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Nona Minnifield Cheeks Chief Innovative Partnerships Program Office  Nona Minnifield Cheeks leads the Innovative Partnerships Program Office NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. The primary goal of the Innovative Partnerships Program Office is to identify technology spin-in opportunities that support NASA missions as well as to find broader applications of Goddard sponsored technology developments by the public and private sectors. Under Nona's direction, the Innovative Partnerships Program Office staff works with individuals at NASA, industry, academia, and other government agencies regarding technology transfer and research and development partnerships. In addition, her staff is responsible for planning and hosting outreach activities that emphasize technology transfer opportunities, benefits, and success stories. Nona holds a B.S. Degree from the University of Maryland and a MBA from Loyola College of Maryland. She has also completed courses at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business; Simmons Executive Education Program; and leadership and management programs sponsored by the Brookings Institution. She presented at the Innovation in the 21st Century Conference (2006) in Great Britain and she presented and chaired sessions for the International Astronautical Congress in Japan in 2005 and chaired sessions in Spain in 2006 and in India in 2007. Nona received NASA's Exceptional Achievement Award in 1995. She also received NASA's Exceptional Service Medal in 2001 and was selected as a 2008 Women of Color All-Stars by the National Women of Color (WOC) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). |