Unlike private companies that can pay advertise, in my work at NASA, everything we do is organic on owned channels and through earned media. We don’t sell anything to the American people. I view the job of communications as cleaning the windows so the American people get a better look at their space program. This dates back to 1958 and the founding Space Act that created NASA where communications was built right in from day one. It’s your space program. Our responsibility is to make you aware of our achievements, our advancements, and to take you along for the journey. We’re committed to openness and transparency, and we show you our failures just as we do our successes. All of that helps build trust. And it doesn’t hurt that our talented astronauts, engineers, and scientists are able to do the seemingly impossible. 

That's why I'm proudest of the seven years I worked at the forefront of communicating NASA’s story by managing our social media presence to a community of followers grown from 12 million in 2012 to 111 million strong in 2019 across a digital landscape of 18 platforms. And that work remains foundational for making NASA the digital juggernaut it remains today.