Deirdre Reynolds Jones serves as the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).  In this role she oversees NOAA’s diverse portfolio of real and personal property, operates and sustains NOAA’s three primary campuses in Silver Spring, MD; Seattle, WA; and Honolulu, HI, and provides essential administrative services that assure safe and secure operations for all NOAA line and staff offices. 

Before becoming the CAO, Ms. Jones was Director of the National Weather Service (NWS) Office of Facilities.  As NWS’s first facilities portfolio director, she was able to provide to leadership an integrated view of NWS facilities spending and portfolio condition, and championed an infusion of funding to address growing deferred maintenance. 

Ms. Jones began her NOAA career in 1992 when she joined the NWS at what is now called the Radar Operations Center in Norman, OK. She spent 18 years with the Office of Science and Technology and the Office of Operational Systems leading the migration of NWS telecommunications and field systems to newer technologies resulting in increased capacity, throughput and reliability.

Ms. Jones is a graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering.  She also holds a Master of Science in Systems Management from the University of Southern California.