Bale Dalton

As the NASA chief of staff, Bale Dalton is responsible for coordinating the management and execution of initiatives, programs, and policies in critical areas of concern to NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and ensuring that the strategic goals and objectives established by the administrator are achieved.

A native of Orlando, Florida, Dalton was previously a program director at Air Center Helicopters, Inc., an expeditionary aviation services provider headquartered in Burleson, Texas. Dalton also served as military legislative assistant to Nelson in the U.S. Senate and as a foreign affairs officer in the Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships at the Department of State.

A naval aviator with multiple deployments in support of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom, Dalton commanded the U.S. Navy’s special operations support squadron, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron EIGHT FIVE at Naval Air Station North Island, and he was reserve component commander of Training Wing FIVE at Naval Air Station Whiting Field. He continues service as Navy Reserve lead of the Defense Innovation Unit headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Dalton holds a Bachelor of Science in ocean engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, Master of Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School, and Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.