Dr. Sugita has more than 20 years of experience in the space sector. She has held numerous roles and led several projects in fostering innovation with the private sector and international cooperation. Among the projects initiated includes collaboration with a startup and local government, which later won the Prime Minister's award of the Japan Open Innovation Prize.
Currently, at JAXA, she is serving as the Japan lead for Earth Observing Dashboard in cooperation with NASA and ESA, to make information from satellites available to decision-makers and the public. She is also promoting public-private-academia partnerships through the Consortium for Satellite Earth Observation (CONSEO).
Dr. Sugita earned a Master in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School, and received a doctorate from the National Graduate Institute of Policy Studies.