Diana Josephson

Diana Hayward Josephson (October 17, 1936 – March 6, 2006) was the first woman to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) when she became the acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere in 1993.

Diana H. Josephson
Deputy Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere
In office February 26, 1993 – 1997
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Ray Kammer[1]
Succeeded by	Scott Gudes[2]
Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Acting
In office February 26, 1993 – May 28, 1993
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	John Knauss
Succeeded by	D. James Baker
Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Installations and Environments
In office 1997 – September 5, 2000[3]
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Cheryl A. Kandaras[4]
Succeeded by	Geoffrey G. Prosch[5]
Personal details
Born	(1936-10-17)October 17, 1936 London, England
Died	March 6, 2006(2006-03-06) (aged 69) Boulder, Colorado
Alma mater	Somerville College, Oxford George Washington University
Occupation	Lawyer, Bureaucrat
Awards	,

Early life

Josephson was born in London, England to Robert Hayward and Barbara (Clark) Bailey, Josephson completed a B.A. with honors (1958) and M.A. (1962) at Somerville College, Oxford, then earned a Masters in Comparative Law from George Washington University Law School.[6] She became a member of both the Bar of England and Wales and the District of Columbia Bar. She moved to Washington, DC in 1959 and became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1962. She worked for the Washington law firm of Covington & Burling from 1963 until 1968.[7][8][9]

Career and achievements

In 1968 she went to work for the government of the District of Columbia as Deputy Director of the Youth Program Unit for Mayor Walter Washington, coordinating youth programs citywide and then overseeing programs run by 22 agencies. She came to Mayor Washington's attention in 1964 when she was chairman of the Adams Morgan Community Council.[10] By 1970, she was field services director for the Office of Community Services.[11]

In 1974, she ran for the Democratic Party nomination to the Ward 4 seat on the newly-created District Council.[12] She resigned from her job in the District government to campaign, and campaigned on a policy of expanded housing.[13] She came in 2nd place in the primary, losing to John A. Wilson by 298 votes (3.74%) in a crowded field.[14]

She moved on to the American Civil Liberties Union for the National Capital Area in 1975 and then joined NOAA in 1978 as the deputy assistant administrator for policy and planning. In 1979, she became the acting deputy assistant administrator for satellites and in that role managed the weather satellite service, worked on NASA and NOAA ground systems and communications, and spearheaded the commercialization of the Landsat satellite system. She left NOAA in 1982.[7]

She then spent time in the aerospace industry in a variety of positions with Martin Marietta Commercial Titan, Inc., Arianespace, Inc., Space America, Inc., and American Science and Technology Corporation and served as a member of the National Research Council's Space Applications Board and as a member of the Board of Directors of the American Astronautical Society.[8] By 1992, she was Martin Marietta Corporation's Director for Mission to Planet Earth Studies.[15]

On February 26, 1993 she was appointed by President Clinton to serve NOAA as Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere.[16] When she was appointed, NOAA Director John A. Knauss retired and Josephson became acting director for nearly three months, becoming the first woman to lead the agency. In the following years and during the modernization of the National Weather Service, she led development of a $2 billion annual budget and developed NOAA's first strategic plan. Her contributions led to major improvements in climate forecasting and earned her a NOAA Special Recognition Award for lifetime service.[7] She also served on the President's Interagency Council on Women Representatives, chaired by Hillary Clinton.[17]

In 1997 she went to the U.S. Navy as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Installations and Environments. In that position she had status equivalent to a three-star admiral and was recognized as such aboard naval vessels. Among other things she was responsible for finding an environmentally friendly way to dispose of napalm left from the Vietnam War.

From 2000 to 2004 she was Senior Vice President for Environmental Defense. She reorganized it to bring in new talent and to help create marketing campaigns that increased its endowment by almost 40%. At the time of her death, she was one of five associate directors of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. She died on March 6, 2006 from complications of cancer.[7]

Josephson was involved with her partner, Jim Alexander, for 30 years until he died in 2001. They were avid sailors.[7]

Awards and honors

In October 1981, while serving as the Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Satellites at NOAA, Josephson was awarded the Department of Commerce Gold Medal for Exceptional Service for "extraordinary contributions to the planning of the U.S. civil operational land remote sensing satellite activities."[8][15][18]

Josephson's contributions at the Navy garnered her the Distinguished Public Service Award, the Navy's highest civilian honor.[7]

References

1. "NIST Director Kammer to Retire at Year's End". NIST. 15 December 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
2. Congressional Directory 2000 (PDF). 6 December 2000. Retrieved 1 May 2018.
3. "Josephson Joins Environmental Defense As Chief Operating Officer". Retrieved 28 April 2018.
4. "CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTORY FOR THE 104TH CONGRESS (1995-1996)" (PDF). Retrieved 1 May 2018.
5. "DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE" (PDF). Retrieved 1 May 2018.
6. Who's who of American women, 1997-1998 (20th ed.). New Providence, NJ: Marquis Who's Who. 1996. ISBN 0-8379-0422-6. OCLC 36234301.
7. "Obit: Diana H. Josephson, 1936-2006". Archived from the original on 2006-06-26. Retrieved 26 April 2018.
8. "Special News Announcement". Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 74 (3): 450. March 1993. doi:10.1175/1520-0477-74.3.450.
9. "Diana H. Josephson; Had Leading Roles With NOAA, Navy". 13 March 2006. Retrieved 28 April 2018.
10. Lewis, Carolyn (22 February 1962). "She's Calm Eye". The Washington Post.
11. Eisen, Jack (31 August 1970). "But Residents Fail to Show Up". The Washington Post.
12. Valentine, Paul (23 May 1974). "Half-Dozen Candidates, All Democrats, Seek Council Posts". The Washington Post.
13. "Ward Two Primary Fields 10 Contestants". The Washington Post. 1 September 1974.
14. "DC Council Ward 2 - D Primary". Our Campaigns. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
15. Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State, the Judiciary, and related agencies appropriations for 1994: hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, One Hundred Third Congress, first session. U.S. G.P.O. 1993. pp. https://books.google.com/books?id=FeyWQUEQ9SgC. ISBN 0160409985.
16. Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton, 1993, Book 1, January 20 to July 31, 1993. Government Printing Office. 1994. p. 1259. ISBN 0160450098.
17. "America's Commitment: Federal Programs Benefiting Women and New Initiatives as follow-up to the UN Fourth World Conference on Women". Retrieved 29 April 2018.
18. "Gold, silver medals given to highest DOC achievers" (PDF). Marine Fisheries Review. 44 (3): 22. March 1982.