Board of Directors

With a passion for building and leading world class teams, Taber led development through operations for three flight vehicle programs, StratEx, Stratollite, and Spaceship Neptune. Each vertically integrated vehicle program established world performance records that stand today. With a core premise that high functioning teams and technology are the key to extending the bounds of science and exploration, Taber has led technological programs resulting in over 30 patents ranging from life support, water recycling, and thermal control to analytical chemistry and record setting stratospheric balloon systems. His technologies have recovered over a ton water on the ISS, control humidity in the Boeing CST 100 and Dragon capsules, protect Navy divers in hazardous contaminated water, reject heat from the Sierra Space Dream Chaser, control the altitude of stratospheric balloons, and led to the flight of Spaceship Neptune, launched from the deck of a ship. Watch video.

He was also Principal Investigator on five space microgravity experiments starting in 1988 on the Soviet BioSatellite, then the U.S. Space Shuttle, Russian Mir Space Station and International Space Station. The four-month experiments on Mir produced the first animals to have completed their life cycle, then multiple successive life cycles off the Earth.

He has co-founded and scaled multiple venture-backed technology companies, including Space Perspective, World View, and Paragon Space Development Corporation, also serving as Chairman of the Board of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, the leading private spaceflight industry group. A founding member of the Biosphere 2 design team, he was one of eight original crew members selected for the two year mission inside the materially sealed 1.3 hectare, 200,000 cubic meter closed bioregenerative ecological system, which demonstrated the viability of artificial biospheres for use on Earth and beyond.

Taber is a Fellow of the Explorers Club, a 120-year-old organization for the advancement of scientific exploration, serves as Chairman of the Astronaut Memorial Foundation, and board member of the Sea Space Symposium. He also served at every level of command on the ocean-going research vessel RV Heraclitus, sailing over 45,000 km while conducting research in every tropical ocean and most of the world’s seas, following independent travel through Europe, USSR (Trans-Siberian), Japan, China, and Tibet in the 1980’s.

Kathie Scobee Fulgham, Immediate Past Chair

Kathie Scobee Fulgham is the daughter of Challenger astronaut Dick Scobee and June Scobee Rodgers, Ph.D.

The scope of Kathie's experience and leadership skills are grounded in a well-rounded career of team-play, where creative interchanges, along with goal completion, have been benchmarks of success. She focuses on public relations, special events, writing, editing, media relations, fundraising, marketing and website development.

While Kathie's work in Chattanooga has been concentrated on her projects with the Mayor, the Tennessee Aquarium and Waterfront endeavors, she also worked for two of the most highly respected institutions in the nation: Rice University and Texas A&M University. 

In addition to serving on the Astronauts Memorial Foundation Board, Kathie currently serves as a board member for Crime Stoppers, Hamilton County Department of Education Fund for Excellence, H*Art Gallery and advisory board member of the Challenger Center for Space Science Education. Past board service includes the Houston Museum, First Things First and the Cypress-Woodlands Junior Forum.

She was named a 2012 Woman of Distinction.

Andrew Allen (LtCol. USMC, Ret.), Vice Chair

Test Pilot, Top Gun, United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel and Space Shuttle Astronaut, CEO Andrew (Andy) Allen has had a distinguished and heralded career that spans more than 35 years in the aerospace industry.

Andy logged more than 900 hours in space as a Pilot and Mission Commander for three Space Shuttle missions.

Andy’s career literally 'spanned the globe' from a Marine Top Gun fighter pilot to three stints as a Space Shuttle Pilot and Mission Commander to his current role as Chief Executive Officer for Aerodyne Industries LLC in Cape Canaveral, FL.

In 2017, he was recognized by the National Space Club Florida Committee with the Dr. Kurt Debus Award, Florida’s most prestigious space industry honor. He has received numerous other honors during his illustrious career, including the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal, and NASA Exceptional Service Medal.

As a former United States Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, Marine test pilot and NASA astronaut, Andy logged more than 6,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft. Following his service with NASA and the Marine Corps, he performed in senior leadership positions at NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Johnson Space Center (JSC) and NASA Headquarters, where he proved his ability to lead organizations exceeding 4,500 personnel.

