Mike Headley

Mike Headley is the Executive Director of the South Dakota Science and Technology Authority and the Laboratory Director of the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF), where he leads a 200-member team in the development and operation of the deepest underground science laboratory in the United States. He has more than 31 years of engineering and management experience and served in the United States Air Force for six years.

Before coming to SURF in 2008, Mike served in various roles at the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Earth Resources Observation and Science Center (EROS) and was a Deputy Program Manager and Assistant Vice President for the Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) at the USGS EROS Center, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. He earned a bachelor’s degree from South Dakota State University and an MBA from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.