Jeni Morrison Continues a Family Legacy of Service at NASA

[NASA]

A child of the Space Shuttle Program, Jeni Morrison grew up walking the grounds of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston with her parents and listening to family stories about human spaceflight. 

Now, with more than 15 years at NASA, Morrison serves as one of Johnson’s Environmental Programs managers. She ensures the center complies with laws that protect its resources by overseeing regulatory compliance for cultural and natural resources, stormwater and drinking water programs, and the National Environmental Policy Act. She also safeguards Johnson’s historic legacy as Johnson’s Cultural Resources manager. 

Jeni Morrison in the mall area at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, where employees often see local wildlife, including turtles, birds, deer, and the occasional alligator.

“I make sure our actions comply with the National Historic Preservation act, since the center is considered a historic district with two National Historic Landmarks onsite,” Morrison said. “I make sure we respect and document Johnson’s heritage while paving the way for new efforts and mission objectives.” 

Morrison takes pride in finding solutions that increase efficiency while protecting resources. One example was a project with Johnson’s Geographic Information System team to create an interactive material and chemical spill plan map. The new system helps responders quickly trace spill paths above and underground to deploy resources faster, reducing cleanup costs and minimizing environmental impacts. 

“Every improvement we make not only saves time and resources, but strengthens our ability to support NASA’s mission,” she said.  

By the very nature of our work, NASA makes history all the time. That history is important for all people, both to remember the sacrifices and accomplishments of so many, but also to ensure we don’t repeat mistakes as we strive for even bolder achievements.

Jeni Morrison

Environmental Program Manager

Jeni Morrison presents an overview of environmental compliance and center initiatives to employees at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 2014.

NASA/Lauren Harnett

For Morrison, success often comes down to teamwork. She has learned to adapt her style to colleagues’ needs to strengthen collaboration.  

“By making the effort to accommodate others’ communication styles and learn from different perspectives, we create better, more efficient work,” she said. “Thankfully, so many people here at NASA are willing to teach and to share their experiences.”  

Her message to the Artemis Generation is simple: Always keep learning! 

“You never know when a side conversation could give you an answer to a problem you are facing down the line,” she said. “You must be willing to ask questions and learn something new to find those connections.” 

Jeni Morrison (second from right) with the Biobased Coolant Project Team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in 2018. The team tested biobased metalworking coolants and identified a product that outperformed petroleum-based options, meeting flight hardware specifications while reducing waste disposal costs and labor hours.

Even as a young child visiting NASA Johnson, I could feel the sense of adventure, accomplishment, and the drive to reach new heights of human capability. I realize that those experiences gave me a fascination with learning and an inherent need to find ways to do things better.

jENI mORRISON

Environmental Program Manager

Her passion for learning and discovery connects to a family tradition at NASA. Her grandfather contributed to multiple Apollo missions, including helping solve the oxygen tank malfunction on Apollo 13. Her mother worked at the center transcribing astronaut recordings and writing proposals, and her father flew experiments aboard the space shuttle and International Space Station. Morrison’s sister and extended family also worked at Johnson.  

Now her son is growing up on the center grounds while attending the JSC Child Care Center. “As the fourth generation to be at Johnson, he is already talking about how he loves science and can’t wait to do his own experiments,” she said. 

For Morrison, carrying that family legacy forward through environmental stewardship is a privilege. “Being able to contribute to NASA’s mission through environmental compliance feels like the best of both worlds for me,” Morrison said. “It combines my love of science and NASA with my drive to find more efficient ways to operate while protecting this incredible site and everything it represents.” 

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