Dana Johnson Biography

dana johnson biography portrait

Dana J. Johnson

Dana J. Johnson is a former member of the Board of Directors for the National Space Society (NSS).

Dr. Johnson is a Senior Analyst with the Northrop Grumman Analysis Center in Arlington, Virginia, responsible for assessing space and missile defense issues and trends for Northrop Grumman’s business sectors. She has extensive experience in government and industry aerospace-related research. She joined Northrop Grumman in June 2003 from RAND where she spent almost 15 years as a national security policy analyst with a specialty in space policy and operations. While at RAND she led or participated in a number of studies in space, aerospace, and aeronautics conducted for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Department of Defense, the Air Force, NASA, and the NRO. She also participated in several congressionally mandated commissions, including the NIMA Commission, the Commission on Roles and Missions, and the Aerospace Commission.

Other prior experience includes policy and mission analysis of national security space programs in several leading aerospace companies including Rockwell International and General Research Corporation, and diplomatic history and research at the U.S. Department of State’s Office of the Historian.

Dr. Johnson holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Southern California, and is also an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University, teaching space and security. She has published numerous books that are widely used in universities and defense colleges, including Space: Emerging Options for National Power (RAND, 1998), Policy Issues and Challenges for Interagency Space Systems Acquisition (RAND: 2001), and Space Weapons Earth Wars (RAND, 2002).