Jack Hayes works as the director of the National Weather Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. He oversees more than 4,500 employees responsible for weather forecasts and warnings for the country. He also played a key role in orchestrating the service’s response to Hurricane Katrina, overseeing operations that supported opening the sea lanes into the Port of New Orleans and the cleanup of oil spilled from refineries into the Mississippi River. Hayes also has served as senior executive at the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, where he was responsible for the cooperative production and exchange of weather forecasts among 189 member nations.