Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan is a distinguished American geologist and a former NASA astronaut. Born on October 3, 1951, in Paterson, New Jersey, she became the first American woman to walk in space on October 11, 1984, during the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G. Sullivan's academic background includes a bachelor's degree in Earth sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Ph.D. in geology from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Lisa plays a pivotal role in managing major incident responses within the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. From July 2016 to September 2018, Lisa held the position of Deputy Superintendent at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Prior to that, she served as the Damage Assessment and Resource Protection Coordinator for NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries since 1998. In this capacity, Lisa was in charge of system-wide coordination for contingency planning, emergency response, damage assessment, restoration, and enforcement efforts.