An innovator and orchestrator connecting cross-disciplinary ideas, Alires Almon fuses a deep passion for science’s opportunities with the emerging pathways delivered by technological progression. Alires is the former chair of the Colorado Space Business Roundtable (CSBR). For three terms, she led the organization, which focuses on Colorado’s statewide government, academia, and industry to enable growth for the aerospace and defense sector. Currently, she serves as the chair of the CSBR J.E.D.I. (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) Space Council. Learn more

Berkeley Adair is a 3rd year Aerospace Engineering student. She is an ASU space student ambassador and NASA space grant intern. She is the project lead for a high-altitude ballooning mission. She is also a student Data Analyst for the Mastcam-Z team on the mars Perseverance rover. She is also a writer on ASU’s historic sketch comedy troupe, Farceside Comedy Hour. Learn more

Bryce Kennedy is the Executive Director of the Space Valley Coalition., Lead Officer at the New Mexico Space Valley Coalition, and an adjunct professor at New Mexico Tech. With a strong background in space law, he is shaping the commercial space sector by democratizing access to space. Bryce graduated from Thunderbird School of Global Management with a Master's in Global Policy and Space Leadership and holds a law degree from The Catholic University of America. Learn more

Dr. Cheryl A. Nickerson is a Professor of Life Sciences in the Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics at the Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University. Her innovative infectious disease, microbial pathogen, and 3-D tissue engineering research using spaceflight and spaceflight analogue platforms has pioneered novel approaches to benefit astronaut health and spacecraft sustainability, resulting in 11 NASA biomedical spaceflight experiments on the International Space Station. Dr. Nickerson’s research is funded by commercial, medical, philanthropic, and government partners and facilitated an educational pipeline for student job placement in the spaceflight industry. She co-leads the ASU Space Life Sciences and Health Initiative. Learn more

Daniel Da Cruz is the Consul General Executive Director at the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in San Francisco. Prior to the appointment as Consul General of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in San Francisco and Executive Director of Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office San Francisco, Daniel Da Cruz was Director general for Foreign Trade and Investment Promotion at the Ministry of the Economy (2016-2021). A career diplomat, Daniel Da Cruz was Deputy Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the United Nations in Geneva (2011-2016) and Deputy Head of Mission in Lisbon (2004-2005). From 2006 to 2010, he held various positions at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Luxembourg. Daniel Da Cruz has a Master’s degree in Law and a Bachelor in Journalism and Communication. Learn more

Dr. Dean Bergman is the director of strategy and development at Honeybee Robotics’ Exploration Systems office in Altadena, California. He previously worked as the mission risk manager for the Resource Prospector lunar rover mission out of NASA Ames Research Center. He completed a postdoctoral fellowship at NASA Ames where he researched diagnostic methods for autonomously detecting faults in interplanetary drilling missions. He obtained a PhD in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Southern California where he focused on the modelling of large novel deployable space structures. Learn more

Dr. Donna Roberts serves as Deputy Chief Scientist of the International Space Station National Laboratory. Previously she was a Professor in the Department of Radiology at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). In addition to her prior clinical work as a neuroradiologist, she led multiple NASA-funded studies investigating the impact of spaceflight on the human brain. She has authored numerous peer-review publications and gave a previous TED-X talk describing her research. Dr. Roberts holds an MD degree from MUSC, an MS degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Colorado, and a BS degree in Computer Engineering from Clemson University. She completed Radiology residency training at MUSC and a fellowship in Neuroradiology at the University of California, San Francisco.

Ehab Gabr is the Director of Plug and Play Cedar Park in world’s 8th largest economy, Texas. Learn more

CEO, BizFamous
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Eric Sundby is the CEO of TerraSpace, a start-up that applies machine learning to the exploration process in the critical minerals industry. He also serves as the Executive Director of the Space Force Association, in this role he led initiatives to create a Congressional Space Force Caucus.

Eric volunteers as the Director of Outreach at TexSpace, an economic development organization which was responsible for the establishment of the Texas Space Commission budgeted at $300M.

