People of PACE: Marsha Gosselin Keeps PACE with the Budget

A woman with dark brown hair wearing a brown sweater sits at a desk facing the left side of the picture. On the desk is a green mat, and a laptop and a monitor sit upon the mat. The desk sits in the corner of a room. There is a window on each wall, and the blinds are closed. To the right of the picture, a portion of a bookshelf can be seen.

Marsha Gosselin is the financial specialist for PACE at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

What do you do for PACE?

I’m the financial specialist for PACE. I started on the project in early 2015 and worked on it continually through now. I managed all the budgets from all the engineers including helping them to create and take responsibility for their subsystem budget.  One of my responsibilities was to ensure we maintained enough money in the overall budget and monitored their funds. I worked closely with all the engineers on the project and the scientists, to make sure everybody was on the same page with their budgets. I’m just the money lady!

What was your experience with watching PACE launch?

I watched it on my iPad. I am sure it wasn’t as exciting as being at the launch in person, but I loved it! I was anxiously waiting to make sure everything occurred on time and that it was a success.

What are you most looking forward to once data starts coming in?

I’m excited to see how they’re going to use it. Everyone talking about phytoplankton has been so interesting, so that’s what I’m curious about seeing.

What is your favorite color and why?

I would say yellow because it’s bright and sunny!

What’s a fun fact about yourself that a lot of people might not know about you?

I like to exercise, it’s my favorite thing to do since it makes me feel good. I often work out very early in the morning. I like to go on long walks at a very fast pace. People often can’t keep up with me!

What advice would you give to aspiring students who are looking to get where you are today?

Always ask questions and know that perseverance is very important if you don’t get answers right away. Take training when it is available. It’s also good to get on some committees to get your name known, especially when working in the finance discipline. Once you people get to know you it becomes easier for you to move up the ladder.

Header image caption: Gosselin working on all things PACE finance with her teleworking set up. Courtesy of Marsha Gosselin.

By Erica McNamee, Science Writer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center