Prior to Aerodyne, Andy spent seven years at KSC, working directly for NASA and United Space Alliance (USA). During his tenure with USA, Andy served as Associate Program Manager for Ground Operations. Andy's organization performed Launch Operations and provided maintenance and operational support to the ground infrastructure required for space flight support.

Andy was successful in managing change at NASA when budget cuts required a 50% reduction of the employee base (from 8,000 to approximately 4,000 in ground operations) with no significant reduction in work scope. His team not only performed the level of work required, but also introduced new efficiencies. As a result, overtime was reduced by more than 60 percent and there were more on-time launches than in previous years, and fewer in-flight anomalies.

Andy was also responsible for USA's Shuttle Return-to-Flight effort after the Columbia (STS-107) disaster in February 2003, which required the recovery, identification and subsequent modification of critical Space Shuttle components and related systems prior to the launch of Discovery (STS-114) nearly 30 months later.

Andy has also held several positions at Honeywell, including Vice President (VP) of Space Programs and Requirements, where he led business development for Space Exploration Programs, VP of Sales and Customer Marketing for Space Systems, where he generated $600,000,000 in space systems business, and VP of International Military Aircraft Programs, where he was responsible for over $800,000,000 in annual sales and 400 customers in over 40 countries.

Jessica Andre, Treasurer

A native of Melbourne, Florida, Jessica André graduated from Melbourne High School in 2003 and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in History from Auburn University in 2008. She is co-owner of FrogBones Family Shooting Center and Double Tapp Grill in Melbourne. Jessica has served on many boards and has supported numerous fundraising efforts throughout the community. She credits her philanthropic efforts to her parents, Ed and Jeanne André, who have been involved in the community for decades and instilled in Jessica the importance of giving back at an early age. For more than a decade, Jessica partnered with the Cancer Care Centers Foundation to help organize the annual Caring Hearts Benefit, which has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for Foundation cancer patients in Brevard and Indian River Counties. Jessica’s passion for the organization is inspired by her sister, Rachael, who passed away from ovarian cancer in 2004. Jessica joined the Health First Foundation Board of Directors in 2016 and the same year, served as chairwoman of the Health First Foundation Benefit Ball themed “A Walk in Wonderland,” which featured more than 500 attendees and raised more than $500,000 for the Foundation. Jessica also served on the Space Coast Field of Dreams Board of Directors during construction of the Field of Dreams handicapped-accessible playground and sports complex in West Melbourne. She is also a Director of the André Family Foundation. An avid dog lover, Jessica also volunteers with Touch of Grey Rescue in Melbourne Beach and has fostered more than 20 senior dogs. Jessica received Space Coast Daily’s Central Florida Humanitarian Award in 2018 and tied for first-place in the fourth-annual Dancing for the Space Coast fundraising event the same year. Her interest and love for space and the space program stems from her grandfather who worked at Cape Canaveral on the Apollo Moon Landing Program. As a Space Coast native she grew up watching the rockets and shuttles go up and hearing about the Apollo missions from her grandfather. Jessica, who was paralyzed from the waist down following an accident in 2012, is no stranger to challenges and continues to live her life to the fullest. She strives to give God the glory for every good thing in her life and tries to live by Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” She has a strong passion for her Christian faith, family, giving back and anything adventurous.


Karen Bassett Stevenson, Secretary and PR Committee Chair

Karen Bassett Stevenson is the daughter of Charlie and Jeannie Bassett. Charlie was a member of the third group of astronauts and was scheduled to pilot Gemini IX. He and flight commander Elliot See were killed in a T-38 accident in St. Louis, Missouri on February 28, 1966.

Karen was born on the far eastern tip of Long Island (where her dad watched Sputnik orbit). She earned a bachelor’s degree in park administration and landscape architecture from Texas Tech University and continued graduate studies in American History at Portland State University, Oregon.

Her career has been shaped by 501(c)(3) organizations. She’s worked on heritage preservation and tourism projects in Oregon and Houston and with environmental conservation organizations in South Dakota, Chicago, and Seattle. She served as a board member for community organizations dedicated to teaching school children in inner-city food deserts and as the training director for Texas Master Naturalists in San Antonio. As the director of communications for The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin, Texas, she reshaped institutional communication programs. As the Museum Director of the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas, she directed the development of the Childhood on the Homefront Children’s Gallery. In 2023, Karen and her family moved to Corpus Christi, Texas where she serves as the President and CEO of the Corpus Christi Museum of Science and History.
 