He is currently pursuing a EMGM at the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU, and a PhD in Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota. Learn more

Dr. Erika Hamden is an associate professor of astrophysics at the University of Arizona and Director of the UA Space Institute. She specializes in building telescopes that go into space and the stratosphere and developing UV technology to make telescopes better. Dr. Hamden is a leader in the field of space astrophysics and has developed programs to teach early career scientists how to develop their own space missions. She is the deputy principal investigator of Aspera, a NASA mission in development. She holds a B.A. from Harvard and a PhD from Columbia University. Learn more

President and CEO, Space Florida (Ret.)
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Founder ad CEO, Katalyst
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Director & Clinical Prof of Space Leadership at Thunderbird School of Global Management, Arizona State University. Learn more

Dr. James Crowell is an explorer, engineer, and entrepreneur. An Arizona native and the founding president of SEDS-ASU, he spent over a decade at ASU and NASA developing and deploying robotic systems for geologic exploration in Earth-based extreme environments as well as the Moon and Mars. He is the Founder & CEO of Crow Industries, where they are building the Robotic Labor Force of the mining industry, working relentlessly to advance their systems here on Earth before they deploy to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. They are proud members of the Arizona Mining Association and venture-backed by Outlander and Winklevoss Capital. Learn more

Co-Founder and CEO, Equity Space Alliance
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Jeffrey Manber is President of International at Voyager Space and was the co-founder and CEO of Nanoracks where he built the largest customer base for the ISS.

As the only American to work for the Russian human space program, Mr. Manber served as Managing Director of Energia USA during development of the ISS partnership. As CEO of MirCorp in 2000, he leased the space station “Mir” and oversaw the first commercially funded crewed mission.

His most recent book is the graphic novel From the Earth to Mars. Recipient of numerous industry awards, including NASA’s highest honor, the Distinguished Public Service Medal. Learn more

Jeremiah is the founder and CEO of Tucson-based Lunasonde. His startup emphasizes the importance of sustainability and resource exploration without disruption to the environment. In 2020, Jeremiah was a recipient of Forbes 30 under 30 in Manufacturing and Industry. His company’s technology most recently launched from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in January of 2022. Learn more

Jessica Pacheco is the co-founder of Horizon Strategies and Team 168. She is a managing director of AZVC, Arizona’s largest venture capital fund, and is a senior advisor to Bedrock. She was an energy corporate executive for 23 years. She is a board member of Nuclearn (local AI startup), and Arizona Board of Regents. She serves the state through many other organizations, including as a board member of Thunderbirds Charities, former president of the Arizona-Mexico Commission Board and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry Board. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese. She has three children and loves living in Arizona.
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Jessica Rousset is the Director of the Interplanetary Initiative, leading its strategy, collaborations and operations. Jessica is a mission-driven operational, business development and commercialization leader focused on growing early-stage technology companies, creating innovation engines in large organizations and bridging academic, government and corporate interests toward the common goal of improving people’s lives. Learn more

Jim Bell is a professor in the School of Earth and Space Exploration at ASU, Director of the ASU/NewSpace Initiative, and serves as ASU’s Board member in the Commercial Spaceflight Federation. His research focuses on the use of imaging and spectroscopy to assess the geology, composition, and mineralogy of the surfaces of planets, moons, asteroids, and comets. He has served in leadership roles on numerous NASA robotic space missions. Jim has also authored nine popular science books about space exploration, is past President of The Planetary Society, and received the AAS Carl Sagan Medal for public communication in science. Learn more

Jim Cantrell is an American entrepreneur, race car driver, engineer and author with over 35 years in the space and automotive industries. He has co-founded six companies, is currently the CEO and co-founder of Phantom Space and Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Wolverine Capital. He has held positions with the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the French Space Agency (CNES), SpaceX as the first Vice President of Business Development on its founding team, on numerous space startup boards, and on twenty-one NASA source selection boards for Earth Science and Deep Space missions. During his career, he has worked on forty-six satellites and four launch vehicles for both government and commercial applications. Jim is the author of several books on space history and entrepreneurial endeavors in addition to numerous technical papers that have advanced innovation in his field. A mechanical engineer, he holds a bachelor's degree and master's degree from Utah State University. Mr. Cantrell is also an avid road racer and the Founder of Vintage Exotics Competition Engineering. Learn more

Governor Hobbs was born and raised in Arizona and is dedicated to public service. After graduating from NAU and ASU, she began her career as a social worker working with homeless youth and later helped run one of the largest domestic violence shelters in the country. After being elected to the Arizona House in 2010, Governor Hobbs later served in the Arizona State Legislature for four terms. In 2018, she was elected Secretary of State, where she successfully oversaw a contentious election cycle. Governor Hobbs was elected Arizona’s 24th Governor in 2022 and was sworn in January 2023.

