Dr. Jane Lubchenco was part of the "Science Dream Team" appointed by President Obama immediately after his election in 2008. She spent four years at the helm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) after spending all of her professional career in academia. NOAA is a scientific agency that uses science to provide services such as weather forecasts and warnings (the National Weather Service) and navigation charts and to be a steward of oceans and coasts (e.g., by managing fisheries in federal waters, responding to oil spills such as the Deepwater Horizon/Macondo disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, and working to restore oceans to health). She will describe some of the challenges she faced during her tenure, some of the successes and failures, and some of the lessons learned.