Charles S. Baker
Charles S. Baker was appointed NOAA's Deputy Assistant Administrator for Satellite and Information Services in March 2007. In that capacity, he serves as chief operating officer for NOAA's National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), an organization with 850 staff members, a budget of nearly $1 billion a year, and 15 satellites on orbit. Within NESDIS, his areas of responsibility include customer service, performance management, satellite operations, processing and distribution of time-critical satellite data, development of new satellite data products, archiving environmental data, information technology, regulation of the U.S. commercial remote sensing industry, human capital management, and regional collaboration.
From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Baker served as Chief Financial Officer and Chief Administrative Officer of NESDIS. In that role, he served as the overall business manager for NESDIS, having responsibility for budget, strategic planning, cost estimating, earned value management, human resources, training, facilities, property accounting, and safety.
NESDIS is dedicated to providing timely access to global environmental data from satellites and other sources to promote, protect, and enhance the Nation's economy, security, environment, and quality of life. To fulfill its responsibilities, NESDIS acquires and manages the Nation's operational environmental satellites, provides data and information services, and conducts related research.
From 1987 to 2004, Mr. Baker worked in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), for 13 years as a budget examiner and for four years as Associate Director for Investment, his first position in the Senior Executive Service. As Associate Director, he had oversight of Navy and Air Force research, development, and acquisition budgets totaling nearly $100 billion per year. He provided leadership to a team of budget examiners who conducted program-by-program budget reviews and recommended budget adjustments to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. Following the events of September 11, 2001, Mr. Baker led the formulation of the investment portions of the emergency budget request.
Mr. Baker began his civil service career with the Department of the Navy in 1974, holding a series of positions in the Naval Sea Systems Command, the Naval Supply Systems Command, the Naval Material Command, and the Office of the Navy Comptroller.
Mr. Baker is a life-long resident of the Washington DC metropolitan area, graduating from Annandale High School in Annandale, Virginia. His undergraduate degree is from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a double major in History and Spanish.
Mr. Baker is a member of the Senior Executives Association, the American Meteorological Society, and the American Geophysical Union. He has taught numerous courses on the Defense budget process and on the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution System (PPBES).
