NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

David S. Weaver, NASA Associate Administrator for the Office of Communications
Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls. David Weaver became NASA's associate administrator for the Office of Communications on July 18, 2010. Weaver is a senior public administration professional with 25 years of experience in government, politics, media relations and public policy.

At NASA, Weaver directs internal and external communications for the agency and serves as a senior advisor to NASA leadership. He is responsible for managing an agency-wide staff of 350 that implements all aspects of NASA's external and internal communications.

The Office of Communications organizes news conferences and other media briefings, public ceremonies and special exhibits, and oversees the activities of NASA's speaker's bureau, Public Inquiries Management Office, Freedom of Information Act Office, fine arts program, public tours and visitor centers.

Under Weaver's direction, NASA's Office of Communications also produces content for the agency's Internet homepage, www.nasa.gov, and NASA Television; prepares and distributes print and broadcast news releases, brochures, and speeches for the NASA administrator and deputy administrator; makes video and photographic records of NASA mission activities and special events; and drafts internal publications.

Immediately prior to coming to NASA, Weaver was the chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., where he oversaw the congressman’s personal and district office staff and budget. He ran the office's legislative, communications, scheduling and constituent services operations and served as a senior adviser to Van Hollen, who was a member of the House’s leadership.

Previously, Weaver served as the chief of staff to Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, helping to manage a 1,100-person, $120-million agency, and serving as a senior adviser to the state’s chief fiscal officer. He also was responsible for the office’s communications, personnel, scheduling and intergovernmental relations operations, and the comptroller’s personal staff.

For 12 years, Weaver served as the director of the Office of Public Information for Maryland's most populous jurisdiction, Montgomery County. He was the principal spokesman for County Executive Douglas M. Duncan and two dozen departments and agencies. He also was responsible for the development and implementation of the county’s overall communications strategy and oversaw the organization’s media relations staff, website content, and programming on the county's cable television channel.

Weaver also served as press secretary to former U.S. Rep. Robert Torricelli. He worked for former White House Press Secretary James S. Brady and his wife Sarah at the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence (formerly Handgun Control, Inc.), where he served as the assistant director for state legislation. At the Brady Center, he directed lobbying and communications activities in state legislatures across the country and on Capitol Hill. Weaver also served as a legislative aide for Vice President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., when Biden served as a U.S. senator. He also worked with the polling firm of Garin-Hart Research.

Weaver earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland. He lives in Silver Spring, Md., with his wife and two children.

July 2010