Denise Coleman, Education Committee Chair

Denise Coleman was born in Syracuse, NY, and her family moved to Florida in 1965 as her father became part of the fledgling Space Program team. After watching Apollo rockets fly over her childhood school playgrounds, she joined NASA in 1978 at the beginning of the Shuttle Program. She supported the rollout of STS-1 through the final flight of STS-135, and then continued to support the NASA Commercial Crew Program and Artemis missions. She received several awards, with highlights being a NASA Certificate of Commendation, the Spaceflight Awareness Award, and the NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal.

Denise has held various administrative roles in her 42-1/2 year career, including Education Program Specialist, under the NASA Office of STEM Engagement. She supported programs that engaged local and national K-12 educators and students; school districts; university faculty and students; Space Grants; Challenger Centers; science centers and museums; and informal education programs such as Boys and Girls Clubs, 4-H, and the Boy and Girl Scout organizations. She has had key roles on multiple teams that ran collegiate NASA challenges and competitions. Her last role was as the NASA STEM activity lead of the Next Gen STEM Commercial Crew Program. With a team of education specialists from across KSC, JSC, LARC, GRC and NASA HQs, developed K-12 curriculum and activities related to the CCP program. She worked with education and public affairs reps from SpaceX and Boeing to ensure the NASA CCP story was fully disseminated to the public. Throughout her career, she supported NASA Guest Operations for multiple launches and special events. This included being the KSC lead liaison for the astronaut extended families, working closely with the JSC Astronaut Office to ensure optimum launch experiences for the families.

Denise is married to husband, Marty, and has a son, daughter and son-in-law. She enjoys reading (plans to volunteer at the local library), the beach, gardening and traveling.

Raja Chari, Astronaut (Brig. Gen.)

Raja Chari serves as an Active Astronaut and the Assistant to the Chief for Exploration, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. He is responsible for leading astronaut development and testing for the Human Landing System program. The HLS program is the lunar lander for the Artemis program and his work includes integrating the design and testing with the Orion deep space crew capsule, exploration class lunar space suits, and the Gateway lunar space station. His duties include work across several NASA Centers and oversight of multiple US and international contractors.

Col Chari was commissioned from the U.S. Air Force Academy where he was a distinguished graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in Astronautical Engineering and Engineering Sciences. He earned his master of science degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Following undergraduate pilot training and F-15E training he served as an evaluator and instructor pilot in the F-15E where he gained operational experience in the Pacific and flew combat missions in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. After graduating from US Naval Test Pilot School, he was an F-15 Developmental Test Pilot and served in the CENTCOM Joint Operations Center as a time sensitive targeting office. After graduating from US Army Command and General Staff College, he was a program manager for an ACAT-1 Program in the Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office. As a squadron commander, he led the 461st Flight Test Squadron and was the Integrated Test Force Director leading a joint multi-national team of over 1,000 personnel responsible for developmental flight testing of the F-35 Lightning II. After completing Astronaut Candidate training, Col Chari was the director of the Joint Test Team for the Commercial Crew Program leading system testing for the SpaceX Crew Dragon and Boeing CST-100 Starliner. He then served as Crew-3 Commander for the first flight of the Endurance space vehicle and spent nearly 6 months aboard the International Space Station where he took part in over 350 scientific studies and executed 2 spacewalks to increase station performance.

Col Chari is an Astronaut and Command Pilot with over 6,800 flying hours in a variety of space and aircraft.

William Beck, P.E.

William is currently a General Partner at Scopus Venture Fund III.  It is an Early Stage and Growth Fund that targets investments in early and middle stage Aerospace and Defence companies with Specialization in Agentic Enterprise AI, dual-use defense technologies, and Manufacturing.
 
Prior to joining the Scopus Fund, William was the Senior Vice President of Infrastructure at Terran Orbital, Bill oversaw real estate, strategy, design and construction, operations, and security for  the high-tech automation and manufacturing campuses in the U.S. and Europe. Throughout his career, he has championed emerging technologies—from AI-driven operations to fuel cell and solar integration—consistently delivering results that reduce risk and operational costs while advancing mission-critical performance. 
 
