It has been announced that NASA Administrator Bill Nelson has promoted Jim Free to the position of associate administrator at NASA Headquarters in Washington, effective on Sunday, December 31st, when his predecessor Bob Cabana retires. The associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD) has been in charge since September 2021.  
Furthermore, Nelson announced that Free's deputy, Catherine Koerner, will succeed him as the new head of the mission directorate. 

In the NASA family, many of us have had the privilege of working with Jim and have been inspired by his character and intellect.. As a result of his wealth of experience and expertise, Pam, Bob, and I strongly believe that he will bring exceptional guidance and insight to our leadership team in his new role as associate administrator, which will further strengthen our collective efforts to achieve bold goals for the benefit of humanity as a whole," Administrator Nelson concluded.. "Cathy's experience as the deputy associate administrator for ESDMD - which includes leading the development of our deep space transportation systems while overseeing the establishment of future space exploration architectures - has prepared her well to take on this new role as associate administrator for ESDMD.. The leadership of Cathy will play a crucial role in NASA's ability to extend humanity's reach in space in the future. I would like to congratulate Jim and Cathy on their wedding."
I would like to congratulate Jim and Cathy on their wedding."
In addition to being NASA's third highest ranking executive, Free will also become NASA's highest ranking civil servant. As an associate administrator, Free will serve as a senior advisor to Nelson and Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, and will serve as a senior advisor to both. In addition to his role at NASA Headquarters, Free will also lead the agency's 10 center directors and five associates in the mission directorate. In his role as chief operating officer, he will oversee the agency's more than 18,000 employees with an annual budget of more than $25 billion.
Free worked in the private sector for several years before being appointed to the position of associate administrator of Exploration Systems Development in 2021. After serving as NASA's deputy associate administrator for technical in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters since 2017, he left the agency in 2017.
Before joining NASA Headquarters, he worked his way up to the position of center director at the Glenn Research Center in Ohio, where he was responsible for directing, planning, organizing, and overseeing the activities in order to accomplish the missions assigned to the center. He began his career with NASA in 1990 at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, where he served in a variety of roles.
Free is a native of Northeast Ohio who earned his bachelor's degree in aeronautics from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, as well as his master's degree in space systems engineering from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.?
Among his many awards, Free has received the Presidential Rank Award, NASA Distinguished Service Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, NASA Exceptional Service Medal, NASA Significant Achievement Medal, and numerous other awards.?
As an associate administrator of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, Koerner will be responsible for the development of NASA's Moon to Mars architecture, the definition and management of the development of systems for the Artemis missions, as well as the planning of an integrated approach to deep space exploration. 
In his role as deputy associate administrator of NASA's mission directorate, Koerner manages and leads NASA's human spaceflight development and operations related to NASA's exploration of the Moon and Mars. As part of her current responsibilities, she is responsible for developing and defining the future architectures for deep space exploration as well as overseeing the development of new space transportation systems and supporting capabilities that are essential for human-led deep space exploration.
In her previous role at NASA Headquarters, Koerner was NASA's Orion Program manager at NASA Johnson, where she was in charge of overseeing the design, development, and testing of the Orion spacecraft. Koerner has been leading the Orion Program since 2011. Prior to that, he was the director of NASA's Human Health and Performance Directorate, which focused on enhancing crew health and performance, as well as mitigating the risks that go along with human spaceflight.
As a former NASA flight director, Koerner led teams in NASA's mission control during space shuttle missions and missions to the International Space Station. Furthermore, she managed NASA's cargo resupply contracts for the space station during its assembly phase, which helped develop a commercial space industry in low Earth orbit. She also held several leadership positions in the space station program during its assembly phase. Johnson worked at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California before joining Johnson.
As a graduate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Koerner earned both her Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees in aeronautical and astronautical engineering.?She has received numerous awards including a Presidential Rank Award in 2019, two Outstanding Leadership Medals (2006, 2013), NASA's Exceptional Service Medal (2007), Johnson's Center Director Commendation (2017) and numerous Group Achievement Awards.
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