Gloria Johnson

Gloria Y. Johnson is the chief of the Workforce Management Office within the Engineering Directorate at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a position she has held since 2017. 

This office oversees all the employees who make up NASA Kennedy’s Engineering Directorate, mainly consisting of engineers who directly or indirectly support many of the agency’s cornerstone programs, including the Artemis campaign, Commercial Crew Program, and Launch Services Program. Johnson and her staff are responsible for assigning engineers to projects or needs. 

Experience

Prior to her current position, she was a deputy chief within various offices in the Engineering Directorate including the Office of Business Management and Office of Project Management.

For the first 12 years of her NASA career, Johnson served as an electrical engineer for the Space Shuttle Program. From there, she transitioned to the Resources Management Branch within NASA Kennedy Engineering, where she was a lead technical resources analyst for five years. She was promoted to Resources Management Branch chief in 2005, where she served an additional five years.

Johnson joined NASA in 1988 after working at General Electric Company for three years as an electrical engineer for the company’s Trident submarine program. 

Awards

Johnson has won a variety of awards in her time at NASA, including the NASA Engineering and Safety Center Excellence Award in 2022, the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 2005, and the agency’s Silver Dollar Award in 2003. 

Education

Johnson was born in Meridian, Mississippi, but grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She attended Tuskegee University in Alabama, where she received her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1985. 

Personal

Outside of NASA, she enjoys spending time with her two children and two grandchildren, traveling, reading, writing, line dancing, and playing card games. 

Biography created July 2025