Establishing OTPS as a Credible Think Tank Supporting NASA's Mission

NASA's Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy was established by the Biden administration in October 2021 to provide NASA senior leadership with strategic advice through independent assessments and rigorous analysis. As a new office within the agency, one of my primary roles was to communicate the importance of our work to both NASA employees and the public. Since much of our work took months or even years to complete, the annual report became an essential tool for telling the full story of OTPS' impact.

Each year, I led the development of the office's annual report, working with project leads, executive leadership, and a graphic designer to transform dozens of complex initiatives into a cohesive narrative. I wasn’t there to simply summarize project updates. I was there to uncover the common thread that connected them and demonstrate how each contributed to NASA's mission.

I began by meeting with leadership to understand what they wanted the report to accomplish. Together, we identified the themes that best represented the office's priorities. From there, I worked with project leads across OTPS to translate highly technical work into language that remained accurate while becoming accessible to a much broader audience. Every decision, from the flow of the report to the selection of visuals, reflected the themes leadership wanted readers to understand.

As OTPS evolved, so did the reports. What began as a conservative publication designed to establish credibility became a richer visual experience that reflected the confidence and maturity of the office. I also co-led the agency chief technologist's annual report, helping guide a parallel publication through an accelerated timeline while ensuring consistency in quality, messaging, and design. 

One of the most rewarding moments came later, when an incoming associate administrator told me she used the annual report to familiarize herself with OTPS before stepping into the role. To me, that represented success. The report was more than a record of accomplishments. It became a tool that helped people understand the office, its mission, and why its work mattered.