Holly Ridings

Holly Ridings is the Gateway Deputy Program Manager, where she leads teams to build and launch NASA’s foundational infrastructure in deep space. She became NASA’s first female chief flight director in 2018, leading NASA human spaceflight operations through the first commercial crew missions to the International Space Station and the preparation for the Artemis I mission. Over the course of her career in human spaceflight operations, she has spent thousands of hours in Mission Control supporting the assembly and operations of the space station. A native of Amarillo, Texas, Ridings earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Texas A&M University.