For the month of October NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory is publishing a series of stories highlighting some of the women working at the lab. One Q&A segment will be published each Monday in October.

PaTrina Gregory is the administrative officer at NOAA NSSL and as such she is the leader of the NSSL Director’s Office team who oversee all matters related budgets, grants, property, leases, personnel, and procurements. She ensures the entire laboratory functions efficiently and is able to complete its scientific mission. As a result of her exceptional work, she has received several awards and recognitions. Gregory joined NSSL in 2014.

Q: Describe the path leading up to your current job.
A: I competed for a professional development/career internship when working at the National Institutes of Health in Maryland. I successfully completed the three year internship and became an administrative officer and I have been doing it ever since. I joined NSSL in 2014.

Q: Tell us something that might surprise us about you.
A: I’ve flown a Cessna, a glider, and a powered parachute. I’ve also sky dived, scuba dived, rode on a snuba and I drive motorcycles…but I absolutely hate public speaking.

Q: What is your personal philosophy?
A: Be kind to people…you never know what’s going on inside of them…if you can’t make them better, don’t dare make them worse.

Q: What is the greatest challenge you’ve had to overcome in your life thus far?
A: Growing up quickly! My mom died from cancer when I was 18 and while those pressures in life pushed me to maturity, I like that I’m still quite silly — or I try to make everyone smile and laugh.

Q: What does true leadership mean to you?
A: Someone willing to get into the trenches with their staff, who supports them, trains them and corrects them in a kind fashion and ensures that the organization is better when they leave than it was when they arrived.