George W.S. Abbey is the senior fellow in space policy at the Baker Institute. From 1996 to 2001, he served as the director of NASA Johnson Space Center. Prior to being assigned as an Air Force captain to NASA’s Apollo Program at the Manned Spacecraft Center in 1964, he served in the Air Force Research and Development Command and was involved in the early Air Force manned space activities, including the Dyna-Soar Program. In 1976, he was named director of flight operations, where he was responsible for operational planning and management of flight crew and flight control activities for all manned spaceflight missions.

William Shepherd has served as a Navy SEAL, NASA Astronaut, Program Manager, and Senior Government Official with the Department of Defense (DOD).  He started his military career in 1971 as an Underwater Demolition “Frogman”, and Navy SEAL, with assignments to the Pacific, Atlantic, and European theaters of operation.  In 1984, he was one of 17 Astronaut Candidates in NASA’s Astronaut Group 10.  Captain Shepherd flew as a NASA Mission Specialist and Flight Engineer on 3 Space Shuttle flights, missions that carried DOD and scientific payloads to space, performed materials and life science experiments in microgravity, and launched the interplanetary probe “Ulysses” into polar orbit of the Sun.  In 1993, Capt. Shepherd was selected to serve as Program Manager for the new International Space Station (ISS), leading a 16-nation partnership to design and build a new orbital “gateway” to space.

Edward Gonzales began his work in Pasadena, California at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in 2001 in the capacity of “Business Administrator” in the former Office of Education Office (now Office of STEM engagement) Edward also worked directly with NASA Headquarters in the Office of Education and Public Outreach for the Science Mission Directorate (with a focus on Planetary Science).

Jim Bridenstine was nominated to be the Administrator of NASA on September 1, 2017; he was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on April 19, 2018. Bridenstine was on the Committee on Science, Space and Technology during his time in Congress. He was the first elected official to be appointed NASA Administrator. As administrator, Bridenstine has…

Johann-Dietrich “Jan” Wörner was born in Kassel, Germany, in 1954. He studied civil engineering at the Technical University (TU) Berlin and TU Darmstadt, from where he graduated in 1985.

Appointed to his current position as Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation on January 20, 2019, retired US Air Force Brigadier General Wayne Monteith operated the world’s busiest spaceport and led over 9,000 military, civilian and contractor personnel.

During his three years at the 45th Space Wing, where he oversaw the successful execution of 66 launches, 23 booster landings and the successful operational use of autonomous flight safety systems. Mr. Monteith has also served as the Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of the Air Force (Space) and as Commander of the 50th Space Wing.

Maj. Gen. DeAnna M. Burt is the Commander, Combined Force Space Component Command, U.S. Space Command; and Deputy Commander, Space Operations Command, U.S. Space Force, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California

Kristen Bredeson is a Talent Acquisition Manager for Ball Aerospace. She is responsible for managing a team of talent acquisition specialists and for bringing best practices, latest techniques and industry trends to the department. In her role, Bredeson coaches and mentors team members, and creates an environment for knowledge transfer and cross-training.