In his new position in the Center Operations Directorate, Ellis is
responsible for overseeing Marshall’s information technology, or IT program,
to ensure computer capacity and availability to perform a wide array of
business functions at the Center. He will direct Marshall’s overall
information technology plans, set standards, and oversee its staff. Ellis
will also continue to serve as manager of the Information Services
Department, a position he has held since March. In that capacity he
supervises a staff of more than 60 civil servants and approximately 900
contractor personnel who provide computer and communications systems for
Marshall.
Ellis began his NASA career at the Marshall Center in 1981 as a
technical resources manager. He has held increasingly challenging positions
during his career at Marshall, including manager of the Space Shuttle
Program Planning and Management Systems Office; assistant manager of the
Space Shuttle Projects Office; assistant director of the Center Operations
Directorate; and deputy director of the Safety and Mission Assurance Office.
A 1962 graduate of Huntsville High School, Ellis received his
bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa
in 1966. He earned a master’s degree in economics from South Dakota State
University at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., in 1975. He received an
associate’s degree in computer science in 1977 from Enterprise State Junior
College in Enterprise, Ala.
Prior to joining NASA, Ellis provided operations research, systems
analysis and cost analysis for Patriot and other missile systems for the
U.S. Army Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, and for the U.S. Army
Aviation Center at Fort Rucker, Ala. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in
the Alabama Air National Guard in 1989.
Ellis and his wife Chris live in Huntsville. The couple has three
children.
