Dr. Jens Feeley, Executive Officer
Dr. Feeley is a public policy expert with experience in a broad range of activities related to space and Earth science. Since May 2007, he has been working in NASA’s Science Mission Directorate (SMD) as the acting Chief of Staff. In this capacity, he serves as a senior advisor to the Associate Administrator and Deputy Associate Administrator, and has responsibility for a wide range of sensitive assignments, special inquiries, and short-term projects.
Since 2004, Dr. Feeley also served as a Program Planning Specialist in SMD’s Management & Policy Division, where he is primarily responsible for SMD’s interagency, international, and history of science activities.
Prior to his current stint at NASA, Dr. Feeley worked as a Research Manager and Data Archivist at the University of Washington’s Center for American Politics & Public Policy in Seattle, WA. He led several research teams in analyzing US public policy, congressional processes, inter-governmental competition, public opinion, and presidential politics. He also coordinated a massive, cross-university program to create a working data set of all 379,000 public bills introduced in Congress from 1947-2002. Dr. Feeley also served as the Principal Investigator on a grant from the Dirksen Congressional Center, focused on legislative policy and processes. His dissertation research explored partisan politics in the modern Congress, and documented the limitations on partisan ambition that result from the governing responsibilities of the majority party.
Dr. Feeley previously worked at NASA Headquarters from 1987-1997. He held a number of policy positions in the Office of Space Station, Office of Space Science & Applications, and Office of Space Science. He was the Team Lead for Policy in the Office of Space Science, guiding a team of policy analysts involved in legislative, public affairs, educational, and international activities. He previously served as an international liaison officer for NASA’s Space Station program, the physical security manager for NASA’s 110,000 square foot facility in Reston, VA, and as a Contracting Officer’s Technical Representative (COTR) for an 8-A support contract. Dr. Feeley was also detailed to the House Government Operations Committee to assist with science and technology-related issues. Dr. Feeley has previously been a Pentagon intern, a high school geography teacher and a Presidential Management Fellow. He has received numerous merit awards, including the NASA Exceptional Performance Award.
Dr. Feeley's educational experience includes a Ph.D. in Political Science (American Politics & Public Policy) from the University of Washington, an M.A. in Government & International Studies (International Relations) from the University of Notre Dame, and a B.A. in Political Science (International Relations) from Rutgers University. His publications span a broad range of topics, including earthquake policy in the Western US, the history of legislative interest in science and technology policy, space policy and science communications; he is also the primary author of a congressional study on Foreign-Trade Zones (FTZs). Dr. Feeley is a recent graduate of the NASA Headquarters Dynamic Mentoring Program and the Council for Excellence in Government’s Fellowship program.
Dr. Feeley currently lives in Arlington, VA, with his lovely wife, Karen Adler Feeley. He is an avid family historian and a non-competitive racquetball player. He also enjoys fine dining, traveling, hiking, biking, snorkeling, white water rafting, and hanging out at the beach.