The NESDIS International and Interagency Affairs Division (IIAD) develops the strategic and sustained partnerships that enable NESDIS to meet our mission goals; advocates for full and open data sharing policies globally, supports the coordination of global Earth observations; and advances U.S. policy abroad.
No one nation alone can effectively monitor the world’s weather, climate, oceans and coasts nor the surface of the sun. IIAD supports US space and US foreign policy; advocates for the full and open sharing of Earth observation data; secures the international and interagency partnerships NESDIS needs to meet our mission cost-effectively and be more responsive to user needs; advocates for science diplomacy, and promotes US scientific leadership and capacity building.
IIAD ensures NESDIS has the partnerships in place to meet our mission needs today and tomorrow, including long-standing partnerships with the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT), the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA), NASA, and the Department of Defense, and advancing new cooperation with partners such as the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Vietnam National Space Centre (VNSC). With partners in many countries around the world, IIAD helps position NESDIS as a global leader in Earth observations.
IIAD supports NESDIS engagement in, and leadership of, key international and intergovernmental organizations to coordinate the international exchange of Earth observations, promote open data sharing policies globally, and advance scientific cooperation to understand and address global environmental challenges including global weather forecasting, climate change, ocean and coastal sustainability, disaster risk reduction and sustainable development. These organizations include the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO), the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), the Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS), the multi-party international satellite-based search and rescue system (Cospas-Sarsat), as well as a myriad of United Nations agencies such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (UNCOPUOS), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
Our Leadership
Charles (Chuck) Wooldridge
Charles (Chuck) Wooldridge is the Director of the International and Interagency Affairs Division (IIAD) of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service. Chuck has held a variety of positions during his NOAA career. He served as Deputy Director for IIAD from 2010 – 2015. He is a member of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF) Earth Observation Committee and represents NOAA at the IAF General Assembly. From 2014 to 2021, Chuck chaired the Coordination Group on Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) Socioeconomic Benefits Tiger Team, which CGMS established to develop credible methodology and common terminology for articulating the socioeconomic benefit of satellite observing systems, and explore the most effective ways to communicate this information to desired stakeholders.
Before rejoining IIAD, he was Chief of Staff for NESDIS from 2001 to 2009, Head of NOAA’s Commercial Remote Sensing Regulatory Program from 1996 to 2000, Analyst in the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning from 1994 to 1996, Senior International Relations Specialist for NESDIS from 1990 to 1994, and Presidential Management Fellow at NOAA and National Aeronautics and Space Administration from 1987 to 1989.
Chuck has an MPA from Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs, a License de Droit Français, Université de Paris XI, Sceaux, and a BA in Political Science and French from Indiana University. He is an active member of the Alliance Francaise of Washington, DC and the Japan-America Society of Washington, DC.