Evelyn J. Fields

Evelyn J. Fields (born 1949) is a rear admiral, retired, of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, who served as the director of the Commissioned Officer Corps and director of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, from 1999 until her retirement in 2003. Fields was the first woman, and first African American to head the NOAA Corps.

Earlier in her career, in 1989, Fields was given command of the research vessel, NOAAS McArthur, thus becoming the first woman and first African American to command a NOAA ship, and the first woman to command a ship in the United States uniformed services for an extended assignment.

Early life and education Evelyn Juanita Fields was born in Norfolk, Virginia on 29 January 1949, the oldest of five children (two girls and three boys). Her father was a civilian employee at the Naval Shipyard in Norfolk, and her mother was a teacher. She attended Liberty Park Elementary School, crediting her fourth and fifth grade teacher with sparking her interest in math and science. She then attended Booker T. Washington High School. She was then selected for and attended the Armed Forces Staff College to study hydrography.

In 1997, Fields became the acting deputy director of NOAA's National Ocean Service, where she improved and streamlined the nautical chart making process. With new technology, Fields doubled the rate of chart production and cut the time to update a nautical chart from 47 weeks to 4 weeks. Fields was the first woman, and first African American, to hold this position. While serving in the roles as both director of the NOAA Corps and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, she was responsible for NOAA's fleet of 15 research vessels, 14 aircraft, and over 700 commissioned NOAA Corp officers and civilians. After the exchange program, she was responsible for reviewing, critiquing, and determining whether the hydrographic survey data submitted by Atlantic Marine Center field units was complete and adequate for final acceptance into the processing system.

Afterward, as assignment coordinator for the Office of NOAA Corps Operations, she worked with all program areas of NOAA, providing sound advice to both programs and officers regarding officer assignments. Rear Admiral Fields retired 1 December 2003.

Awards and honors

1996 - Named one of the top 50 minority women in science and engineering by the National Technical Association 2000 - The Virginia State Legislature passed Senate Joint Resolution No. 15 commending Rear Admiral Evelyn J. Fields "on her exceptionally distinguished career with the NOAA Corps" and "as an expression of the General Assembly's admiration for her accomplishments and best wishes for continued success"

Personal life Fields is a member of Zeta Phi Beta sorority. Her hobbies are reading, aerobics and gardening.