ms. Flynn developed management systems and processes for: budget development and resources execution; workforce; contract management; facilities, IT and other assets; safety, risk, and quality management; and education and outreach.

Prior to this position, Ms. Flynn served as the Assistant for Strategic Planning within GSFC's Management Operations Directorate where she provided guidance and leadership in policy, program development, and implementation strategies for on-going change processes. From 2003 to 2005, she served an extended Senior Executive Service Career Development Program (SESCDP) detail at NASA Headquarters where she led change management initiatives for a number of efforts resulting from the loss of the Shuttle Columbia.

Before entering the SESCDP program, Ms. Flynn served as the GSFC Chief of the Facilities Management Division where she led an organization of about 600 civil service and contractor employees involved in facilities master planning, project planning and design, construction and project management, operations and maintenance. She was responsible for a large physical plant spanning two major campuses (Greenbelt, MD and Wallops Island, VA) and numerous worldwide research and mission communications locations.

Ms. Flynn began her civil servant career in 1988 as an architect responsible for design and project management of major construction projects. She began her management career in 1998 as Head of the Facilities Planning Office, responsible for strategic facilities master planning and construction program development. She is the recipient of numerous individual and group NASA Honor Awards.

Ms. Flynn earned a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from the University of Maryland and is a Registered Architect in Washington DC.