Sondra Woodward

Title: Communications Strategist (contractor)
Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate (SACD)

Sondra is a Communications Strategist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, where she manages internal and external communications for the Systems Analysis and Concepts Directorate (SACD).

With more than 20 years of experience in strategic communications and media relations, she helps share NASA’s cutting-edge aerospace research with the world through compelling storytelling, strategic media engagement, and content creation across multiple platforms.

In her role at NASA, Sondra crafts messaging and communications strategies to support NASA missions and programs, coaches engineers on presentation skills, and assists with creating technical presentations and outreach materials for diverse audiences. Her work earned NASA’s Silver Achievement Medal in 2024 for excellence in implementing organizational communication strategies.

Before joining NASA in 2022, Sondra served as Public Relations Coordinator for Virginia Beach City Public Schools, where she led communications during critical moments, including the COVID-19 pandemic, a mass shooting, and a contaminated drinking-water crisis. Prior to that, she spent nearly 15 years with NPR affiliate WHRO Public Media, producing and hosting local segments of Morning Edition and creating content that connected Hampton Roads communities to important stories.

Sondra holds a BA in Linguistics from William & Mary. Her diverse background also includes serving a full apprenticeship and earning journeyman shoemaker status at Colonial Williamsburg, where she also researched and published work on women in 18th-century trades.

Whether explaining complex aerospace concepts or navigating crisis communications, she is passionate about making information accessible and engaging for everyone.

Sondra shares her home with four lagomorphs, a cockatoo, and a science-writer husband. She takes pictures, watches movies, and hunts for sea glass.