Q&A with Gateway: Meet Cassandra ‘Cassie’ Giron, Gateway Resources Manager
Effective program, planning, and control (PP&C) puts leadership in the driver's seat to successfully manage NASA's missions. As the Gateway resources manager, NASA Johnson Space Center-based Cassie Giron works with the Gateway PP&C Office to lead all budget formulation and execution activities for the Gateway program. She is a critical member of the team and provides agencywide resources support in addition to assisting in the day-to-day business management of the program.
Let’s get to know more about her!
What is your role in the Gateway program?
Gateway resources (business) manager.
What are your primary responsibilities?
As the resources manager, I lead all budget formulation and execution activities for the Gateway program. I work in lockstep with the Gateway PP&C Office as we coordinate across nine NASA centers and provide resources management expert advice to program management customers.
What are you excited to share about Gateway and what it will do for human exploration as part of the Artemis program?
I am excited to be a part of the NASA Johnson Space Center team that is leading the development of humanity’s first outpost in deep space. The Gateway provides a sustainable staging location for the crewed lunar-surface landings, enabling new knowledge and opportunities for future explorations to Mars and beyond.
How has your own personal background influenced your work on the Gateway program?
From my Birkman assessment strengths summary, I enjoy “investigating situations, following procedures to increase efficiency, and working with numbers, or being involved with tasks that involve the use or manipulation of numbers.” That said, it is a good thing I landed in the Office of the Chief Financial Officer! I hope to bring those skills and passion to the Gateway program as we manage the budget in a fiscally responsible manner.
Being surrounded by such a high-performing group of people, what’s a great piece of advice you’ve learned?
“The time is always right to do what is right.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
I have learned that it is important to do the right thing to sleep peacefully at night, or even look at yourself in the mirror. If you can morally do so after taking actions, making decisions, or witnessing situations, that lets you know that you are headed in the right direction.
In line with JSC’s DARE | UNITE | EXPLORE, how do you see yourself fitting into the vision?
As we are daring to go to new destinations, I am prepared to collaborate with others of varied backgrounds to support the development of Gateway in an affordable manner.
Now, more about you. Where did you grow up?
Small town in southwest Louisiana.
How long have you been at JSC?
14.5 years.
Describe yourself in five words.
Conscientious, achiever, dependable, grateful/positive, and kind-hearted.
Favorite thing(s) to do to unwind.
Cooking, traveling (when not in a pandemic), and spending time with family and close friends.
How has the pandemic shaped your working style?
The pandemic has afforded me the opportunity to telework and eliminated 65 miles of daily commute while maintaining work productivity levels. It has also enabled me to spend more time overseeing my son’s virtual school work and better manage my general home and work/life responsibilities.
Tell us a fun fact about you.
My birthday is on Christmas Day, so I am always off from work and never have to use personal leave on that day.
At Johnson, we are laser-focused on the next: going forward to our lunar neighbor to build outposts in uncharted territory while revolutionizing the strategies and technologies that will eventually open up the universe. The Gateway is a critical component of the Artemis program and embodies Johnson's DARE | UNITE | EXPLORE vision: We dare to expand frontiers. We unite with our partners to complete bold missions. We explore space to benefit humanity.
DARE | UNITE | EXPLORE
