Doug Whiteley is the Division Chief of the Research to Operations and Project Planning Division (ROPPD). As Chief of ROPPD, Doug oversees pre-formulation and early formulation for new satellite systems as well as the execution of studies for project alternatives, such as foreign partnerships leveraging data and/or instrument exchanges, small-sats, payload hosting, commercial alternatives, and technology maturation to identify specific potential solutions to NESDIS top-level requirements.

Eddie Bernard, born in 1946 in Houston, Texas, is a renowned tsunami expert with a significant career at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Raised in Beaumont, Texas, Bernard's family history traces back to their migration from Canada to Louisiana. His early interest in science and natural disasters, particularly tsunamis, propelled him towards a career in oceanography. Influenced by his high school teachers, Bernard pursued higher education at Lamar University, where he cultivated his passion for oceanography and met his future wife.

Dr. Edward Johnson was born in Columbus, Georgia, in 1950.  Johnson attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his undergraduate and graduate education, earning his PhD in Civil Engineering in 1978.  He came to work for the National Weather Service Office of Hydrology, Hydrologic Research Laboratory as a research hydrologist in 1978.  In 1999, Mr. Johnson served as director of Strategic Planning and Policy for the National Weather Service and retired in 2015.  

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Dr. Ed Rappaport was born in 1957 in Southern California. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington.  Ed then received his Ph.D. with an emphasis in Atmospheric Science from Texas Tech University.  Dr. Rappaport began at NHC as a post-doctoral fellow for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Dr. Elbert "Joe" Friday, Jr. was born in De Queen, Arkansas, in 1939.  Elbert graduated from high school in Midwest City, Oklahoma, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he studied engineering physics and graduated in 1961.  Upon graduation, Joe received his commission as 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force and went on to complete his master's and PhD in meteorology from the University of Oklahoma.  Friday served for 20 years in the Air Force, including a tour in Vietnam as Weather Detachment Commander.

Gary Shigenaka is a third-generation Japanese American born and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois.  During World War II, Gary's father, other relatives, and over 100,000 other Japanese Americans were forcibly relocated and incarcerated in internment camps. Following the war, Gary's father and mother moved to Chicago's suburbs, where Gary grew up.  Gary studied oceanography at the University of Washington, graduating in 1976.

Helen joined the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1988 as Director of the Office of Satellite Data Processing and Distribution, in the NOAA Satellite and Information Service.  For more than 15 years she directed the operation of a space and Earth-based system that processed and distributed real-time data gathered by NOAA and other environmental satellites to support activities such as weather forecasting, ocean and climate monitoring, and satellite-assisted search and rescue. 

Dr. James McFadden was born in Winchester, Virginia, in 1934.  He graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and graduated with a degree in geology.  In 1960, James was offered a research assistantship at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's meteorology program.  He spent five years in Madison and earned his PhD in meteorology.  In 1965, McFadden came to work for the Environmental Science Services Administration's Sea-Air Laboratory, part of the Office of Meteorological Research in Washington, D.C. as a research scientist.

Dr. Jeanette Davis is a Marine Microbiologist who currently serves at NOAA Fisheries in the Office of Policy  where she conducts research and provides support on programs and policies regarding resources in the ocean. Dr. Davis was first exposed to the marine environment as a student at Hampton University during an internship where she lived on a 53-foot sailboat for a month, exploring the Chesapeake Bay. She earned a B.S. in Marine and Environmental Science from Hampton University and a PhD. in Marine Microbiology from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Dr. Jerome "Nick" Heffter served as a research meteorologist at OAR's Air Resources Lab. He was a pioneer in modeling the dispersion of nuclear radiation and other atmospheric pollutants during the Cold War.  Nick tracked the release of nuclear radiation from Chernobyl in 1986 and reported it to US leaders before Russia informed the world of what is considered the worst nuclear accident in world history.  Currently, Nick is retired from NOAA, but works as a contractor at the Air Resources Lab.

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