Jennifer C. Kunz
Deputy Director
Constellation Project Office
Jennifer C. Kunz was named the deputy director of the Kennedy Space Center Constellation Project Office of the NASA Constellation Program in November 2007. Her organization is responsible for the planning and development of the required facilities; ground systems; test and verification; logistics; and prelaunch, launch, and recovery operations for NASA's lunar/Mars human exploration program.
Prior to her current assignment, Kunz served as manager of the Operations and Integration Division, Constellation Project Office, where she was responsible for the operations concepts for the test, checkout, processing, launch and recovery of the Orion spacecraft and Ares launch vehicles, and detailed ground operations requirements documents to process Constellation elements at Kennedy.
Kunz's career with NASA began at Kennedy in 1991, and her experience spans three major NASA Programs: the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and most recently, the design and development of the new Constellation Program. Prior to joining the Constellation Project Office, Kunz served as the deputy director for operations in Kennedy's International Space Station (ISS) and Payload Processing Directorate. The directorate's responsibilities included launch site processing, testing and integration of ISS and payloads, and managing a workforce of approximately 1,000 civil servants and contractors. While in the ISS and Payload Processing Directorate, she held a variety of leadership and technical positions. From 2000-2002, she served as the Management and Past Performance Committee chair of the source evaluation board for the Checkout, Assembly, and Payload Processing Services (CAPPS) contract, a $1 billion operations contract. After contract award, she led the ISS Integration Branch and served as the initial CAPPS contracting officer's technical representative (COTR) and transition manager. Kunz also served as the deputy business manager, responsible for managing an annual $110 million budget.
NASA has rewarded Kunz's service with several distinguished awards, including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, Center Director's Strategic Leadership Award, seven Center Directors' Gold Dollar Awards, Kennedy's Certificate of Commendation, and several Kennedy Group Achievement Awards.
Kunz graduated from Choctawhatchee High School in Fort Walton Beach, Fla., and received a Bachelor of Science in industrial engineering from Auburn University in 1990. In 1994, she earned a Master of Science in engineering management from the University of Central Florida. Kunz currently resides in Merritt Island with her husband Dean, who also works for NASA at Kennedy Space Center, and their two children.
June 2008
Biographies - Current Employees