Frank E. Petersen III
Mr. Frank E. Petersen, III serves as National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Deputy Chief Financial Officer – Finance. In this capacity, Mr. Petersen oversees the Associate Chief Financial Officer for Policy and Systems (Financial Policy, Agency Financial Systems Office, and HQ Travel Office); Quality Assurance Division; and Financial Management Division and is responsible for the financial systems, financial policies, financial management, execution, quality assurance, internal controls, enterprise risk management and reporting of all Agency accounting and financial resources.
Prior to his current position, Mr. Petersen served as the Acting Senior Advisor for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) and was responsible for advising NASA senior leaders on strategies and plans to implement Administration and NASA DEIA priorities within the workplace. Prior to this role, Mr. Petersen was the Director of the Quality Assurance Division. He led the Agency’s Enterprise Risk Management program which includes the execution and identification and implementation of the Unified Comprehensive Operational Risk Network (UNICORN) and developed the first ever Agency Enterprise Risk Profile. He was responsible for ensuring that sound financial management practices were being followed and that internal controls over financial activities were in place and operating effectively. Mr. Petersen is instrumental in NASA earning an unmodified (clean opinion) for 12 consecutive years.
Prior to Joining NASA, Mr. Petersen was the Director of the A-123 Appendix-A implementation at the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to joining the Department of Education in 2001, Mr. Petersen worked in the private sector for over twenty years at several Certified Public Accounting and Management Consulting firms. Mr. Petersen specialized in Federal financial management consulting which led to significant experience in many facets of accounting and leadership, including significant experience performing compliance reviews, leading special projects, and conducting evaluations focused on program structure and underlying internal controls.
Mr. Petersen is a Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) and holds a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from The George Washington University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting.
