John Kelly is a contracted consultant to NASA. In Nov 2024, he retired as Deputy Chief of the Space Projects and Partnerships branch at Armstrong Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California.  From 2010-2013 and again from 2018-2022, he was manager of NASA’s Flight Opportunities program, one of ten programs within NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. He has worked at NASA Armstrong since 1988, except for a short stint in commercial aerospace in 1996 and a detail assignment to Mojave Air and Space Port in 2013. John has served in many discipline areas during his career, including, flight controls and flight systems engineering, software engineering, information technology management, and various roles in program and project management.

John earned a B.S. Aeronautical Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott AZ (1992) and an MBA with IT emphasis from University of La Verne (2008). John is an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and is active in the Tucson Chapter. John is a registered Project Management Professional (PMP®, 2007) and is active in the Tucson Chapter.