Ernest Reith Named Associate Executive Assistant Director of FBI’s Science and Technology Branch

March 22, 2010 - Director Robert S. Mueller, III has named Ernest Reith associate executive assistant director of the FBI’s Science and Technology Branch. Mr. Reith is assigned to the FBI on a joint duty assignment from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).

Mr. Reith began his career in 1985 as a regional analyst at the Defense Mapping Agency (DMA) in St. Louis, Missouri, where he developed and maintained geospatial intelligence databases of the Eastern Pacific Rim. Mr. Reith briefly entered private industry, where he served as an applications engineer in digital photogrammetric system development. He then returned to DMA, where he was part of a team that prototyped advanced image processing capabilities and developed new products.

Mr. Reith accepted an assignment in 1994 with the Defense Mapping School at Ft. Belvoir, Virginia as an instructor in remote sensing and geographic information systems. He became a program manager in the Terrain Modeling Project Office (TMPO) in 1995. He managed several multi-agency advanced sensor programs that included data acquisition, sensor utility assessment, and advanced applications development of radar, laser, video, and spectral data in TMPO, and later in the National Imagery and Mapping Agency’s Advanced Technology and Advanced Research and Development Divisions.

In 2002, Mr. Reith was named chief of the Advanced Systems Division within the NGA and later director of the Full Spectrum Office in 2003, where he and his team focused on research, development, and transition of advanced tools and tradecraft leveraging new sources and methods. He was appointed to a senior executive position as science advisor for Spectral Research and Advanced Geospatial Intelligence in 2003 while continuing his role as director of the Full Spectrum Office. From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Reith served as the deputy director of InnoVision and was responsible for the day-to-day management of NGA’s research and development efforts.

Mr. Reith earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). He completed a Master of Science degree in geography from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville and has completed all academic requirements in pursuit of a Ph.D. in geography at UCSB. Mr. Reith is also a graduate of the Intelligence Fellows Program; Excel-Intelligence Community Executive Leadership Program; Intelligence Community Senior Leadership Program; and is a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps in the systems planning, research, development, and engineering-science and technology manager career field. His awards include the NGA Meritorious Civilian Service Award and a number of meritorious unit citations.