Emily Kuehn Senior Advisor, NASA Office of STEM Engagement Emily Kuehn, Ph.D., serves as a Senior Advisor in NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM), where she provides strategic leadership to strengthen and streamline the agency’s STEM engagement portfolio. She advises on efforts to improve coordination, collaboration, and operational efficiency across NASA’s student challenges, competitions, grants, and awards, working closely with OSTEM leadership and partners across the agency to advance initiatives that develop the future STEM workforce. Dr. Kuehn brings extensive experience in STEM education and workforce development across federal agencies, with a focus on large-scale portfolio strategy, program design and evaluation, and interagency coordination. Her work has centered on advancing evidence-based approaches to STEM engagement, improving alignment across complex program portfolios, and supporting initiatives that expand access to STEM opportunities nationwide. She previously served as STEM Deputy Director within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, where she helped lead implementation of the Department of Defense STEM Strategic Plan and oversaw a nationwide portfolio of programs designed to inspire, cultivate, and develop STEM talent from kindergarten through the workforce. Across her career, she has focused on strengthening STEM pathways through strategic planning, portfolio management, and cross-sector collaboration. Dr. Kuehn earned a B.A. in Biology with concentrations in Biochemistry and Neuroscience from Kalamazoo College and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
