OFFICE OF GEOSTATIONARY EARTH ORBIT OBSERVATIONS TEAM (Click the team photo for high-resolution version)

Edward Grigsby, DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF GEOSTATIONARY EARTH ORBIT OBSERVATIONS, NOAA

Edward Grigsby serves as the director of the Office of Geostationary Earth Orbit Observations. In this role, Grigsby oversees the development, acquisition, integration, installation, and acceptance of major system elements (spacecraft, instruments, launch services and ground systems) for NOAA’s geostationary satellite program.

Previously, Grigsby was the director of Systems Architecture and Engineering at NESDIS. Prior to joining NOAA in May 2023, Grigsby served in a variety of leadership roles for NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and the commercial aerospace sector.

At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Grigsby served as deputy system program director for the GOES-R and GeoXO program, where since 2016 he supported the formulation of NOAA’s geosynchronous satellites. For six years prior, as GOES-R Program Systems Engineering Lead, Grigsby oversaw all technical aspects of that mission, including program mission systems integration, engineering processes and products for that mission.

Earlier in his career, Grigsby developed his technical and engineering leadership abilities serving in a series of roles overseeing mission, program and instrument development. Those included positions as NASA Earth System Science Pathfinder Program Director; program executive for NASA’s Landsat Data Continuity and IceSat missions; and as program manager, systems engineer and senior test director for a variety of NASA, U.S. Air Force and commercial projects.

Grigsby earned his Master of Science degree in Electro-Optic Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronic/Computer Engineering, both from the University of Wyoming.

Jim Valenti, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, OFFICE OF GEOSTATIONARY EARTH ORBIT OBSERVATIONS, NOAA

James Valenti is the Assistant Director for the Office of Geostationary Earth Orbit Observations (NOAA). In this role, he supports the director with oversight of the program and ground and flight projects.

James was previously the GOES-R Ground Segment Project Manager. In 2012, he was promoted to this role from Assistant Project Manager. Prior to joining the GOES-R Program, Valenti served in many capacities in multiple offices within NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS) since 2001. From 2001 to 2002, he worked in the Office of Satellite Operations (now Office of Satellite and Product Operations) as the Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite (POES) Engineering Team Lead. In 2002, Valenti transferred to the National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) Program Office to be the Ground System Division Lead.

Before joining NOAA, Valenti served as a Space Operations Officer in the United States Air Force where he worked as the project manager for the Air Force’s Nuclear Detonation (NUDET) Detection System ground data processing system. He also served as the field liaison and as a flight commander for the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP) Office.

Valenti holds a Master of Space Operations degree from the Air Force Institute of Technology along with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from Penn State University.

Daniel Lindsey, Ph.D. GOES-R PROGRAM SCIENTIST AND GEOXO DEPUTY PROGRAM SCIENTIST, NOAA

As the GOES-R Program Scientist, Dan Lindsey serves as the primary science authority for the program. Lindsey is a research meteorologist who worked for the NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research for 15 years before moving to the GOES-R Program in March 2020. In this capacity, he manages the GOES-R science portfolio. Dan also serves as the GeoXO Deputy Program Scientist and the GeoXO Imager Instrument Scientist.

His research interests include remote sensing of mesoscale phenomena, especially convective storms, cloud physics, and algorithm development. Prior to the launch of GOES-R, he helped lead an evaluation of the utility of one-minute imagery from GOES-14 by the National Weather Service.

Dan began his NOAA career in 2004. He is a 2016 recipient of the NOAA David Johnson Award for his work in preparing for the optimal use of data and imagery from GOES-R's ABI prior to launch. Lindsey holds a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Georgia, a Master of Science in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University, and a doctorate in Atmospheric Science from Colorado State University.

Steve Grippando, GEO GROUND PROJECT MANAGER, NOAA

Steve Grippando is the GEO Ground Project Manager. In this role, he oversees the design, development, acquisition, integration, installation, test, verification, and deployment of the GOES-R Ground System.

Prior to joining GOES-R, Grippando served as the Project Manager for the Radio Frequency Interference Monitoring System (RFIMS) and the System Engineering Division Chief in NOAA’s Office of Satellite Ground Services (OSGS) in Silver Spring, Maryland. He joined NOAA in 2008. Before joining the GOES-R Ground System Project, Grippando worked within NOAA, the Space Telescope Science Institute, the European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), and the commercial sector, serving in several technical and engineering positions. Early in his career, Grippando served as a Space Operations Officer in the United States Air Force.

Steve has a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from Arizona State University.