 She worked at NASA from 1996–2001, first as a special assistant to the NASA administrator and senior policy analyst for the Office of Policy and Plans, and then as the Associate Administrator for the Office of Policy and Plans.Garver was born in Lansing, Michigan on May 22, 1961, and she graduated from Haslett High School in Haslett, Michigan in 1979.In 1983, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science and economics from Colorado College.