2022 Speaker Bios

Keynote Speaker

Elizabeth H. DiGiovanni 
Senior Advisor for the Future of Work 
Langley Research Center 
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Elizabeth (Beth) DiGiovanni is NASA Langley’s senior advisor for the future of work in the Office of the Center Director, a role she began in October 2021. In this role, she is leading the Center in changing its paradigm for where, when, and how its people work, which will expand its abilities to attract and retain top talent and strengthen its partnerships inside and outside NASA. Langley’s Future of Work efforts are reimagining working norms, prioritizing workforce flexibilities, and optimizing workplace investments to accelerate Langley becoming the nation’s aerospace innovation hub. 

Previously, Beth served as NASA’s Director for Mission Support Strategy and Integration in the Mission Support Directorate (MSD), where she was the senior advisor to the MSD Associate Administrator responsible for developing and delivering agency-level strategy across MSD’s $3.5 billion portfolio. Prior to this role, in 2017, she was appointed to NASA as the Deputy Assistant Administrator for HR Transformation, where she led NASA’s first mission support transformation and established the first strategic planning and resource integration capability in MSD as the director of business operations in the Office of the Chief Human Capital Officer. 

Beth began her federal career as a contractor for the United States Department of the Navy, where she provided consulting to the Executive Management Program Office supporting the lifecycle management of the Navy’s Senior Executive Service cadre. She progressed to supporting the Navy’s civilian HR Transition Management Office where she advised leadership on leading and managing through human capital crises, including responses to the 2013 federal government shutdown and the 2011 Fukushima natural disasters. She then became the project manager for the Navy’s HR Service Delivery Initiative responsible for executing the transformation of the Navy’s 98 HR offices worldwide. 

In 2014, she was recruited to the United States Department of Energy (DOE) as a civil servant leading DOE’s HR Service Delivery Program, which transformed the Agency’s HR line of business and established DOE’s first Shared Service Centers. She then became the director for DOE’s Office of Human Capital Strategy, Analysis, and Project Management. Prior to her federal career, Beth was a management consultant specializing in private sector corporate strategy and HR management. 

Through her career, Beth has become a leading expert in transforming business functions specializing in supporting STEM-based organizations in effectively and efficiently meeting their mission. She graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in business administration and double major in art history. In her spare time, Beth enjoys playing with her young daughter, being in the great outdoors, and gardening with her husband. She recently moved from D.C. to Cary, North Carolina, with her husband and daughter as NASA Langley’s first remote executive. 

Session 1: Research and Technology Applications

NC Space Grant alumni will discuss their exciting work — at NASA centers and in industry — and its real-world application in the space arena. The session includes professionals who received undergraduate scholarships, graduate research fellowships and/or internships funded by NC Space Grant. (Click on session heading for list of speakers.)

Session 2: NC Space Grant Student Lightning Talks

Six 2021-22 NC Space Grant funded fellows, scholars and interns from a variety of STEM disciplines will present their work in a live session. They are from several universities across North Carolina. Other NC Space Grant students funded in 2021-22 have prepared pre-recorded talks and posters, which are accessible via “Student Presentations” in the menu at right. (Click on session heading for list of speakers.)    

Session 3: Careers in Space Panel

Technical experts in diverse fields will share their own academic and career pathways, plus provide current students information on today’s recruitment trends and other tips to finding a great first job or making the next step. The moderated Q&A period with these NC Space Grant partners will give students a chance to ask questions. (Click on session heading for list of speakers.)