Kelli Kedis Ogborn is the Vice President of Space Commerce and Entrepreneurship. Kelli’s leadership has played a pivotal role in shaping the trajectory of companies entering the space market. With extensive experience in R&D and cutting-edge technology applications for the U.S. government and private sector, her methodologies guide organizations and companies that are transitioning from development ecosystems to market capitalization. In her role as Vice President of Space Commerce and Entrepreneurship at Space Foundation, Kedis Ogborn leads Space Commerce Institute, an initiative aimed at providing valuable insights and actionable programming to empower countries, individuals, and companies to carve out their niche and thrive in the rapidly expanding space economy. Learn more

Kyle Squires is the dean the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University and vice provost for Engineering, Computing and Technology. Appointed in February 2016, Squires previously served as vice and interim dean, as well as the director of the School for Engineering of Matter, Transport and Energy, one of the seven Fulton Schools of Engineering. A professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, Squires holds a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Washington State University and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. Squires’ expertise encompasses computational fluid dynamics, turbulence modeling of both single-phase and multi-phase flows, and high-performance computing. Learn more

Dr. Lance Gharavi is Professor in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre at Arizona State University and Associate Director of ASU’s Interplanetary Initiative. His work focuses on points of intersection between performance, technology, science, and religion. He specializes in leading transdisciplinary teams of artists, scientists, designers, and engineers to create compelling experiences and advance research. Current projects include: Port of Mars, an NSF-funded game-based platform for social science experiments to help future human space communities thrive; Sacred Space, an series of inquiries into religion and space exploration; a project sponsored by the Center for Narrative, Disinformation, and Strategic Influence laying the theoretical foundation of the phenomena known as the “Big Lie”; and GHOST Lab, a DoD-funded laboratory/art installation for research into robotics and AI. He is the director of St. Bird, an art/science collective, the leader of Ars Robotica, an initiative to advance research in robotics and AI through the arts, and the Executive Director of the Centre for Applied Eschatology, an ongoing conceptual art project about endings and our relations to them. Learn more

Vice President, Seraphim Space
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Dr. Van Dyke joined the University of Arizona in 2020 as the Associate Dean of Research in the College of Engineering, and a Tenured Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering. He has published more than 80 papers and book chapters, is an inventor or co-inventor on 34 issued US patents, many related to keratin biomaterials and their application to trauma treatment, and a co-founder of three startups. His teaching interests include regenerative medicine, biomaterials and entrepreneurship. He currently leads major project development and funding efforts, as well as strategic planning activities, for the College. Learn more

Matt Gialich is CEO and Co-Founder of AstroForge, the first and most efficient asteroid mining company in the world, and the first commercial company ever to go to deep space. He has more than a decade of experience providing exemplary leadership to accomplished engineering teams. Upon receiving his Masters's degree in electrical engineering, he joined Toyon Research, where he was responsible for creating novel navigation algorithms. He went on to join the initial technical team at Virgin Orbit. During his tenure, he led the flight software and GNC teams and oversaw all aspects of the building and hiring of Avionics. Following Virgin, he accepted a leadership position at Bird as the Director of Vehicle Software. There he led his team through the development of the Bird 2 and 3 vehicles. Learn more

Dr. Michael M. Crow is an educator, knowledge enterprise architect, science and technology policy scholar and higher education leader. He became the sixteenth president of Arizona State University in July 2002 and has spearheaded ASU’s rapid and groundbreaking transformative evolution into one of America’s best public metropolitan research universities. As a model “New American University,” ASU simultaneously demonstrates comprehensive excellence, inclusivity representative of the ethnic and socioeconomic diversity of the United States, and consequential societal impact. Learn more

General Partner, Starbridge Venture Capital
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Dr. Molly Mulligan is director of business development at Redwire. In this role, she supports business development efforts for the company’s biotechnology and materials science portfolio.

