[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 18 (Friday, January 27, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E67]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





  CONGRATULATING VANESSA WYCHE, DIRECTOR OF NASA JOHNSON SPACE CENTER

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 27, 2023

  Mr. BABIN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to congratulate an exceptional 
public servant. NASA Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche, on 
receiving the prestigious Quasar Award for Economic Development 
Excellence from the Bay Area Houston Economic Partnership (BAHEP). 
BAHEP presents its renowned Quasar Award to an outstanding elected 
official or business leader who has demonstrated a strong and continual 
effort to support the business foundations of the greater Bay Area 
Houston communities.
  Serving as the 13th Director of Johnson Space Center (JSC), Vanessa 
Wyche oversees the home of America's astronaut corps, Mission Control 
Center, International Space Station, Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, Orion 
and Gateway programs, and the more than 11,000 civil servants and 
contractors in Houston and the White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, 
New Mexico. Among her many responsibilities, Wyche manages a broad 
range of human spaceflight activities, including the development and 
operation of human spacecraft, commercialization of low-Earth orbit, 
and JSC's role in landing the next American on the surface of the Moon. 
Under her leadership, JSC was recognized by Forbes and Statista as the 
number one best employer among Texas' major employers.
  Vanessa previously served as deputy director at JSC for 3 years, 
starting in 2018. Her previous leadership positions include assistant 
and acting deputy director of JSC, director of the Exploration 
Integration and Science Directorate, flight manager of several missions 
of the Space Shuttle Program, executive officer in the Office of the 
NASA Administrator, and led several other center-level technical and 
program organizations. Prior to joining NASA, Vanessa worked for the 
Food and Drug Administration in Washington, D.C.
  Director Wyche is a native of South Carolina. where she earned a 
Bachelor of Science in Engineering and a Master of Science in 
Bioengineering from Clemson University. In 2019, she was inducted into 
the Thomas Green Clemson Academy of Engineers and Scientists at Clemson 
University. As a dedicated advocate for science, technology, 
engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, Vanessa serves as a 
member of Clemson University's College of Engineering, Computing and 
Applied Sciences advisory board, the University of Houston's C. T. 
Bauer College of Business advisory panel, and is a past chair of the 
Space Center Houston board of directors. Additionally, she received an 
Honorary Doctorate of Science degree from Coastal Carolina University 
in 2022.
  Throughout her distinguished career, Vanessa bas been recognized for 
her outstanding service. She is the recipient of the Presidential Rank 
Award, 2 NASA Outstanding Leadership Medals, 2 NASA Achievement Medals, 
a JSC Innovation award, a Woman at NASA award, a Rotary Stellar 
Nomination, a national Women Worth Watching honoree, and a Coastal 
Carolina University Inspiring Woman nomination. Vanessa is an American 
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Associate Fellow and 
completed the International Women's Forum Fellows Program.
  Vanessa Wyche is married to George Wyche Jr., Esq., and has one son, 
George Wyche III.
  It is a distinct honor to congratulate my friend, Vanessa Wyche, for 
receiving the esteemed Quasar Award. She is an outstanding leader who 
has served both the Bay Area and America's space program exceptionally. 
I look forward to our continued work to take us back to the Moon, and 
in the near future, Mars. Onward and upward.

                          ____________________