William (Bill) is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of global experience leading the development, design, construction, and operations of critical and non-critical infrastructure, with deep expertise in the data center, financial, and real estate sectors. With a well-rounded background spanning ownership, consulting, service provision, and contracting, he delivers high-impact strategies that drive efficiency, sustainability, and innovation. Bill has led hundreds of data center transactions and managed portfolios totaling several million square feet and billions of dollars in capital and operational spend across the Americas, Europe, and Asia. As former Global Head of Critical Engineering, Energy, and Sustainability at Credit Suisse, he introduced global data center standards, launched advanced energy initiatives, and helped establish the bank as a sustainability leader.  
 
Bill is a licensed Professional Engineer and Certified Energy Procurement Professional, with a Master of Science in Management and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University. He has been on multiple boards, including the 7x24 Exchange New York and the Somerset Hills Learning Institute, and actively contributes to industry innovation through advisory roles, public speaking, and participation in organizations like ASHRAE, IEEE, and SAME. A proven leader in both strategy and execution, Bill continues to drive technological advancement, operational excellence, and sustainability in the global mission-critical infrastructure space.  

Matthew Beddingfield

Matthew Beddingfield is a whistleblower attorney and writer currently living in Richmond, Virginia. He previously worked as a reporter for Bloomberg in the Washington, D.C. area. His grandfather, James Gleaves, was a lead mechanical technician for North American Aviation and is the last remaining survivor from the direct scene of the Apollo 1 tragedy that took place on January 27, 1967.

Matthew has written extensively on the circumstances surrounding the Apollo 1 accident, and his work has appeared in publications including Scientific American, Air & Space Magazine, Newsweek, Space News, The Orlando Sentinel and more. He has spent the last several years working to produce a comprehensive narrative surrounding the Apollo 1 tragedy that took the lives of Grissom, White and Chaffee and changed not just the trajectory of the U.S. space program, but the astronauts' three families, forever. Matthew's hope is that through his own family connection to the tragic event, he can help the AMF continue to honor the lives of Grissom, White and Chaffee by assisting with efforts to further tell their stories and preserve and stabilize important physical landmarks, including LC34, so that future generations can understand the impact of these astronauts' lives and the work they did.

Elizabeth Blaber, Ph.D.

Elizabeth A. Blaber, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Biomedical Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), a Visiting Scientist with the Blue Marble Space Institute of Science at NASA Ames Research Center and a Space Biology Principal Investigator. She earned her Bachelor of Medical Sciences (Honors) at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and her Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Biochemistry from the same University. Prior to joining RPI, Dr. Blaber conducted research at NASA Ames Research Center. Throughout her career she has aimed to further NASA’s human research and space biology programs by investigating the role of microgravity on stem cell growth and regenerative functions. Dr. Blaber’s research is focused on understanding how stem cells and consequently, tissue regeneration, are affected by spaceflight stressors. She is also investigating the effects of alterations to the bone marrow microenvironment on peripheral tissue degeneration and disease progression.

Dr. Blaber has provided lead science support for over six spaceflight experiments, including several Space Shuttle missions with rodents (STS-131, STS-133 and STS-135), and embryonic stem cells (STL-1 and STL-2). Dr. Blaber investigated the role of the cell cycle in stem cell-based tissue regeneration during mechanical unloading in spaceflight during her NASA Postdoctoral Program Fellowship at NASA Ames and participated in the US/Russia collaborative Bion-M1 Mouse Biospecimen Sharing Program in Moscow, Russia. In 2014, she was awarded a NASA Space Biology Spaceflight Grant as a Principal Investigator to continue investigating the role of CDKN1a/p21 on somatic stem cell differentiation in space. Dr. Blaber is also a co-Investigator on the RR10 mission to assess in vivo bone formation in CDKN1a/p21 knockout and wildtype animals.  She is one of the Principal Investigators for the upcoming BionM2 mission and a Co-PI on an NSF/ISS collaborative spaceflight experiment aimed to launch in 2022. 