Prior to joining Redwire, Dr. Mulligan worked at Space Commerce Matters as the Director of Commercialization Strategies, where she led efforts in commercial allocation and commercialization strategies. In 2017, Dr. Mulligan returned to the United States and began working for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). CASIS manages the US National Lab located on the International Space Station (ISS).

In 2014, Dr. Mulligan’s expertise in the area of tissue chips led her to join SpacePharma, a start-up company in Herzliya Israel, that builds hardware for research platforms based in space.

Dr. Mulligan did her post-doctoral work in Biomedical Engineering at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology. At the Technion, Dr. Mulligan’s work focused on tissue chips, this time looking at breathing lung models. Dr. Mulligan attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass), where she earned a PhD in Mechanical Engineering in 2011, and Smith College ('05), where she double majored in Physics and Astronomy. Learn more

Dr. Grogan is an associate professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence at Arizona State University. He holds a Ph.D. in engineering systems and a S.M. degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a B.S. degree in engineering mechanics and astronautics from the University of Wisconsin. He leads the Collective Design Lab, which develops and studies the use of information-based methods and tools for engineering design of Earth and space infrastructure systems with distributed or decentralized architectures. Learn more

Ryan M. Hartman is the President and Chief Executive Officer of World View, the leading stratospheric exploration company on a mission to inspire the global community to rediscover Earth through its space tourism and stratospheric remote sensing businesses. Hartman joined World View as CEO in early 2019 and has since led World View to become a purpose-driven, global brand that continues to pioneer humanity’s exploration and understanding of the Earth from the stratosphere. Learn more

Sabrina K. Steele is executive director of the Corporate Affairs and Communications Division at The Aerospace Corporation, responsible for leading an integrated, national team of professionals to promote the company as a thought leader across the space enterprise. Steele directs her team’s efforts to address myriad strategic and tactical corporate communications needs, including public and media relations, internal and external communications, and thought leadership and innovation campaigns that support and drive corporate strategy. Through the leadership of the corporation’s brand and reputation programs, Steele oversees the essential task of communicating Aerospace’s role as the nation’s trusted partner, solving the hardest problems for the preeminent space enterprise. Recently, she has led brand partnerships to connect the commercial and tech startup community with the nation’s military, intelligence, and civil space missions. She was promoted to her current position in 2014. Learn more

Sandra Watson is an economic development professional with over 30 years of leadership experience in business attraction and expansion, innovation, entrepreneurship, economic policy and workforce development. She and her teams have worked with more than 1,223 companies that have committed to creating more than 275,000 quality jobs, investing more than $121 billion in capital.

Ms. Watson serves as President & CEO of the Arizona Commerce Authority (ACA), a public-private partnership that leads statewide economic development. In addition to serving on the ACA’s Board of Directors, Ms. Watson serves on Governor Katie Hobbs’ leadership team as her Senior Economic Policy Advisor. Learn more

Steve Trussell began his career consulting for the Arizona Mining Association (AMA), joined Arizona Rock Products Association in 2002 as Community Relations Director, and became the Executive Director in 2007. He is responsible for the preservation of the rock products and mining industry through involvement with Arizona public officials on the policy, regulatory and community relations. In 2017, Trussell became the Executive Director of the Arizona Mining Association, as well. He serves on the Advisory Board for the Center of Environmentally Sustainable Mining, The Governor's Regulatory Review Council, Executive Committee for the UA’s Mining School and the Board of Directors for the Arizona Chamber of Commerce. Learn more

Sr. Manager Government Affairs, Virgin Galactic
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Dr Timiebi Aganaba is experienced in multilevel governance having worked on space governance issues at the global, national and local levels in 5 countries. At the global level, she was executive director of the World Space Week Association, implementing the 1999 UN World Space Week declaration; at the national level she was a Legal Affairs and International Cooperation Officer at the Nigerian Space Agency and at the local level, and at the local level she has led projects focused on stakeholder engagement including a project at Arizona State University on Integrating Space in the local Arizona economy and on the societal consideration for siting of an astronomy telescope in local communities for the next generation Event Horizon Telescope (ngEHT).

A passionate communicator, Timiebi has been featured in the Washington Post, the Hill, New York Times, CNN, NPR, LA Times, Forbes, the Telegraph, Financial Times, New Yorker, Wired, ABC Australia, BusinessDay and Business Insider amongst others! Learn more

Vice President, Arizona Commerce Authority
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