Evelyn J. Fields
Evelyn J. Fields (born 1949) is a former officer 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. Fields graduated from Norfolk State University in 1971 with a BS degree in mathematics, starting out in her freshman