NxCAP Consulting, LLC
Mary C. Lester, Consultant
Mary Lester retired as the Deputy Director of the Center Operations Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field in Cleveland, Ohio with 34 years of NASA experience. In this role, she co-led and managed an organization of over 400 administrative and support personnel who contributed to human capital management, training and development, procurement, protective services, process improvement, external programs, logistics, metrology and technical information services.
Prior to this assignment, Ms. Lester served as Chief of Glenn’s Logistics and Technical Information Division and was responsible for managing a wide variety of institutional operations including Glenn’s history program, the imaging technology center, metrology, duplicating and transportation services, mail distribution, custodial and waste management, forms and records management, scientific and technical information management and the Glenn science and engineering library.
Ms. Lester began her NASA career at Glenn in 1980. She held a number of high-profile positions including Executive Officer for the Space Directorate, Documentation Manager for Space Station and Project Management Specialist for Launch Vehicles. Ms. Lester’s leadership was instrumental in establishing the critical documentation management system for Glenn’s participation in Space Station and the successful Ares I-X comprehensive transportation plan for the movement of critical space flight hardware. Throughout her career, Ms. Lester shared her expertise in support of numerous Center-wide teams to further the mission and goals of the Center in operations, culture, innovation, and safety.
Ms. Lester is a graduate of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and holds a master’s degree in business administration from Baldwin Wallace College in Berea, Ohio. She has received numerous commendations and prestigious awards including the NASA Exceptional Service Medal and two NASA Medals for Outstanding Leadership.