Dr. Blaber’s contributions to spaceflight research include articles defining cellular, molecular and tissue mechanisms of bone loss in microgravity as well as the effects of microgravity mechanical unloading on mesenchymal and hematopoietic stem cell proliferation and differentiation during tissue regeneration. 

Dr. Blaber is incredibly passionate about the spaceflight community, advocating for new opportunities and for enabling students and underrepresented populations to become involved in spaceflight research. She has been a member of ASGSB/ASGSR since 2010 and was a Student Board member prior to being elected to the Governing Board in 2016. Dr. Blaber has also served as Co-Chair of the Gravitational Physiology Scientific Sub-Committee for the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) since 2014 and she currently serves on the Editorial Board for Stem Cells and Development and Frontiers in Physiology: Environmental, Aviation and Space Physiology. 

Throughout her career at NASA Ames Research Center and at RPI, Dr. Blaber has mentored many high school, undergraduate and graduate students and provided opportunities to students to pursue their passions in research, engineering, spaceflight, and biological sciences. She has organized outreach activities for middle and high school students in minority communities both domestically and internationally and has spoken at several Women in STEM conferences. Dr. Blaber also participates in several STEAM mentorship programs including Saturday Morning Scholars and Engineering Ambassadors at RPI. Dr. Blaber also created, developed, and taught the GeneLab for High Schools Summer Training Program in 2017 aimed at introducing high school students to space-based research and bioinformatics analysis of GeneLab datasets. She has continued to direct and teach this program over the last 5 years, including transitioning the program to the virtual environment during 2020 and 2021. Currently Dr. Blaber is working with QuestStar III to enable similar semester-long programs for over 40,000 students from 23 school districts in the NY Capital Region.  

Dr. Blaber has been honored with several prestigious awards including the Thora W. Halstead Young Investigator Award, the NASA Early Career Public Achievement Medal, NASA Honor Awards, the Australian-American Individual Innovator of the Year Award, the Emerging Space Leaders Grant from the International Astronautical Federation and has been invited to present her research at several prestigious institutes including the Center for Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Research and Applications (CiRA) in Kyoto, Japan.

Courtney Black

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Kevin Brown

Mr. Kevin Brown has been a space industry business leader for the past 35 years focused on creating new industry solutions for NASA, DoD, and commercial space flight programs. In his current role as Sr. Vice President of Space Prep Business Development at All Points, Mr. Brown is co-leading a team developing major new infrastructure for pre-launch preparation of spacecraft and payloads in Florida, California, and other launch sites. Prior to joining All Points in 2018, Mr. Brown served as Director of Business Development for Civil Space at Engility (now SAIC) and as Senior Associate with Booz Allen Hamilton where he managed the firm’s business portfolio at Kennedy Space Center and Patrick Space Force Base. He was also co-founder of Command and Control Technologies, which was named one of Florida’s top 100 fastest growing companies in the early 2000’s. Mr. Brown began his aerospace career at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace (now Boeing), where he led several ground systems projects, including payload preparation for the Space Shuttle and launch control systems for the Delta Clipper experimental (DC-X) rocket.

Today, Mr. Brown serves on the worship team at Trinity Community Church in Titusville, Florida, as mentor to FIRST Robotics Challenge Team 801 “Horsepower.” and is previous Chairman and member of the Board of Directors of the National Space Club Florida Committee. Mr. Brown holds degrees in Computer Science from the University of Louisiana-Lafayette and Engineering Management from the University of Central Florida. He resides in Cocoa, Florida with his wife Abby and is incredibly proud of his three grown daughters.

Behzad Koosha, Ph.D.

Dr. Behzad Koosha has over 14 years of experience in aerospace and terrestrial communications. He holds a PhD in Electrical & Computer Engineering from The George Washington University, focusing on satellite communications. Dr. Koosha’s multifaceted career spans technical development, business strategy, and commercialization. His early roles at T-Mobile (formerly Sprint) involved work on wireless terrestrial networks. He has since gained extensive experience at Intelsat, Hughes Network Systems, SpaceLink and Terran Orbital (a Lockheed Martin company), where he contributed to the development of satellite communications systems while also honing his skills in business development, sales, and marketing. Dr. Koosha has a proven track record in commercializing technologies, developing go-to-market strategies, and driving revenue growth in the aerospace sector. Throughout his career, he has worked on commercial and government proposals, successfully winning contracts as prime for the aerospace and defense industry. His blend of technical expertise and business acumen makes him a valuable asset in bridging engineering innovations with market opportunities. Dr. Koosha is also an adjunct professor at The George Washington University, where he shares his industry insights with the next generation of engineers.

