Speakers

Crystal Jones serves as the manager, Program Control and Integration for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, where she works with industry to develop and operate safe, reliable, and cost-effective human spaceflight capabilities for accessing low Earth orbit. Jones aided in the execution of the agency’s goal to facilitate the development and certification of United States commercial crew transportation capable of carrying humans to and from the International Space Station and potentially other destinations in low Earth orbit. She oversees program integration activities, such as budget planning and execution, resources and schedule management, contract management, strategic communication and public engagement, information technology architecture, and configuration/data management.

Experience
Jones previously served as manager of the Commercial Crew Program’s Ground and Mission Operations (GMO) Office at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. In this role, she was responsible for ensuring CCP providers met human rating requirements and standards for systems at their launch and recovery sites and for crew launch, flight, and recovery operations. She also oversaw budgeting, training, and operations for NASA-provided pad rescue and Department of Defense search and rescue efforts. She led the Certification of Flight Readiness (CoFR) effort for several crewed spaceflight missions, ensuring SpaceX ground systems, launch operations, recovery operations, flight operations, range safety, and government provided crew rescue services were ready for launch. She also led the GMO human rating certification effort for SpaceX and made significant contributions to the certification of Boeing's crew transportation systems.

Prior to joining CCP, Jones held various positions in the KSC Safety and Mission Assurance (S&MA) organization, including system safety engineer for the Space Shuttle Program, the Constellation Program, Ares IX, and the Orion Project Office. She served as the KSC System Safety discipline lead, KSC center risk manager, and branch chief for Institutional Safety and Quality. As branch chief for Institutional Safety and Quality, she was responsible for several center-wide S&MA programs and initiatives, such as KSC’s Mishap Program, Kennedy Federal Employee Safety and Health Program, Voluntary Protection Program, KSC Safety Culture, and Centerwide Safety Training.

Jones joined NASA in support of the Space Shuttle Program in 2008. She began her career as a system safety engineer with Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC).

Awards
She has received numerous honors, including On the Spot awards, Group Achievement awards, Certificate of Commendation, Silver Achievement Medal, Outstanding Leadership Medal, Space Flight Awareness Management Aweard, and the Silver Snoopy Award.

Education
Jones received her Bachelor of Science in astrophysics and Master of Science in space systems from Florida Institute of Technology. 

Personal
She resides in Viera, Florida, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Johnny, two children, Jada and Isaiah, and her granddaughter, Raegan.