Ellen Ochoa

Former Director of NASA Johnson Space Center

Ellen Ochoa is the former director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center and serves on the board of various corporate and nonprofit organizations. Ms. Ochoa served in several roles at the NASA Johnson Space Center from 1990 to 2018, including Center Director, Deputy Center Director, and astronaut. Previously, she was branch chief and research engineer at NASA Ames Research Center from 1988 to 1990, and a researcher at Sandia National Laboratories from 1985 to 1988. Ms. Ochoa currently serves on the board of directors of Service Corporation International, a publicly traded funeral homes and services company, since 2015, and Mutual of America Financial Group, a retirement plan and financial services company, since 2017. She serves on the board of trustees of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, a scientific discovery and environmental conservation foundation, since 2018, and on the board of trustees of SRI International, a nonprofit scientific research institution, since 2023. She previously served as chair of the National Science Board, on the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and Manned Space Flight Education Foundation, and the board of trustees of Stanford University. Ms. Ochoa holds a BS degree in physics from San Diego State University and MS and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from Stanford University.