Executive Council

Dr. Laurie Leshin, director of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since May 2022, is a distinguished geochemist and space scientist with extensive leadership experience in academia and government, including senior NASA positions. Leshin will end her tenure as JPL director on June 1, 2025.

Dave Gallagher was selected by Caltech to become the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s 11th director, effective June 2, 2025. He was formerly Associate Director for Strategic Integration.

Leslie Livesay, JPL’s Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer, is responsible for the day-to-day management of JPL's resources and activities. During a career spanning more than 37 years at JPL, Livesay has managed teams in the development of technologies and flight systems for planetary, Earth science, and astrophysics missions.

Keyur Patel was appointed Associate Director for Flight Projects and Mission Success in April 2024. He has been a member of the professional staff at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory since 1985 and in executive management since 2008.

John Kelly was appointed chief financial officer and director for Laboratory Operations Integration in October 2024.

Richard Cook is the Associate Director for Strategic Integration at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, in which capacity he supports implementation of JPL’s Plan.

A JPL Engineering Fellow, Howard Eisen has over 36 years of experience at JPL in technical and leadership roles. Before becoming Chief Engineer in 2024, he served as the deputy associate director for Flight Projects and Mission Success, a role he continues.

Dr. Jonathan Lunine comes to JPL after 13 years as the David C. Duncan Professor in the Physical Sciences and 5 years as chair of the Department of Astronomy at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Dr. Tom Cwik is Chief Technologist for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In this role, he provides strategic leadership for research in advanced technology and serves as the focal point for technology interactions with NASA, companies, universities and the external research community.

Jennifer Lum became Caltech’s General Counsel on September 1, 2019.  Lum joined Caltech in 2010 as Deputy General Counsel.

Matthew Decker is the Chief Data and Information Officer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He was appointed to this position on April 2023 and is responsible for providing strategic focus and guidance for Information Technology (IT), software solutions and recommendations, data and analytics, and advanced computing applied across the laboratory and mission support.

Becky Macko is the Director for Human Resources at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). In this capacity, she provides strategic HR counsel and leadership to the Lab and develops programs that attract and retain JPL’s highly skilled and diverse workforce of more than 6,500 employees.

Michael Greene is Director for Communications and Education at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In this capacity, he oversees the laboratory's multiple communications activities in media relations, informal and formal education, television, Internet, internal communications and public engagement services.

Matt Wallace is the Director for Planetary Sciences at JPL. He oversees formulation, development, and operations of NASA missions to the Outer Planets, Mars, Venus, asteroids, and the Moon.

Dr. Todd Gaier was appointed director for Astronomy and Physics in April 2024. Prior to that, he served as the deputy director and chief technologist for Astronomy and Physics.

James Graf is Jet Propulsion Laboratory's Director for the Earth Science and Technology Directorate. He manages the development and operations of the Earth science space and airborne missions, the advancements in Earth science research and applications, and the creation of relevant science data systems.

Suzanne Dodd is JPL’s Director for the Interplanetary Network Directorate (IND). The IND is the home organization of NASA’s Deep Space Network and Multimission Ground Systems & Services programs. Dodd is also the Project Manager for the Voyager Interstellar Mission, a role she has had since 2010.

Roger Gibbs is Director for Engineering and Science at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Before becoming director, Roger’s previous assignment was the Deputy Director for the Engineering and Science Directorate.