Meet Our New Johnson Space Center Directors

As we embark on a new era of space exploration and scientific discovery, it is crucial to have the right leadership at the helm, guiding our efforts towards a brighter future for humanity. Today, we are thrilled to introduce you to the exceptional individuals recently selected to key director positions at NASA's Johnson Space Center. With their unwavering passion, vast expertise, and commitment to pushing the boundaries of knowledge, we are confident that our new directors will drive our organization to greater heights.

Each director brings a unique set of skills and expertise that will undoubtedly propel us to new heights. So, meet our new directors!

Meet Chief Information Officer, Dr. Troy LeBlanc

Dr. Troy LeBlanc started as a Barrios Technology contractor in MOD (Mission Operations Directorate) in 1992. After four years, he left to become a co-op while completing his master’s degree in computer science, and then became a full-time civil servant in 1998. LeBlanc worked as group lead and branch chief while completing his Ph.D. in computer science through the JSC Fellowship program. Meanwhile, he created a division office for user applications and became deputy division chief and, finally, division chief of the Mission Systems Division in FOD (Flight Operations Directorate).

The next chapter in his career came when he left NASA to become a vice president for Intuitive Machines, leading the development of the Ground Systems for their CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) missions. After three years, he returned to NASA civil service, where he was a special advisor to Kathy Lueders in SOMD (Space Operations Mission Directorate) and then finally arrived in his current role as CIO (Chief Information Officer) for Johnson. In 2022, his wife encouraged him to “return home to NASA JSC” – she noticed he was surviving very well in private industry but thrived in public service. LeBlanc says the Johnson team's warm “welcome home” has been very gratifying.

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Meet Director of the Human Health and Performance Directorate, Michelle Frieling 

Michelle Frieling was appointed director of the Human Health and Performance Directorate (HHP), taking over from John Sims, who served since 2020. With more than 20 years of NASA experience, Frieling previously served as the HHP deputy and has an extensive background in aerospace and human space flight operations. In her new position, she will lead and integrate a team of civil servants and contractors responsible for various technical disciplines within the directorate, supporting human space flight programs.

Frieling's career at NASA began in 1999 as a biomedical flight controller at Wyle Laboratories, working in the Medical Operations Branch of the Space Life Sciences Directorate. Over the years, she assumed various leadership roles, including overseeing biomedical flight control, flight surgeon, and crew training. She also played a key role in the emerging commercial human spaceflight market, co-chairing the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Council Reusable Launch Vehicle Working Group Task Force on Training, and co-authoring the Commercial Human Space Operations Training Standards.

Furthermore, Frieling served as the Flight and Medical Operations department manager, responsible for crew and ground medical operations, radiation operations, International Space Station medical project implementation, behavioral health and performance, epidemiology, and industrial hygiene. Additionally, she managed the Human Health and Performance Contract, overseeing research, medical, and human systems engineering with a budget of $150 million per year and a large team of over 1,000 employees.

Frieling received accolades throughout her impressive career, including a Silver Snoopy Award and the National Management Association Manager of the Year Award. She is a certified Kepner-Tregoe project management instructor and an active member of both the Space Medicine Association and the Aerospace Medical Association. With her wealth of experience and dedication to the field, Frieling's appointment as the director of HHP ensures NASA's ongoing commitment to advancing human health and performance in space exploration. 

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Meet Exploration Operations Director, Ven Feng 

Ven Feng, Exploration Operations director within the Moon to Mars Program, is leading a new office based at Johnson. Feng will lead mission and operations integration across NASA’s Exploration programs. This will tie together the programmatic operations for Gateway, human landing system, xEVA and Human Surface Mobility, Orion, SLS (Space Launch System), and Exploration Ground Systems. FOD will execute Artemis mission and flight operations.

Prior to this assignment, he served as the manager for the International Space Station Transportation Office, where he managed integration and/or development of 66 missions to the space station, including commercial cargo resupply missions (Northrop Grumman, Sierra Nevada, SpaceX), station integration with commercial crew spacecraft (Boeing, SpaceX), and international partner vehicles (Soyuz, Progress, HTV, HTV-X). He was responsible for managing the overall strategic, tactical, and executional readiness of the space station fleet to meet programmatic and customer needs.

His career also includes leadership positions across station visiting vehicle integration, external integration, safety and mission assurance, avionics and software, and operations integration and payloads. He provided leadership and direction for implementing agency policy for human spaceflight programs in the U.S. and abroad. He has supported the space station, space shuttle, and Spacelab programs both as a contractor and civil servant.

Feng is a recipient of the Outstanding Leadership Medal, Exceptional Service Medal, Rotary NASA Stellar Award, Silver Snoopy Award, Center Director’s Commendation, and other awards.

He graduated from the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1989. In 2008, he completed Harvard University’s Senior Executive Fellowship, and in 2011, he underwent NASA program/project management development.

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Meet Acting Director of Human Resources, Dan Costello

Previously, Dan Costello supported NASA Headquarters as the deputy director of the Business Operations Division in OCHCO (Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer). In that role Costello established, managed, and directed daily operations for the overall effectiveness and efficiency of the human capital line of business. His team developed, implemented, and managed the OCHCO governance process, ensured mission needs were appropriately represented in the OCHCO's investment decisions, and gained buy-in for major human capital investments.

Costello was also branch chief for the Human Capital Information Technology Branch and supported business applications across the human capital lifecycle. Costello has 15 years of experience as a supervisor or leader of agency information technology programs and projects. Before joining NASA, Costello was a project manager and supervisor at AT&T, Lucent Technologies, and Avaya.

