Courtney Draggon

As Director of the National Weather Service International Affairs Office, Courtney Draggon is responsible for supporting the NWS mission and operations through international engagement. The International Affairs Office mission is to provide significant strategic and technical leadership to the global weather, climate, and water community so that the community can make increasingly well-informed social and economic decisions. It also provides leadership in facilitating the agency’s collaboration with the global hydro-meteorological community.

Ms. Draggon holds a Master’s degree in International Relations from American University’s School of International Service. Prior to joining the federal government, Ms. Draggon worked for the State Department as well as in the non-profit sector doing conflict resolution training for water engineers in Turkey and Cyprus.

Ms. Draggon has worked for the NWS since 2004, starting as a Presidential Management Fellow. During her tenure at NWS, Ms. Draggon has served as a regional focal point for Asia, Central America, and the Caribbean. In this capacity, she negotiated bilateral agreements and activities with China, Korea, and Mexico. As the focal point for the Americas, she coordinated and led preparations for several World Meteorological Organization (WMO) meetings in the region, including the WMO Hurricane Committee and the WMO Quadrennial Regional Association IV (North America, Central America, and the Caribbean) meeting.

Ms. Draggon previously served as a senior policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observation and Prediction as well as worked as an advisor in the Office of the NWS Director.

Ms. Draggon was raised in the Washington, DC, area and has lived with her family in Chile, Brazil, and the Republic of South Korea. She is married with two children.