Mike Sowko Email & Phone Number

Mike Sowko is a 23-year veteran of NOAA/NWS, with student volunteer service extending even earlier. Mike was promoted to Supervisory Meteorologist and selected as Chief of NWS Performance and Evaluation Branch where he leads the agency’s verification and service assessment efforts. He previously held the position of Team Lead at the NWS Operations Center (NWSOC) and has worked at NWS HQ since 2011. He helped to charter and develop the NWSOC into being the agency’s hub of information-sharing among field offices, regional headquarters and national HQ. In addition to his regular duties, Mike is Co-Lead for the NWS Program Management Office's Impact-based Decision Support Services Measurements Initiative, a member of NOAA’s Economic Valuation Team, and a 6-year veteran of the NOAA Heritage Program’s grant committee.Mike began his career in 2000 as a student trainee at WFO Pittsburgh. In 2002, he was selected as a Meteorologist at WFO Hanford (CA), then he became a Forecaster at WFO Cheyenne in 2004, before being promoted in 2008 to work at the NWS Weather Prediction Center in Collège Park, MD. Mike transferred to NWS Headquarters in 2011 and became NWS’ first Emergency Response Specialist. Mike was promotion to Team Lead in 2017, and in this capacity, he led numerous outreach activities with federal partners, participated in interagency panel discussions regarding federal operations center strategies, and he helped author the NWS Significant Event Reporting Directive. He was also awarded the Silver Sherman Award in 2019 for distinguished leadership performance during Hurricane Dorian.Mike holds a B.S. degree in Atmospheric Science (2002) from the Ohio State University in Columbus, and he subsequently earned a M.A. in Public Administration and Policy (2017) from American University in the District of Columbia. Mike also serves on the Board of Directors for Metropolitan Washington Council of Government’s Clean Air Partners to advance clean air policies and education in the region.Mike feels blessed to have supportive family in Ohio and a wife who is a nursing director. Mike is excited to continue his service in federal government in this leadership role. In his time away from work, Mike plays league tennis, pilots hobby drones, and he is president of his community’s homeowners association (HOA) in Annapolis where he resides with his wife, dog, and two cats. Mike also roots avidly for the Ohio State Buckeyes, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Chicago Cubs!

Listed skills include Leadership, Management, Communication, Public Administration, and 1 others.