Laura Rochester is a lead in the Operations Support Office in the Procurement Office at NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Fla. Rochester is responsible for contract administration of the Joint Base Operations and Support Contract (J-BOSC). In this capacity, she is responsible for contract management of a joint contract with the United States Air Force, 45th Space Wing, administered by both NASA and Air Force personnel. In 1999, this contract won Vice President Al Gore's Hammer Award for innovation in government contracting.

Rochester has held numerous other positions in the procurement office. Among them, she was responsible for contract administration of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex during its $100MM renovation from 1995 through 2000, and served as a cost/price analyst in the Cost and Pricing Office from 1989 to 1992.

Rochester began her career as a public accountant doing tax and financial write-up work. She entered federal service in 1986 as an auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency, auditing NASA and DoD contracts. Rochester joined NASA in 1989 as a contract cost/price analyst. She became a contract specialist in 1992 and attained the highest level professional acquisition workforce certification status in 2000. Throughout her career, Rochester has received numerous honors and awards. In 2002, she was nominated by the Kennedy Procurement Office for the Agency's Contract Manager of the Year. She has received the noteworthy Silver Snoopy Award, the NASA Exceptional Achievement Medal, and a Superior Accomplishment Award.

Rochester was born on April 11, 1961, in Pittsburgh, Pa. She graduated from Merritt Island High School in Merritt Island, Fla., in 1979. She graduated from the University of Florida in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting. She has been a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Florida since 1988 and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She received a Master of Science degree in Management from Florida Tech in 1996.

February 2005