Yolanda Jones King

Dr. Yolanda Jones King earned her Ph.D. in 1981. She has served the USAF for twenty-eight years in engineering and scientific research, management of research and development programs, as well as resource management and program planning. Dr. King is currently the Director of Engineering & Technical Management at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC) at Kirtland AFB, NM. She was the head of space based sensing and satellite protection technologies at the Space Vehicles Directorate of the US Air Force Research Laboratory for three years before moving to the AFNWC. Dr. King is the Chair for the NATO RTO Sensors and Electronics Technology Panel and has served as the US representative and Vice Chair of the NATO Space Advisory Group. Dr. King recently completed an assignment as the Technical Advisor of the Spacecraft Technology Division. She served at the Air Force Office of Scientific Research in Washington DC as Director of the International Office. In 1996, she was selected by the USAF and completed a LEGIS Fellowship with Congress. Previously, Dr. King was responsible for management of all Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO, formerly SDIO) technology programs and oversight of all Air Force Science and Technology programs for the Phillips Laboratory Commander and AFSTC Commander. Dr. King was at the AF Weapons Laboratory in several technical management positions and served on a research assignment at the Ecole Polytechnique in Palaiseau, France. She holds a patent in beam sensing techniques and has numerous presentations and publications in directed energy and space technologies. Yolanda King is also active in the community having served in the Junior League, on the New Mexico Board of Pharmacy and the New Mexico Space Commission. She continues to serve on the Board of the Network for Women in Science & Engineering to encourage young girls to enter careers in science, engineering and math.