Sean O’Keefe is University Professor and the Howard and Louise Phanstiel endowed Chair in Strategic Management and Leadership at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Previously, O’Keefe was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Group Inc. Prior to joining Airbus, he was a company officer and Vice President of the General Electric Company following service as Chancellor of the Louisiana State University. On four separate occasions O'Keefe served as a presidential appointee when he led NASA, as Secretary of the Navy, as Deputy Director of the Office ..read more

Omran Sharaf is Project Director of the Emirates Mars Mission at the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre. He and his team are responsible for developing, launching, and operating the Hope Probe, the spacecraft of the mission. An experienced electronics and systems engineer, Sharaf was responsible for developing and implementing the Command & Data Handling Subsystem (C&DH) for the DubaiSat-1 high resolution LEO imaging satellite. He also headed the development of the C&DH subsystem and payload electronics subsystem for DubaiSat-2, along with being a systems engineer of that project. Sh ..read more

Peter Crabtree is the General Manager Science, Innovation, and International at the New Zealand Ministry of Business, Innovation, and Employment. He is responsible for enterprise policy, science and innovation policy, international science partnerships, trade and regulatory cooperation, and international strategy. He also heads the New Zealand Space Agency. Prior to this role, Crabtree was Deputy Chief Executive, System Strategy and Policy at the Ministry of Science and Innovation. He has held other senior roles government roles as well ..read more

Christian Davenport is a reporter covering the defense and space industries for The Washington Post’s Financial desk. He joined The Post in 2000 and has had an array of assignments. Before joining the Financial staff, Christian was an editor on the Metro desk, overseeing coverage of local government and politics. He has also worked at Newsday, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Austin American-Statesman. Christian is the author of two books, and he won the Peabody Award in 2010. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in American Studies from Colby College ..read more

Ann Devereaux is Division Manager for Systems Engineering for the Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Systems Engineering Division, which includes both project and spacecraft systems engineering from proposal formulation and initial design through integration, test, and launch operations. Ann served as lead spacecraft systems engineer for Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover as well as most recently for the initial design phase of the Mars 2020 Perseverance rover. She has over 25 years of experience with both technology demonstrations and flight programs, designing and building custom high-reliabil ..read more

Marcia Smith is President of Space and Technology Policy Group, LLC and founder and editor of the website SpacePolicyOnline.com. A veteran space policy analyst, Ms. Smith spent 31 years as a science and technology policy expert specializing in space activities at the Congressional Research Service. After leaving CRS, she was Director of the Space Studies Board and of the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. Among her professional activities, Ms. Smith is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA ..read more

Episode 15 features Karl Rodrigues, Executive Director for International and National Engagement at the Australian Space Agency. Mr. Rodrigues is responsible for developing relationships with international space agencies. He also engages with Australian industry, start-ups, domestic agencies, research institutions, and state and territory governments to help grow the Australian space sector. Mr. Rodrigues has over 25 years of experience in innovation, venture investment, research, development and commercialization of technology. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Computing Scienc ..read more

This episode features Dale Nash, CEO and Executive Director of Virginia Commercial Spaceflight Authority. Also known as Virginia Space, the authority owns and operates the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) including three Launch Pads and a Payload Processing Facility, as well as the MARS UAS Airfield. Mr. Nash has 38 years of experience in the aerospace industry. He headed the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska for six years prior to joining VA Space. He has also served in senior management positions working Space Shuttle launch operations and program development on the Orion program with Un ..read more

This podcast discussion features Kelvin Coleman, the FAA’s deputy associate administrator for commercial space transportation. His office is responsible for licensing commercial operators for space launch and re-entry. Prior to joining AST more than 20 years ago, Mr. Coleman worked for the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command as both a systems engineer, and as a guidance, navigation, and control engineer for several weapon system acquisition programs. Mr. Coleman holds a B.S. in Electronics and Computer Engineering from George Mason University and an M.B.A. from Marymount University ..read more

This podcast discussion features Alex Macdonald, NASA’s chief economist. He also serves as program executive of the International Space Station National Lab. He was previously the Senior Economic Advisor in the Office of the Administrator and was the founding program executive of NASA's Emerging Space Office. Dr. Macdonald is a former executive staff specialist on commercial space at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a former research faculty member at Carnegie Mellon University, and has worked on small satellite mission design at NASA’s Ames Research Center. Dr. Macdonald received his undergr ..read more