Kathleen Fontaine

Kathy comes to RDA from just over 20 years at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (early on as a contractor; most recently as a civil servant), having done a variety of things including data policy, spacecraft system trade studies, and a variety of project and program work. Her professional and research interests include international organizations and their cultures, developing and implementing policies, and the intricacies of volunteer organizations. Kathy was extensively involved in several international and intergovernmental organizations whose focus was on open sharing of Earth observations data. She participated in the Committee on Earth Observations Satellites (CEOS) Working Group on Information Systems and Services (WGISS); in the Group on Earth Observations (GEO); and in the US interagency US Group on Earth Observations (USGEO). Just prior to becoming a professor, Kathy served as the Managing Director for RDA/US. Kathy welcomes this jump into the academic world to help RDA achieve its goals both nationally, regionally, and internationally.