Kristie McCool

Kirstie brings over 25 years of senior leadership experience within corporate innovation teams, venture-backed technology startups, entrepreneurial technology accelerators, and non-profit organizations. Kirstie started her career as a software engineer at Lockheed Martin, and then spent over a decade leading sales and strategic business development teams at Sun Microsystems, Mentor Graphics and Wind River Systems. She has also held executive roles at four venture-backed technology startups, including her role as co-founder and CEO of DigitalOwl.

Before retiring in early 2025, Kirstie was the Vice President of Innovation at GuideWell/Florida Blue, where she oversaw a variety of strategic innovation initiatives that span across GuideWell’s $30B health solutionsenterprise. These initiatives leveraged state-of-the-art corporate innovation frameworks such as humancentered-design, lean startup and rapid prototyping to quickly identify, de-risk and deploy customer-facingsolutions that address critical needs for transforming GuideWell’s business.

Before joining GuideWell, Kirstie was the President & CEO of the International Business Innovation Association, a 501(c)3 non-profit that serves over 600 business incubators, technology accelerators and entrepreneurial economic development organizations in over 60 countries. As InBIA’s CEO, Kirstie established strategic funding partnerships with the U.S. Department of State, JP Morgan Chase, the European Union, and the Kauffman Foundation focused on designing and executing programs for inclusive entrepreneurial economic development both in the US and internationally.

Before joining InBIA, Kirstie was the Founding Executive Director of two Florida-based non-profit technology accelerators - Starter Studio and Igniting Innovation. In these roles, Kirstie was responsible for all program and operational fundraising. She also oversaw the design and deployment of curated entrepreneurial programs designed to coach Florida entrepreneurs on customer validation through human centered design and lean startup methodologies. Collectively these two accelerators mentored over 150 Florida technology companies that went on to raise over $75 million in seed venture capital. Kirstie also led four Central Florida entrepreneurial economic development collaborations that resulted in over $7 million in operational funding to establish entrepreneurial initiatives and centers across Florida’s I-4 Corridor. Kirstie was also tapped to be the founding director of Startup Florida under President Obama’s Startup America initiative.

In 2004, Kirstie joined the University of Central Florida (UCF) to design and launch UCF’s Venture Lab where she facilitated the commercialization and spin-out of three technology companies based on faculty inventions, and mentored hundreds of local entrepreneurs in business strategy and financing. She was also the Executive Director of the Winter Park Angels - a 50+ member angel investment group located in Orlando, Florida.

In February 2021, Kirstie was awarded Florida’s I4 Business Women’s Inspired Leadership Award for Innovation. Kirstie is also the recipient of Orlando Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business Award, the Working Woman Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, and the Dr. W. Judson King Entrepreneurship Memorial Award. Shegraduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.S. in Computer Science from UCF and also earned her MBA for UCF.

Kevin McKeown

Kevin McKeown was born in New York City and moved to Florida’s Space Coast in 1958 when his father was assigned to Patrick Air Force Base to support the early American space program. As a young student in Melbourne, Kevin’s teachers took the class outside to watch the historic Gemini launches, inspiring his lifelong passion for space exploration and public service. Kevin earned his Bachelor of Science in General Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was nominated by Congressman Lou Frey. Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in Armor, he served as a platoon leader with the 3rd Infantry Division in Augsburg, Germany, and later as the Division Tank Gunnery Officer on the 3ID General Staff in Würzburg. Following his active-duty service, Kevin transitioned to the private sector to pursue his dream of contributing to the nation’s space program. Joining Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Florida, he supported numerous NASA and Department of Defense initiatives, including the Space Shuttle program, Hubble Telescope, and classified satellite and defense systems. He also served as Mission Assurance Manager for NASA Langley’s Control of Flexible Structures in Space (CoFS) experiment and contributed to the NASA CORE launch processing project at Kennedy Space Center. Kevin continued his military service in the U.S. Army Reserve, qualifying as a Green Beret and serving as an Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) Team Leader with the 11th Special Forces Group (Airborne). A dedicated community volunteer, he has served as Chairman of the Congressional District U.S. Military Academy Selection Committee under multiple members of Congress and as Chairman of the Audit Committee and current member of the Board of Directors for Space Coast Credit Union. He is also President of Chapter 74 of the Special Forces Association and a former board member of the West Point Society of the Space Coast. A longtime resident of Satellite Beach, Kevin and his wife, Susan, have been married for 38 years and share their home with their two Bassett Hounds, Scarlett and Shannon.

