Zdenka Willis, Director, U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS)Zdenka Willis, Director, U.S. Inte-grated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Prior to her assignment as Director of U.S. IOOS Program, Ms. Willis served as Director of NOAA’s National Oceanographic Data Cen-ter. Ms. Willis is a retired Navy Cap-tain with career service as a Meteo-rology and Oceanography of? cer in the United States Navy. She has promoted interagency cooperation as the Naval Deputy to NOAA; world-wide sea ice analysis and forecast-ing as Director of the National Ice Center; and as the satellite and op-erations of? cer Naval Polar Ocean-ography Center. Her meteorologi-cal background includes weather forecasting for Naval aircraft as the Of? cer in Charge of the Naval Oceanography Command Detach-ment, Oceana Virginia and for Navy vessels as the Naval Eastern Oceanography Center, Norfolk Vir-ginia. Ms. Willis has a background in the collection of oceanographic data onboard the USNS Harkness and USNS Maury survey vessels and in the electronic navigational charting as Deputy Navigator of the Navy. Her other relevant Naval po-sitions are the director of the Stra-tegic Policy Forum (a Congressional and Executive Branch crisis simu-lation for Members of Congress, senior Executive branch of? cials, and military leaders) and adjunct professor in the Strategic Leader-ship Department at the Industrial College for the Armed Forces.Ms Willis received her Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Science from the University of South Carolina. She received a Master’s degree in Meteorology and Oceanography from the Naval Postgraduate, and a Master’s Degree in National Strat-egy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. www.marinetechnologynews.comMarine Technology Reporter 45MTR #2 (34-49).indd 45 2/22/2016 5:26:30 PM