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By NASA
The International and Space Law Practice Group (ISLPG) is responsible for providing legal advice and counsel regarding international matters at Headquarters and all NASA Centers. Some of the legal issues for which ISLPG is responsible include: international law, including space law; domestic law which may impact NASA’s international cooperation; issues involving the United Nations or other multilateral organizations; international trade; telecommunications and use of the radiofrequency spectrum; international aspects of commercialization; export control; and national security. ISLPG advises on negotiating, drafting, executing, and interpreting agreements, understandings, treaties and exchanges with all types of foreign entities (both commercial and governmental), including international organizations.
Contacts
Associate General Counsel:
Rebecca Bresnik
Attorney Staff:
David Balajthy
Bryan Diederich
David Lopez
Steven Mirmina
Brian Wessel
Organization and Leadership
Headquarters OGC Organization
OGC Leadership Directory— Contact Information for the Headquarters Leadership and Center Chief Counsels
Resources
International Law Resources OGC Disclaimer: The materials within this website do not constitute legal advice. For details read our disclaimer.
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By NASA
In its functional leadership role, the Acquisition and Integrity Program (AIP) supports policy-level interactions with other governmental agencies combating procurement fraud. This Program provides specialized guidance and advice to the Office of the Chief Counsel at NASA Field Centers regarding procurement fraud matters; advises on affirmative litigation in the recovery of monies resulting from fraudulent activity on behalf of the Agency; and develops and coordinates NASA legal policy in these areas.
As a functional office to the NASA Administrator, the Acquisition Integrity Program provides legal advice regarding suspected fraud and other related irregularities in the acquisition process, suspected criminal standards of conduct violations, suspension and debarment decisions, and administrative agreements; represents NASA in interagency meetings or bodies such as the Department of Defense Procurement Fraud Working Group, and the Interagency Suspension and Debarment Committee; answers correspondence for the Administrator concerning acquisition integrity matters; and responds to Congressional inquiries and proposed Federal Acquisition Regulation rules concerning procurement fraud related issues.
The Acquisition Integrity Program provides centralized services to organizations within NASA regarding the statutes, regulations, and policies governing fraud. The Program is responsible for ensuring that significant allegations of fraud on NASA contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, funding instruments, and other commitments of NASA, are identified, investigated, and prosecuted. Centralized services provided by the Program also include: case referrals for investigation; interface with investigative agencies, U.S. Attorney’s Offices, and the Justice Department; coordination of criminal, civil, contractual, and administrative remedies; Suspension and Debarment recommendations and corresponding Administrative Agreements; education and training of the NASA workforce to prevent, detect, and deter procurement fraud; and educational outreach to the private sector on procurement fraud related issues.
Contacts
Director:
Monica Aquino-Thieman
Tel: 202-358-2262
Management and Program Analyst:
Laura Donegan
Attorney Staff:
Robert Vogt, Western Region Coordinator
Vacant, Central Region Coordinator
Vacant, Eastern Region Coordinator
Organization and Leadership
Headquarters OGC Organization
OGC Leadership Directory— Contact Information for the Headquarters Leadership and Center Chief Counsels
Resources
Fraud Awareness Flyer
FAR Subpart 9.4, Suspension, Debarment and Ineligibility NASA FAR Supplement 1809.4 2 C.F.R. 180, Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension 2 C.F.R. 1880, NASA Nonprocurement Debarment and Suspension NASA Policy Directive 2086.1, Coordination of Remedies Related to Fraud and Corruption
OGC Disclaimer: The materials within this website do not constitute legal advice. For details read our disclaimer.
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By NASA
Of all the lessons learned throughout her NASA career, the importance of relationship and personal integrity is one that has been repeatedly reinforced for Stephanie Duchesne, a Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program (CLDP) project executive.
“Each person you work with has their own unique perspectives and concerns, and in order to solve a problem or resolve a conflict, it is critical that you try and understand where they are coming from and build trust that you will do what you say,” she said. “That has been true at all levels of my career. I’ve learned that I never had to be the smartest person in the room to be able to help bring out the best ideas of the team, ask the right questions, and come up with effective and efficient solutions – that it is the collective mind and cohesion of the team that really creates the best solutions.”
Stephanie Duchesne and her wife on a camping trip near Lake Livingston in Texas. Image courtesy of Stephanie Duchesne Based at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Duchesne has been part of CLDP since 2021, but her NASA career spans more than 20 years. She started in 2003 as a contractor for KBR Wyle Services, supporting the International Space Station Program as a biomedical engineering flight controller. She worked with the flight control and medical teams to address real-time anomalies and support crewmembers through key milestones and also spent seven months in Germany to help the ESA (European Space Agency) establish its own biomedical engineering flight controller program.
Duchesne then moved to the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) engineering team, where she worked with the fledgling Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program as an ECLSS integrator and managed the integration strategy between NASA and Russian ECLSS on the International Space Station. She also served as the lead system manager for emergency response, helping to develop the space station’s ammonia leak response and related hardware. Duchesne became a civil servant in 2017 when she was hired as a Mission Evaluation Room (MER) manager for the program’s Vehicle Office.
Stephanie Duchesne (center right) and fellow International Space Station Mission Evaluation Room (MER) managers enjoy a lighthearted moment as a team. Image courtesy of Stephanie Duchesne Duchesne said being a MER manager was a standout experience. “It was both humbling and inspiring to come to work every day knowing that I could pull from the best minds in the space industry to find a solution to any problem that came our way,” she said. Still, she is hard-pressed to identify a favorite role or project among her varied experiences. “I’ve been fortunate to work in a lot of different areas at NASA and experience perspectives that have all provided challenges, successes, and lessons learned.”
