Lisa Danielson is the Director of the Center for Space and Earth Science (CSES) and the NASA Program Manager for Discovery Science and New Missions at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She supports a vibrant portfolio of space science research and the CSES mission of coordinating research and fostering innovation in six scientific focus areas – astrophysics, space science, geophysics, planetary science, earth systems, and bioscience. Her center provides a gateway for collaborations with academic institutions in these science areas, provides external visibility and brings new ideas in these areas into Los Alamos, and acts as a catalyst for new projects in support of the laboratory’s mission.

Danielson spent the previous 15 years at NASA Johnson Space Center, first as a National Academy of Science Fellow, and then as a Jacobs contract professional staff member, most recently as Manager of Basic and Applied Research within the Science and Exploration Department (SED) on the Jacobs JETS contract. She was selected by Jacobs VPs in the Aerospace, Technology, Environment, and Nuclear line of business for the year-long intensive Leadership Development Program (LPD), during which she focused her Critical Activity project on interagency contracts, project management, and business acumen. Two prominent success of program development within SED were growth of student involvement and innovation. In response to a gap in legacy planning and workforce, she established a Jacobs Graduate Semester Internship program, which by its third year, grew to six students for the spring semester, three of whom were participants on the Minority Serving Institution partnership contract she completed with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She led the path for increasing innovation projects within her team, tripling the use of in-house innovation funds for pilot studies that led to successful proposals.

Finding a gap in available student and early career leadership and learning opportunities at JSC, she started a Career Development Seminar Series and founded a grassroots women’s career and outreach organization, Supporting Women at NASA (SWAN). In 2017 she was honored with the UNLV Graduate College Alumna of the Year award, in recognition of leaders who are having a positive impact in the world.