Dr. Kathryn Sullivan

Potomac Institute for Policy Studies

Dr. Kathryn Sullivan has a long career as a distinguished scientist, astronaut and executive. One of the first six women to join the NASA astronaut corps in 1978, she holds the distinction of being the first American woman to walk in space, the first person to both orbit the planet and reach its deepest point, and the first woman to dive to full ocean depth. Dr. Sullivan has held a variety of senior executive positions since leaving NASA, including Presidential appointments to the National Science Board and as Chief Scientist, Deputy Administrator and Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She serves on the boards of International Paper, Accenture Federal Services, the National Audubon Society and Terra Alpha Investments.

Dr. Sullivan earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth Sciences from University of California at Santa Cruz and a Ph.D. in Geology from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia. Dr. Sullivan is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Public Administration. She has been inducted into many halls of fame, including the Astronaut Hall of Fame, Government Executive Hall of Fame. She was recognized as one of the 46 distinguished First Women by Time Magazine (2017), one of the 15 Women Changing the World by the World Economic Forum (2015) and one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People (2014). She has been awarded the Explorers Club Medal, the Rachel Carson Award, an Emmy and nine honorary degrees. She is the author of the children’s book To the Stars! (Charlesbridge Press, 2016) and Handprints on Hubble, An Astronaut’s Story of Invention (MIT Press, 2019).