Our Executive Mentors

Aprille Joy Ericsson, PhD

During her 25+ year tenure with NASA, Dr. Aprille Joy Ericsson has held numerous positions. In 2017, Dr. Ericsson assumed the position of New Business Lead for the NASA GSFC Instrument Systems and Technology Division. Most recently, she served as the Capture Manager for a proposed Astrophysics mid-sized Class Explorer, called STAR-X. Prior to that proposal development, Dr. Ericsson served as the GSFC Program Manager for SBIR/STTR. Formerly, she served as the Deputy to the Chief Technologist for the Applied Engineering and Technology Directorate. As an Attitude Control Systems analyst, Dr. Ericsson developed practical control methods, and analyzed structural dynamics for several space science missions. She served as a NASA HQs Program Executive for Earth Science, and a Business Executive for Space Science. As an Instrument Project Manager she has led spaceflight instrument teams and proposal developments.

Dr. Ericsson's graduate school research at Howard University was developing control methods for orbiting large space platforms like ISS. She has served as an Adjunct Faculty member at several Universities. Currently, she sits on Technical Academic boards at the National Academies, MIT and previously at Howard University as a Trustee.

Dr. Ericsson has won numerous awards. The most prestigious was “The 2016 Washington Award” from the Western Society of Engineers. Dr. Ericsson is the first female to receive a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Howard University, and the first African-American civil servant female to receive a Ph.D. in Engineering at NASA GSFC. She received her B.S. in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering from MIT.