National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Council Member: Charles F. Bolden, Jr., NASA Administrator
Council Designee: Rebecca Keiser, Executive Officer to the Deputy Administrator, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Council Designee: Brenda Manuel, Assistant Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Ms. Brenda R. Manuel, the National Aeronautics and Space (NASA) Assistant Administrator for Diversity and Equal Opportunity, is responsible for developing and directing the Agency’s equal opportunity, civil rights compliance, and diversity strategies, programs, and processes. In this capacity, Ms. Manuel establishes Agency-wide policies on diversity and equal opportunity to ensure statutory, regulatory, and fiduciary compliance with internal and external equal opportunity laws; and ensures consistency of approach to improve functional performance across the Agency and create an open and inclusive workplace.
She has also implemented a fully realized external civil rights enforcement program, including an unprecedented Title IX onsite compliance review program for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The Title IX program, and other external civil rights programs, e.g., Title VI, is designed to provide NASA grant recipients with a balanced approach to compliance, including meaningful technical assistance, program assessments, and identification of promising practices.
As a former senior executive at NASA, Ms. Manuel served as acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Equal Opportunity Programs and Director of the Discrimination Complaints Division.
During her tenure with NASA, Ms. Manuel has also served as a Program Director and faculty member for the Public Administration Forum, a non-profit organization specializing in employment law training conferences for federal and public sector managers, attorneys, and Equal Employment Opportunity and human resources subject matter specialists.
Ms. Manuel has also been a practicing attorney with the law firm of Anderson and O’Bryant, where she handled civil actions and medical malpractice litigation.
Ms. Manuel holds a bachelor's degree in business management from Howard University, Washington, and juris doctor degree from George Washington University Law Center, Washington. D.C.
Council Designee: Toni Dawsey, Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Management and NASA’s Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO)
Toni Dawsey is the Assistant Administrator for Human Capital Management and NASA’s Chief Human Capital Officer. As the AA and CHCO, Ms. Dawsey has stewardship responsibility for NASA’s civil service workforce, much as the Chief Information Officer and Chief Financial Officer do for information and fiscal resources. She is responsible for setting the Agency’s workforce development strategy; assessing workforce characteristics and future needs based on the Agency’s mission and strategic plan; aligning the Agency’s human resources policies and programs with organizational mission, strategic goals, and performance outcomes; developing and advocating a culture of continuous learning to attract and retain employees with superior abilities; identifying best practices and benchmarking studies; and serving as a member of the Office of Personnel Management-led Chief Human Capital Officers Council.
Ms. Dawsey joined NASA in April 2004, returning to Federal service from early retirement to serve as the Director of the Agency Human Resources Division within the Office of Human Capital Management. In her role as Director, she was responsible for establishing a broad range of Agency-wide human resources programs.
During her previous Federal career, Ms. Dawsey developed an extensive background in all aspects of human resources (HR) management while holding HR specialist and manager positions at the Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary; Department of Agriculture; NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center; and the Federal Trade Commission. Her experience also included positions of increasing responsibility in the Office of the Inspector General, Department of Transportation. From 1993 to 1995, she served as Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Inspections and Evaluations, Department of Transportation, where she directed a staff in providing independent and objective inspections and evaluations of the Department’s programs and operations to detect fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement.
Ms. Dawsey received her B.A. from the University of Maryland.
