NASA AI Readiness Iniative

The Challenge

As part of NASA’s digital transformation efforts, I led the AI-Readiness Initiative, a cross-agency effort designed to assess NASA’s capabilities, challenges, and strategic priorities for artificial intelligence adoption. While individual teams were experimenting with AI applications, there was no unified framework for evaluating AI maturity, assessing risks, or identifying gaps in adoption. Leadership, including the Chief AI Officer (CAIO) and the Chief Information Officer (CIO), needed clarity on where NASA stood, what barriers were limiting progress, and how to strategically invest in AI initiatives that would deliver measurable impact.

The Approach

To address this, I designed and facilitated a series of high-stakes workshops and research-driven discussions with NASA’s key stakeholders, bringing together technical teams, mission leaders, policymakers, and executives. These engagements were structured to move beyond theoretical discussions and establish a concrete, actionable framework for AI adoption.

Through expert facilitation and human-centered methodologies, I guided NASA leadership in defining an AI strategy, aligning investment priorities, and surfacing policy, technical, and ethical challenges that could slow down progress. The initiative focused on creating a shared understanding of AI readiness, breaking down silos between teams, and ensuring that AI initiatives aligned with both operational needs and long-term mission goals.

The Impact

The results of this initiative were immediate and far-reaching. The findings and outcomes directly informed NASA’s AI investment decisions, shaping how resources would be allocated and prioritized across the agency. In addition to influencing funding strategies, I developed NASA’s first AI-Readiness framework, providing leadership with a structured, repeatable process for assessing AI maturity and guiding strategic decision-making.

By defining concrete pathways for AI implementation, the initiative helped de-risk AI adoption, ensuring that NASA’s approach was not only ambitious but also grounded in practical feasibility. This work also created alignment across departments, allowing technical teams and leadership to collaborate more effectively and make data-driven decisions about AI development.

Why It Matters

AI is becoming a foundational capability in space exploration, automation, and scientific discovery, but without a structured approach to implementation, organizations risk investing in technology without clear impact. By applying human-centered strategy and facilitation, I helped NASA turn AI readiness from an abstract concept into an actionable strategy. This initiative ensured that AI investments were purposeful, scalable, and aligned with the agency’s broader mission, setting a foundation for the next generation of AI-driven innovation at NASA.