Courtney A. Stadd, NASA Chief of Staff and White House
Liaison, today announced plans to leave the agency, effective
July 4. Stadd, who led President Bush’s NASA transition team
and worked with two NASA administrators in helping to cast
the strategic direction of the agency, plans to pursue
opportunities in the private sector.

“I’ve been very honored to serve the President and my
colleagues at NASA. Working at NASA, which I regard as one of
the most dynamic and exciting agencies in the federal
government, has truly been the dream of a lifetime. On top of
that, I had the privilege to work for an Administrator who
cares deeply about effective management and the welfare of
the workforce. But I feel it’s time to move on to new
challenges and new opportunities,” said Stadd in making the
announcement.

NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe praised Stadd’s dedication
and loyalty to both the President and NASA. “Courtney has
been a faithful public servant and a creative leader who
knows how to motivate people and get things done,” added
Administrator O’Keefe. “He knows the aerospace industry, he
knows NASA, and he knows how to articulate and carry forward
the agency’s goals and objectives.”

He also helped Administrator O’Keefe lead the implementation
of the President’s Management Agenda, a comprehensive reform
effort designed to look at how government goes about its
business and how it treats the people it serves.

In recent months, Stadd has led numerous important NASA
initiatives, including “Freedom To Manage,” which is designed
to take a critical look at the agency’s rules, regulations
and procedures, and take steps to make the NASA workforce
more effective, efficient, and accountable. For the past 25
years, Stadd has worked in the private and public arenas with
a primary focus on identifying aerospace and high tech-
related market-driven opportunities. He has held senior
positions in the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S.
Department of Transportation and the White House.

During his career, Stadd has been associated with the
emergence of the commercial space transportation, satellite
remote sensing and commercial space research industry
sectors, along with the Global Positioning System. He has
also worked in various capacities with the aerospace
industry, including co-founding several satellite and space
transportation organizations.

“Courtney’s career has been dedicated to the advancement and
development of space,” concluded Administrator O’Keefe. ” His
insight and expertise and enthusiasm will be missed. I wish
him the best.”

In the late 1970s, Stadd was General Manager of the National
Space Institute (now called the National Space Society),
founded by space pioneer Wernher von Braun, which is
dedicated to promoting public support for the space program.

He has been honored with numerous awards, including the 2002
U.S. Space Foundation Certificate of Honor, the Washington
Space Business Roundtable’s Public Service Award, the 1994
American Astronautical Society’s Lloyd V. Berkner Award and
NASA’s highest honor The Distinguished Service Medal.