Barbara Morgan is an educator and retired NASA astronaut. Morgan is the public elementary school teacher who trained with the Challenger crew as the back-up for Teacher in Space Christa McAuliffe, then later served as a NASA astronaut for 10 years. She is now Distinguished Educator in Residence, Emeritus, at Boise State University.

Morgan graduated with honors from Stanford University, receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Human Biology. She earned her teaching credential at College of Notre Dame (Notre Dame de Namur University). She taught public school for 24 years in diverse locations including the Bay Area in California, the Flathead Indian Reservation in Montana, a small mountain town in Idaho, and Colegio Americano in Quito, Ecuador. In 1985, Morgan (back-up) and Christa McAuliffe (Teacher in Space) were selected to train with the space shuttle Challenger crew. After that mission ended tragically shortly after lift-off with the loss of the crew, NASA asked Morgan to continue as Teacher in Space Designee. She returned to her teaching in Idaho and continued to work for NASA, part-time, where her duties included public speaking, educational consulting, curriculum design, and serving on the National Science Foundation’s Task Force for Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering.

NASA selected Morgan to join the 1998 astronaut class. She flew 5.3 million miles in space in 2007 on STS-118, a two-week mission to help construct the International Space Station. Her duties included operating the space shuttle and space station robotic arms, serving as loadmaster, assisting the pilots with re-entry and landing, and teaching lessons from orbit to schoolchildren on Earth. In addition to spaceflight, Morgan worked in Mission Control as prime communicator (“Capcom”) with on-orbit crews, and she served in the Space Station Operations Branch and Robotics Branch of the Astronaut Office.

Morgan retired from NASA in 2008 to become Distinguished Educator in Residence at Boise State University, where she represented the university and provided vision and leadership to the State of Idaho, primarily in STEM education. Her work included policy and program development, advocacy, and mentoring. Currently, Morgan works with Boise State University as Emeritus, and continues to work with national and international education organizations, other non-profits, and NASA.

William C. Potter, Esq.

Attorney Bill Potter has been on the board of trustees for Florida Tech for more than three decades. An attorney for more than 40 years and a Melbourne resident since 1965, Potter is a retired partner of Holland and Knight and retired president of Potter, McClelland, Marks and Healy. He is the former city attorney for Melbourne, Indialantic and Melbourne Village, as well as for the Brevard Transportation Authority. He served as Chair and as a Board of Director of The Astronauts Memorial Foundation. Potter is a former chairman of the Brevard Economic Council, former director and president of the Melbourne YMCA, former board member for Junior Achievement and served as pro bono general counsel and former board member for the United Way of Brevard. He also served as former Brevard County unit president and member of the Florida board of directors for the American Cancer Society.

Potter performed diplomatic duties in Europe that included a stint in Bosnia and Sarajevo. He served as an International Election Supervisor in Bosnia Herzegovina and in Kosovo. In 1999, he served as military advisor to the Office of High Representative and Government of Bosnia-Herzegovina.

From 2002 until 2005, he served as Head of the Rule of Law Department in the Office of the High Representative in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

With 34 years with the Air Force Reserves, he is a retired colonel in the Florida Air National Guard. His military background led to his service for almost three years as the head of the Department of Law for the United Nations’ mission to stabilize Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Potter is a recipient of numerous medals, including; Air Force Commendation Medal, Air Force Achievement Medal, Air Force Meritorious Service Medal, NATO Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Defense Meritorious Medal and the Legion of Merit.

A graduate of Brown University and the University of Michigan Law School, Potter recounted his experiences in this troubled part of the world in “A Bosnian Diary: A Floridian’s Experience in Nation Building."

Pamela Steel

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