Chief Financial Officer

Paul Kirkpatrick was born at Warrington, England and travelled extensively with his U.S. Air Force family. After graduation from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, with a BS in Chemistry in 1976, he served in several assignments as a Marine Safety Officer. Paul joined NASA at Kennedy Space Center in 1988 as a Safety Specialist. He transitioned to Payload Safety Engineering in 1991 eventually moving up to the position of Chairman, ISSP Ground Safety Review Panel in 2004. His total Payload Safety experience runs into the hundreds of payloads as well as the major elements of the ISS. In 2013, Paul transferred to the NASA Commercial Crew S&MA Office at Kennedy, where he served as the S&MA Lead for a Partner Integration Team. In August 2014, Paul moved into the role of Deputy Chief Safety & Mission Assurance Officer for the Commercial Crew Program. Paul also served as the Project Orion Flight Test Office Safety & Mission Assurance Lead. In April 2016, Paul retired after 44 years of combined service with the US Coast Guard and NASA. After joining NASA, Paul continued his affiliation with the U.S. Coast Guard as a member of the Reserve, retiring in 2002 at the rank of Captain (O-6).
Paul is a founding member of the IAASS and is the Director, Information and Communication (I&C), Plans, Procedures and Data (PPD). For I&C, working with dedicated team, Paul is responsible for external communications through traditional print media, social media, and the web. For PPD, Paul is responsible for the organization’s Terms of Reference, associated plans and procedures and historical data storage.
Paul is an IAASS Leonardo Lifetime Achievement Awardee for his work in ground safety. He also holds several NASA and US Coast Guard personal awards.