Dr. Michelle Hawkins

Dr. Michelle Hawkins is the Acting Deputy Associate Director for Research in NASA’s Earth Science Division (ESD) at Headquarters in Washington, DC. In this role, she supports the Director in leading NASA’s Earth System Science Program, which spans a wide range of scientific disciplines across Earth science research, as well as airborne and satellite missions. Dr. Hawkins joined ESD in 2023 as the Climate Resilience and Community Action Program Manager, where she led efforts to utilize NASA Earth observations to strengthen community-level resilience to extreme events.

Before coming to NASA, Dr. Hawkins was a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Administration at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), where she advanced the integration of community resilience into public housing priorities. Prior to joining HUD she served as a Fellow in the White House Leadership Development Program. During her Fellowship, she was Director for Strategic Initiatives at the White House Council on Environmental Quality, where she spearheaded efforts to increase Federal employee engagement in sustainability initiatives.

From 2007 to 2021, Dr. Hawkins held several roles at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in atmospheric and related sciences. Most notably, she served as Chief of the Severe, Fire, Public, and Winter Weather Services Branch at NOAA’s National Weather Service. In that role, she directed the development of requirements, policies, and procedures for forecast and warning services addressing some of the nation’s most dangerous weather hazards.

Dr. Hawkins has been widely recognized for her leadership and contributions. In 2019, she received the Black Engineer of the Year Modern Day Technology Leader Award, honoring professionals who are shaping the future of STEM. She is also a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.

Dr. Hawkins earned a B.S. in Chemistry and a Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences from Howard University.