NGA’s new deputy director is a familiar face

Stacey Dixon, the director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, has been named deputy director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency according to a May 9 announcement.

Dixon will replace current Deputy Director Justin Poole, who announced last month that he would resign June 11. According to a Politico report, NGA leaders placed Poole on administrative leave in February following an investigation by the Department of Defense into allegations of personal misconduct.

Dixon has held a number of positions in the intelligence community since 2003. She worked on advanced satellite systems for the Central Intelligence Agency’s directorate of science and technology from 2003 to 2007, and then went to work for the U.S. House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.

Dixon is no stranger to the NGA. She first joined the agency in 2010 as the chief of congressional affairs. In the following years, she would go on to serve as the deputy director of the agency’s office of corporate communications, the director of the agency’s information integration office, and the deputy director of NGA’s research and development directorate.

In 2016, Dixon joined IARPA, the intelligence community’s research arm, as their deputy director on a joint duty assignment before being named director in August 2018.

Dixon will take over the position during a transitional period at the NGA. Vice Admiral Robert Sharp took over as director of the agency in February, replacing Robert Cardillo, who had served as director of the NGA since 2014.

“Dr. Dixon is a proven leader who has a deep understanding of NGA and the entire intelligence community, its current challenges and the bright opportunities that lie ahead,” NGA Director Vice Adm. Robert Sharp said in a statement. “She has earned a stellar reputation for synthesizing complex national security problems, developing solutions, boldly leading enterprise operations and caring for people.”

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