In her current role with CLDP, Duchesne applies her extensive space station experience to leading NASA’s Space Act Agreement with commercial space station developer Starlab Space. “I love being part of the future of low Earth orbit and being able to provide these new companies with lessons learned from my years working station and connecting our partners with all the knowledgeable subject matter experts at NASA,” she said. “It feels rewarding to help the commercial industry stand on our shoulders to do new great things.”
Beyond her technical work, Duchesne strives to provide an example to her colleagues by being her authentic self in the workplace and honoring those who do the same. “I think it is so important for all of us to create safe spaces for each person to bring their whole selves to what we’re trying to achieve,” she said. “People’s unique life experiences and backgrounds provide rich space for connection and different perspectives on problems that NASA is trying to solve.”
Duchesne takes pride in NASA’s celebration of diversity in the workplace, and the value the agency places on all team members being able to live and work openly and authentically. “I feel fortunate to work in a community where I’m able to live this value in front of my children, and all the younger generations, so that it is no longer considered exceptional, but expected in their future,” she said.
Outside of work, Duchesne enjoys spending time with her wife – who also works for NASA – and their three children. “We love family road trips which give us time to connect and be together. Our dog Aston is the real boss of the house and joins us on all of our adventures.”
Stephanie Duchesne (foreground, center) and her family during a visit to Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, on one of their family road trips.Image courtesy of Stephanie Duchesne She hopes to share with her children and other members of the Artemis Generation a love for exploring the unknown and the confidence to achieve greatness in their own ways. “I look forward to them taking the reins, using the unique skills and techniques they have honed in today’s world – which is different than the one we grew up in,” she said. “I know this next generation will continue to accomplish great things for our world and beyond doing it their way, with open mindedness, acceptance, and integrity. I hope they remain inspired by human ingenuity and the amazing things we can accomplish when we work together, while holding reverence and awe toward all that we don’t yet know.”
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By NASA
NASA has awarded contracts to six companies to supply liquid nitrogen and liquid oxygen in support of operations at agency centers and facilities across the United States. The indefinite-delivery/fixed-price contract runs from Monday, July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2029.
The awards and approximate maximum contract values are:
Air Products and Chemicals Inc., Allentown, Pennsylvania, $36.9 million Airgas USA LLC (South), Kennesaw, Georgia, $4.7 million Airgas USA LLC (Central), Tulsa, Oklahoma, $5.1 million Linde Inc., Danbury, Connecticut, $42.2 million Matheson Tri-Gas Inc., Warren, New Jersey, $1.8 million Messer LLC, Bridgewater, New Jersey, $62.3 million The total maximum delivery of liquid nitrogen, which NASA uses for pneumatic actuation, purging and inerting, pressurization, and cooling, will be about 656.8 tons, 30.4 million gallons, and 740,000 liters. The total maximum delivery of liquid oxygen, which is used as an oxidizer in cryogenic rocket engines, will be about 2.1 million gallons and 243,000 tons.
The commodities will support current and future aerospace flight, simulation, research, development, testing, and other operations at the following NASA centers and facilities: Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley; Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio; Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California; Johnson Space Center in Houston and White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, New Mexico; Kennedy Space Center in Florida; Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama; Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans; and Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
For more information about NASA programs and missions, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
-end-
Abbey Donaldson
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
abbey.a.donaldson@nasa.gov
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By NASA
As part of the legal functional management team, the General Law Practice Group provides leadership in the areas of ethics, fiscal law, environmental law, personnel and labor law, civil rights and equal employment law, information disclosure law, safety and security law, alien residence issues, memoranda of understanding and other agreements, and other administrative law matters in furtherance of NASA’s strategic goals.
The Practice Group provides staff to the Administrator by providing legal advice, representing the Administrator in litigation and administrative hearings, and performing special projects.
Finally, the Practice Group provides central services in the areas of legislation, litigation, adjudicating claims, and providing legal advice and review for Headquarters’ clients. In the area of legislation, we draft annual NASA authorization bills and other legislative proposals, review legislative proposals developed externally for legal sufficiency and agency-wide impacts, and review testimony and statements of Administration position for consistency with NASA policy and strategic goals. Staff of the Practice Group represents NASA in administrative and judicial litigation that arises from a Headquarters’ activity within our substantive areas of expertise. We also adjudicate claims arising from Headquarters’ activities. The Practice Group is responsible for managing NASA’s ethics program and at Headquarters we provide ethics training, review both public and confidential financial disclosure reports, and provide ethics counseling to employees.
Contacts
Associate General Counsel:
Katie Spear
Agency Counsel for Ethics:
Adam Greenstone
Paralegal Specialists:
Olivia Acosta
Victor Robinson
Attorney Staff:
Curtis Borland
Lawana Bryant
Bryan Diederich
Douglas Edgecomb
Griffin Farris
Shari Feinberg
Clevette Lee
Katie Spear
Gretchen Sosbee
Kathleen Teale
Dan Thomas
Organization and Leadership
Headquarters OGC Organization
OGC Leadership Directory— Contact Information for the Headquarters Leadership and Center Chief Counsels
Resources
Ethics Program and Resources
Ethics HQ Training Schedule Reimbursable In-Kind Travel How do I do this OGC Disclaimer: The materials within this website do not constitute legal advice. For details read our disclaimer.
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