I am a native Texan—born and raised in Corpus Christi. I grew up in Parkdale Baptist Church, where my grandfather and father served as Deacons. After making a personal decision to accept Jesus Christ as my Savior & Lord, I was baptized at the age of 7.
I graduated 10th of 500 students from Mary Carroll High School, earning a variety of academic and athletic honors. In basketball, my teammates awarded me the 110% award. In baseball, our team was 5A State Runner-up in 1989 and finished in the Top 8 my senior year. That year, I received the 110% award as voted by my teammates and was named by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association an All-State Infielder in Class 5A.
I went on to Texas A&M University, where I studied Political Science, with a particular emphasis in public administration. From an early age, I knew that I wanted to work in government service, and Texas A&M provided opportunities through their Cooperative Education Program to explore different options.
After my freshman year, I worked for the City of Corpus Christi in their Accounting Department. While I appreciated the experience and the people there, I knew that accounting was not the right career fit for me.
During my sophomore year, I interviewed with the Department of Health & Human Services’ Assistant Secretary for Personnel Administration in Washington, D.C. While they were impressed with my interview, they typically hired graduate students, so they asked if I would be willing to work in their Regional Personnel Office in Dallas, Texas. In the Spring of 1992, I started my federal service career as a GS-3 Personnel Specialist with the Department of Health & Human Services. Following that tour, I was extended the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. and work for the Assistant Secretary for Personnel Administration. It was a great experience, as I’d long dreamed of working in Washington, D.C. However, it was also clear to me that I did not enjoy the policy HR work as much as I enjoyed the work in the regional office.
The experience I gained through those initial Co-op Tours also demonstrated that I needed an advanced degree. I explored a number of options but decided that moving into Texas A&M’s business school and pursing a Master of Science degree in Human Resources Management was the right path. Our MS/HRM Program chair was Patrick M. Wright, who has moved on to Cornell University and published a number of books including The Chief HR Officer and Building Profit through Building People.
In graduate school, I learned about the HR generalist role. I initiated a study of federal government HR organizations in Texas to determine how they were structured. I reached out to several agencies, including NASA. Ultimately, NASA offered me an opportunity as a Graduate Co-op. I came to NASA in May 1995, working a summer semester. Following a Fall Semester back at Texas A&M, I returned in January 1996 and remained at the NASA/Johnson Space Center until today!
In the Spring of 1996, I presented a final oral presentation as part of my master’s degree requirements. My final master’s presentation covered “Achieving Strategic Partnership as a Human Resources Representative: How I can use my MS/HRM Degree at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.”
Brady’s Professional Bio