Prior to his work in the information technology industry, Costello was a high school teacher and coach. He holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska, certification in financial planning from Georgetown University School of Continuing Studies, and professional certificates in project management and information technology service management. 

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Meet Director of the Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, Regina Neal-Mujahid

Regina Neal-Mujahid is a seasoned equal employment opportunity (EEO) practitioner, with more than 27 years of EEO and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) experience. She has a proven track record of reengineering EEO programs and infrastructures to support successful implementation of DEIA initiatives and best practices.

Neal-Mujahid previously served as the EEO director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Office of Diversity and Equal Employment Opportunity, where she advised the USGS executive leadership team on all aspects of EEO, diversity management, civil rights, and related employment issues that affect the bureau’s diverse workforce. Neal-Mujahid directed programs, set policies, and established procedures and practices in accordance with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s rules and regulations and applicable laws and Executive Orders that have been put in place to prevent individual and/or systematic discrimination. As part of this work, she developed proactive initiatives across the bureau.

At USGS, her key program areas included the affirmative employment program, the disability program (including reasonable accommodations), special emphasis programs, diversity and inclusion programs, diversity outreach and recruitment, EEO complaints management, and EEO and diversity and inclusion training. She also served as co-chair of the USGS Workplace, Equity, Engagement, and Excellence Council. Neal-Mujahid is committed to continuous workplace improvements in EEO and programs and initiatives. She leads priorities under the Biden-Harris Administration and is a trailblazer for designing proactive mechanisms to advance the journey towards model EEO programs.

Neal-Mujahid has more than 32 years of federal service, beginning with a 10-year tenure in the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of the Secretary. Her journey in EEO and DEIA started with the DOE Office of Civil Rights in Washington, D.C. She also served as the assistant director and EEO manager for DOE’s Environmental Management Consolidated Business Center until 2017. Prior to joining the USGS, she served as an EEO specialist with the U.S. Department of the Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command.

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Meet Deputy Director of the Human Research Program, Dr. Karen Pickering

Dr. Karen Pickering has been deputy director of the Human Research Program (HRP) since March 20, 2023. HRP is responsible for mitigating the effects of the space environment on the health and performance of crew members aboard current and future space exploration missions. Its work is distributed across five NASA centers and conducted by researchers in laboratories throughout the nation, aboard the International Space Station, and in specialized spaceflight analog facilities around the globe.

Pickering began her NASA career as a shuttle mission simulation instructor in MOD in 1991. After training the crews of STS-61 and STS-67, she moved into the Engineering Directorate, where she worked in technology development of water recovery systems for advanced life support in the Crew and Thermal Systems Division (CTSD). During her tenure in CTSD, she contributed to the Lunar Mars Life Support Test Project, led the demonstration of biological and physical and chemical systems for water recovery, and developed flight hardware for the International Space Station.

Pickering subsequently became deputy chief of the Thermal Systems Branch where she served for three and a half years. In 2017, she joined HHP as deputy manager of the Human Factors and Behavioral Performance Element of HRP. She served as chief of the Biomedical Projects Branch from 2018 to 2020 and was associate chief of the Biomedical Research and Environmental Sciences Division from 2020 to 2023. Pickering received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Texas A&M University and a Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy in environmental engineering from Rice University.

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Meet Manager of Gateway Program, Dr. Jon B. Olansen

Dr. Jon B. Olansen serves as the Gateway program manager. In this capacity, he is responsible for the day-to-day management, development, integration, and operation of the lunar Gateway with elements and systems provided by numerous NASA centers and commercial and international partners. He most recently served as the HALO (Habitation and Lunar Outpost) project manager within Gateway. In this role, Olansen oversaw the HALO module’s development and its integration with the Power and Propulsion Element, in addition to planning the launch and transit of that combined vehicle to lunar orbit.

Prior to his work in the Gateway program, Olansen was the Orion Ascent Abort Test 2 (AA-2) crew module project manager within the Engineering Directorate. He was responsible for designing, building, integrating, and delivering the in-house built crew module to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for the AA-2 flight test, for which he also served as test director. Olansen also led the Morpheus Project to its successful conclusion, developing and flying a full-scale planetary lander prototype for the advanced development of human spacecraft propulsion, navigation, and autonomous precision landing systems.

He began his career as a space shuttle mechanical, maintenance, arm, and crew systems flight controller, supporting 32 missions. Olansen subsequently held a number of positions of increasing responsibility within the Astronaut Office, the Office of Safety and Mission Assurance, the Space Shuttle Program Office, the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, and the Engineering Directorate Planning and Control Office.

Olansen earned his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Notre Dame. He obtained his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering (biomedical focus) as a National Instruments Fellow at Rice University, where he specialized in biomedical experimentation in electrophysiology and cardiopulmonary hemodynamics.

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With these remarkable individuals joining our team, Johnson’s future is brighter than ever. We are thrilled to have them on board and eagerly anticipate the groundbreaking discoveries and achievements that lie ahead. As we look to the future, we remain committed to pushing the boundaries of knowledge and fostering international collaboration to achieve extraordinary feats in space exploration.

Together, with the collective efforts of our outstanding team and under the guidance of these visionary leaders, we are confident that our organization will continue to play a crucial role in shaping the future of space exploration and scientific research. Let us unite in celebration of this exciting new chapter and embark on a journey towards a brighter and more enlightened future for all of humanity!