Vanessa E. Wyche is the director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, home to America’s astronaut corps, Mission Control Center, International Space Station, Orion and Gateway programs and its more than 11,000 civil service and contractor employees. She is responsible for a broad range of human spaceflight activities, including development and operation of human spacecraft, NASA astronaut selection and training, and mission control. Wyche oversees commercialization of low-Earth orbit – ensuring commercially provided destinations to continue research there following transition from the International Space Station in 2030.

Additionally, she leads Johnson’s role in exploring the Moon and Mars with NASA’s Artemis spacecraft, including surface system capabilities for human and commercial robotic missions, and partners with academia, industry, and international community to establish a sustainable lunar economy. Under Wyche’s leadership, Johnson was recognized by Forbes and Statista as the No. 1 best employer among Texas’ major employers for two consecutive years.  READ MORE ON NASA.GOV

Valerie is widely recognized as a champion of women in business and diversity in tech. During her tenure as CEO of BravoTECH, the company has become a national staffing solutions company offering managed services, consulting, staffing and search. The company has been named multiple times to the Inc. 500/5000 and Dallas 100. She has been inducted into the Dallas Business Hall of Fame, Tech Titans Hall of Fame and Women’s Business Enterprise Hall of Fame. In 2020, she was honored with the Orbie Leadership Award by the Dallas CIO Association. Valerie also received Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Alliance of Technology and Women and the Dallas Business Journal for her work with women in technology. In the past, she was named to DCEO’s 500 Most Powerful Business Leaders several times, Power 50 Women in Business by the Texas Diversity Council and Women of Distinction from the Girl Scouts of NE Texas. She also received the Athena Award by the Dallas Regional Chamber.  Valerie was a founder of Texas Women Ventures, the first venture firm in Texas to provide capital to woman-owned businesses.  For that, the group received the Tech Titans Investment Catalyst Award. Today she is a founder, investor and serves on the board of directors of Prime Women Media, a diversified media group which offers high quality entertainment to the over-50 woman.