NASA employee Kim Johnson's desire for growth has taken her many places and continues unabated at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
The D'Iberville, Mississippi, resident is a contracting officer in the NASA Stennis Office of Procurement, where she supports NASA's mission at the largest rocket propulsion test site.
Johnson oversees natural gas company contracts providing fuel to parts of the NASA Stennis federal city infrastructure, including the test stands benefitting NASA and commercial aerospace companies, and a security contract with local law enforcement to ensure all needs are met.
"What is cool about procurement is interacting with a lot of different people when putting contracts together," Johnson said. "NASA Stennis has people from different ages and skillsets, from engineers, to scientists, to procurement and finance, I get to work with many people putting contracts together. I love the diversity of it and different levels of knowledge. Everyone brings something to the table."
Johnson's travels have exposed her to various people and work environments. She earned an undergraduate degree in London, England and a master's degree in business administration at William Carey University in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and started her procurement career with a U.S. Air Force internship at Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii.
Johnson also worked at the NASA Shared Services Center, located at NASA Stennis, for two years. In the process, she earned a master's degree in acquisition and contract management through the Florida Institute of Technology.
The travel bug then set in once more and the Biloxi, Mississippi, native set off to Afghanistan to work as a defense contractor. The 10-year stint helped pay off student loans, although Johnson stayed in the country a bit longer than anticipated due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following a final 13 months of working 84 hours a week in Afghanistan, Johnson took a break for a year before a return to NASA in south Mississippi presented itself.
"I have been fortunate that my experiences have helped me understand contracts from both the commercial perspective and government perspective," she said. "What I love about NASA Stennis is everybody is so helpful, and you know they will help you get the job done."
The NASA Stennis contracting officer continues her career development after being selected into a NASA leadership program. The year-long program focuses on NASA employees developing leadership capabilities and understanding how their work contributes to NASA missions. As part of the program, Johnson has visited NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley.
"It is encouraging because NASA promotes growth," she said. "The agency really pushes you to grow in your career."
