BAKER SELECTED AS NEW DEPUTY ASSISTANT ADMINISTRATOR
FOR NOAA’S SATELLITE AND INFORMATION SERVICE

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently named Charles S. Baker the new deputy assistant administrator of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service. Baker, who had been the chief financial officer and chief administrative officer for NESDIS since April 2004, will help manage a wide range of operations, including oversight of NOAA’s current satellites, plans for future NOAA satellite systems, and the agency’s climate, oceanographic and geophysical data gathering.

“We are fortunate to have someone of Charlie’s caliber because he has a deep understanding of both the financial and operational aspects of NESDIS,” said Mary E. Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service. “He is bringing vital expertise to this position that will be a major benefit to the NOAA satellite program.”

As CFO and CAO, Baker managed the budget for NESDIS programs, operations and acquisitions, and oversaw the agency’s strategic planning, Congressional affairs, workforce management, facilities and property accounting. Before coming to NOAA in 2004, Baker served in the Investment Division of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), for 13 years as a budget examiner and for four years as associate director. He developed financial solutions to complex, publicly visible programs, including the Navy and Marine Corps Intranet, the proposed lease of 100 Aerial Refueling Tankers, and modernization of the interagency NAVSTAR Global Positioning System. Following the events of September 11, 2001, Baker managed the investment funding for the Global War on Terrorism, Homeland Defense, and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

“I am honored to be able to serve NOAA in this role, and look forward to continuing to be a part of this terrific team, supporting the NOAA mission,” Baker said. A native of Washington, D.C., Baker received his bachelor’s of arts degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service: http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov