Dan "Danno" Carpenter

A recognized and lauded leader, Dan's career and academic studies include a rich background in public affairs, media relations, social media, employee communications, crisis communications, government, management, and organizational change. He is the director of public affairs for NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. After beginning his professional career as an infantry officer in the Marines, a move into public affairs allowed him to use his creative juices and skills to tell the Marine Corps story in many locations, e.g., Norway, Persian Gulf, Thailand, Japan, and Australia. He directed the Marine Corps' largest public affairs office on Okinawa from 1996-1998, interacting with media throughout the Pacific Rim. While a Marine, he co-authored and edited the doctrinal publication: Marine Corps Public Affairs (MCWP 3-33.3). Dan's innovative leadership was most tested during his stint as the director of public affairs at NASA's Johnson Space Center. As the leader of more than 70 professionals, his duties included: strategic communications, media relations, community events and outreach, video and TV production, three Web sites, employee communications, and government affairs. Significantly, he guided the Space Center's communications through national media scrutiny, employee communications challenges, and community relations issues during the Space Shuttle Columbia accident and investigation in 2003. Dan and his team were recognized by various organizations for their response to the Space Shuttle Columbia accident; among these was the Houston Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America naming him its Public Relations Professional for 2004. He has served as the director of corporate communications for Lam Research Corp, as director of public affairs for the Defense Language Insittute Foreign Language Center/Presidio of Monterey, and led three Marine Corps public affairs offices.

A native of Boonville, Missouri, Dan earned a B.A. in Radio-Television Broadcasting from the University of Mississippi, an M.S. in Information Technology Management from the Naval Postgraduate School, and a Master in Public Administration from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. He is a two-time graduate of the Department of Defense Information School and completed a graduate-level communications certificate course at the Un