Jessica Morgan
NOAA NESDIS
Assistant Chief Data Officer (ACDO)
Silver Spring, MD
Jessica is the Assistant Chief Data Officer (ACDO) of the NOAA National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), a senior expert advisor on scientific data management, responsible for:leading technical direction to manage the agency’s inventory of satellite observational data derived data products, and archived data accessions; assessing, tracking, and reporting on compliance with Federal and agency data policy requirements; and promoting collaborative partnerships across agency programs, together with Federal, academic, and non-governmental stakeholders. As the Co-Chair of the NOAA Public Access to Research Results (
PARR) Plan Working Group, she is leading comprehensive policy development and future state architecture to increase agency capabilities to support open science and open data initiatives. As the Deputy of the NOAA Data Governance Committee (
DGC), she is committed to developing a robust governing body; consolidating new Federal and long-standing NOAA policies and procedures for scientific data and publications; and advancing enterprise funding initiatives to equitably and sustainably support data services and partnerships.She leverages 20 years promoting NOAA scientific data infrastructure, having led data curation of more than 50 biological, ecological, chemical, and physical oceanographic datasets; implementation of data policies and guidance to meet stakeholder needs by providing public access to intramural and grantee scientific datasets; development of the National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan strategic framework for long-term monitoring of biological, climate, and socioeconomic indicators of coral reefs; and implemented small-scale projects and large-scale programs, including development of project deliverables, formulation and execution of multi-million-dollar annual budgets, and compliance tracking and reporting.She is passionate about providing effective, sustainable, and innovative support to ensure equitable public access to the trove of NOAA’s scientific data assets, and championing strategic initiatives to build a diverse and inclusive data workforce.Background: Jessica received a B.S. in Biology from the College of William and Mary in 1997, and an M.S. in Marine Science from the College of William and Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science in 2003. In 2004, she began her career at NOAA and has worked extensively across its Line Offices; as an Oceanographer with the National Weather Service’s Ocean Prediction Center, an Operations Manager for NESDIS Coral Reef Watch, a Program Specialist for the National Ocean Service’s Coral Reef Conservation Program, the first Program Coordinator of its National Coral Reef Monitoring Program, and the first Data Officer of the National Ocean Service’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. She returned to NESDIS in 2022 as the Assistant Chief Data Officer in the Office of the Assistant Chief Information Officer for Satellites, and in 2023 established the NESDIS Enterprise Data Program.