Vanessa Wyche

Vanessa Wyche joined the Houston Branch board in 2025.

Wyche is director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, a position she has held since 2021. She is responsible for a broad range of human spaceflight activities, including development and operation of human spacecraft, NASA astronaut selection and training, and mission control. Wyche also has served as director of the Exploration Integration and Science Directorate at the Johnson Space Center, as well as flight manager for the Space Shuttle Program, director of Operations and Test Integration in the Constellation Program, and acting director of the Human Exploration Development Support Directorate.

Before joining NASA in 1989, Wyche worked for the Food and Drug Administration.

Wyche serves as a trustee of the American Institute of Physics Foundation.  She is a member of the National Academy of Engineering, an associate fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a fellow alumnus of the International Women’s Forum.

She has numerous awards and recognitions, notably the Presidential Rank Award, two NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals, and two NASA Achievement Medals.

Wyche received a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and Master of Science degree in bioengineering, both from Clemson University.