As the associate administrator for International and Interagency Relations, Karen Feldstein is responsible for executive leadership and direction of NASA’s international and interagency activities and partnerships for NASA’s mission areas; policy interactions between NASA and other executive branch offices, departments, and agencies, including the National Security Council, the Department of State, National Space Council, and the Office of Science and Technology Policy; administration of export control and international technology transfer programs; and support for NASA advisory councils and committees.

Throughout her NASA career, Feldstein has led the development of robust external relationships with domestic and international partners and stakeholders to further NASA’s strategic objectives, including implementation of some of the agency’s most significant cooperative activities. She has cultivated groundbreaking engagement with emerging space partners around the globe to enable and strengthen NASA’s programs and bring the benefits of space to societies around the world.

Prior to her current role, Feldstein served as the deputy associate administrator for the Office of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) since 2016, providing direction, policy coordination, and management oversight for all office activities.

Previously, Feldstein served as director of the Science Division in OIIR, coordinating international activities in support of NASA's Science Mission Directorate and leading NASA’s engagements and new partnerships in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America. Feldstein also previously served as deputy director of OIIR’s Space Operations Division, executive director of the NASA Advisory Council, and NASA’s European Representative in Paris, France.

Feldstein entered federal government service as a presidential management intern, beginning her NASA career as a policy analyst in the Office of Space Science and Applications before moving to the Office of External Relations (OER). In OER, she worked for nearly a decade as an analyst and international liaison for a range of NASA programs, including human spaceflight, space science, and space transportation.

Feldstein earned her master’s in international Relations from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, in Washington. She completed her undergraduate studies at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. She has received numerous NASA awards, including the 2019 Presidential Rank of Meritorious Senior Executive and her greatly prized Silver Snoopy.