Leadership
Tiffany L. Smith
NASA Chief Knowledge Officer and APPEL Knowledge Services Director
As Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO), Ms. Smith leads agency-wide initiatives to ensure that NASA’s technical workforce has access to the critical knowledge needed for mission success. She is responsible for encouraging practices to build, develop, and sustain an organizational culture that benefits from the principles of knowledge management. Ms. Smith also serves as Director of NASA’s Academy of Program/Project & Engineering Leadership (APPEL), which provides essential learning and development opportunities to advance NASA’s technical workforce expertise and capabilities.
Ms. Smith previously served as the CKO for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD). In that role, she was responsible for developing, implementing, and managing a variety of innovative multi-disciplinary processes, mechanisms, and platforms to encourage the identification, sharing, retention, and application of knowledge across the NASA aeronautics workforce. She also managed ARMD’s IT systems and cyber security requirements in coordination with NASA Research Centers and led performance analysis and reporting as well as digital transformation activities for ARMD.
Prior to joining NASA, Ms. Smith served with the U.S. Department of State in various assignments, including leading the Department’s Enterprise Data Quality Initiative; developing capabilities for data governance, data analytics, electronic records management, and digital collaboration; and overseeing agency-wide knowledge management programs. She also served in detail assignments with the Office of Management and Budget and the General Services Administration, and she began her federal government career with the U.S. Army at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama. Ms. Smith has published research and served as an invited speaker at national and international meetings on knowledge management, digital collaboration, and social epistemology. She has been recognized by NASA with awards for her service and received Department of State Meritorious and Superior Honor Awards and industry recognition for her work.
Ms. Smith earned a B.A. from Fordham University, M.S. in Library and Information Science from the Catholic University of America, and M.S. in Science and Technology Studies from Virginia Tech. She resides in Virginia with her husband and son.
