HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Alfrica L. Jones, a native of Huntsville, Ala., and a program specialist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, has received a Federal Women’s Program Outstanding Achievement Award for exceptional administrative service to the Marshall Center and the U.S. space program.
The award was presented by the Team Redstone Federal Women’s Program, which includes the Marshall Center and the U.S. Army Garrison at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. The annual awards recognize outstanding federal employees in professional, administrative, supervisory and clerical positions.
Jones is a program specialist in the Resource Management Office in the Marshall Center’s Engineering Directorate. She manages administrative operations and human resources functions in the directorate, assigns and coordinates work, provides analytical data to the director and serves as liaison to organizations across Marshall on administrative matters.
“Nobody is more deserving of this award than Alfrica,” said Terry Hopper, Jones’ manager and supervisor of the Resource Management Office. “She exemplifies the attributes of excellence and teamwork, and always demonstrates a ‘do-whatever-it-takes’ attitude to help the directorate and the Marshall Center achieve its mission.”
“Never in my wildest dreams did I envision working at NASA,” Jones said. “I’m honored and grateful to be part of a talented, diverse team that is making significant contributions to science and engineering.”
Jones began her NASA career at the Marshall Center in 1976 as a student aide in the Space Shuttle Propulsion Project’s External Tank Office. She joined the center full-time in 1980, as a clerk typist in the Science and Engineering Directorate.
She was promoted in 1987 to administrative assistant; in 1989 to administrative officer; and in 2000 to operations support specialist. She assumed her current position in 2005.
Jones, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and management from Athens State College in Athens, Ala., in 1989, has received nearly two-dozen honors and awards in her career. In 2008, she was a Space Flight Awareness Honoree — an honor given by NASA to employees whose dedication to quality work and mission safety go above and beyond the call of duty.
Also in 2008, she was a recipient of the Engineering Director’s Award for significant contributions to the directorate and commitment to excellence in all duties supporting the Marshall Center and NASA. Jones also holds a Silver Snoopy Award, presented in 1988 by the Astronaut Corps for her contributions to the success of the Space Shuttle Program.
Jones resides in Huntsville.
