Bolden and Garver Confirmed by U.S. Senate

July 15, 2009

Michael Cabbage
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600

RELEASE: 09-165

BOLDEN AND GARVER CONFIRMED BY U.S. SENATE

WASHINGTON -- Charles Frank Bolden, Jr., was confirmed by the U.S.
Senate on Wednesday as the twelfth administrator of the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration. Lori Beth Garver was confirmed
as NASA's deputy administrator.

As administrator, Bolden will lead the NASA team and manage its
resources to advance the agency's missions and goals.

"It is an honor to have been nominated by President Obama and
confirmed by the Senate to lead this great NASA team," Bolden said.
"Today, we have to choose. Either we can invest in building on our
hard-earned world technological leadership or we can abandon this
commitment, ceding it to other nations who are working diligently to
push the frontiers of space."

"If we choose to lead, we must build on our investment in the
International Space Station, accelerate development of our next
generation launch systems to enable expansion of human exploration,
enhance NASA's capability to study Earth's environment, lead space
science to new achievements, continue cutting-edge aeronautics
research, support the innovation of American entrepreneurs, and
inspire a rising generation of boys and girls to seek careers in
science, technology, engineering and math."

Bolden's confirmation marks the beginning of his second stint with
NASA. His 34-year career with the Marine Corps included 14 years as a
member of NASA's Astronaut Office. After joining the office in 1980,
he traveled to orbit four times aboard the space shuttle between 1986
and 1994, commanding two of the missions. His flights included
deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope and the first joint
U.S.-Russian shuttle mission, which featured a cosmonaut as a member
of his crew.

During his astronaut career, Bolden also drew technical assignments
as
the Astronaut Office safety officer; technical assistant to the
director of Flight Crew Operations; special assistant to the director
of the Johnson Space Center; chief of the Safety Division at Johnson
(overseeing safety efforts for the return to flight after the 1986
Challenger accident); lead astronaut for vehicle test and checkout at
the Kennedy Space Center; and assistant deputy administrator at NASA
Headquarters. He was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in
May 2006.

Immediately prior to Bolden's nomination for the NASA administrator's
job, he was employed as the chief executive officer of JACKandPANTHER
LLC, a small business enterprise providing leadership, military and
aerospace consulting, and motivational speaking. A resident of
Houston, the 62-year-old South Carolina native earned a bachelor of
science degree in electrical science from the U.S. Naval Academy in
1968. He completed flight training in 1970 and became a naval
aviator, serving as a combat pilot in Southeast Asia and later, as a
test pilot. Bolden retired from the Marine Corps in 2003 with the
rank of major general.

Like Bolden, Garver's confirmation as deputy administrator marks the
second time she has worked for NASA. Her first stint at the agency
was from 1996 to 2001. Initially, she served as a special assistant
to the NASA administrator and senior policy analyst for the Office of
Policy and Plans, before becoming the associate administrator for the
Office of Policy and Plans. Reporting to the NASA administrator, she
oversaw the analysis, development and integration of policies and
long-range plans, the NASA Strategic Management System, and the NASA
Advisory Council.

As deputy administrator, Garver will be NASA's second in command. She
is responsible to the administrator for providing overall leadership,
planning, and policy direction for the agency. Garver will represent
NASA to the Executive Office of the President, Congress, heads of
government agencies, international organizations, and external
organizations and communities. She also will oversee the work of
NASA's functional offices, including the Office of the Chief
Financial Officer, Office of General Counsel and Office of Strategic
Communications.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to serve under Charlie
Bolden's leadership," Garver said. "My previous five years at NASA
exposed me to the incredible talent of the workforce there. The
unbelievable achievements of this team over its 50-year history are
unmatched. I look forward to working with Charlie and the NASA team
to make our agency work as effectively as it can for the American
people."
A 48-year-old Michigan native, Garver earned a bachelor's degree in
political science and economics from Colorado College in 1983. Her
focus immediately turned to space when she accepted a job working for
Sen. John Glenn from 1983 to 1984. She since has served in a variety
of senior roles in the nonprofit, government and commercial sectors.

From January 2001 until her nomination as NASA's deputy administrator,
Garver was a full-time consultant as the president of Capital Space,
LLC, and senior advisor for space at the Avascent Group. In these
roles, she provided strategic planning, technology feasibility
research and business development assistance, as well as merger,
acquisition and strategic alliance support, to financial institutions
and Fortune 500 companies.

For a detailed biography of Bolden, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/bolden_bio.html

For a detailed biography of Garver, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/garver_bio.html

For more information about NASA and agency programs on the Internet,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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