Our Team

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Chief Executive Officer

Senior Outreach Coordinator at the University of Texas Center for Space Research in Austin.  Fifteen years as a STEM and science teacher.  Teacher and student mentor in parabolic, suborbital, and orbital microgravity research experiences. Flown on multiple parabolic flights.

Chief Operating Officer

Director, NASA Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium and Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Carthage College. 15+ years of microgravity payload development experience. 1000+ parabolas. 

Executive Board Member

K-5 Gifted Resource Specialist in Hinesville, Georgia.  Teacher mentor for WSGC Embedded Teacher Program. Georgia STEM Teacher of the Year, Solar System Ambassador, Teacher Liaison with Space Foundation, ISS Space Station Explorer Ambassador. 

 Executive Board Member

STEM and Computer Science educator in central Iowa. Teacher flight mentor for the Embedded Teacher Program. International Teacher Liaison with Space Foundation, U.S. Ambassador to One Giant Leap Australia, STEM Teacher of the Year South Central Iowa, Fund for Teachers Fellow.

 Executive Board Member

Band director and music teacher in Southeastern Wisconsin. Teacher flight mentor for the Embedded Teacher Program.  National Board-Certified teacher, certified by National Geographic and a Google Educator. Limitless Space Institute Educator, Space Foundation International Teacher Liaison, Sphero Hero, and Henry Ford Innovative Teacher Grand Prize Winner. 

 SfT Board of Directors

Bev Berekian is a Science Teacher at Saddleback Valley Unified School District, NOCCCD and Professor at Cerritos Community College. Bev is a Sophia Ambassador, a STEM Ambassador for the Department of Defense, and a U.S. Air Force veteran.

SfT Board of Directors

Suzanne Jurva is an award-winning filmmaker, producer, and director. She created the research department for Steven Spielberg at DreamWorks SKG and oversaw development of films such as Saving Private Ryan, Gladiator, The Prince of Egypt, Men in Black., and Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon. One of Suzanne's current projects, My Teacher in Space, documents teacher Lalitha Murali and her classroom as they prepare experiments for parabolic flight.

Industry Advisor

 Michelle Flemming is the President of Space Forge U.S., where she supports on-orbit manufacturing and reentry capabilities. Flemming has flown over 200 parabolic flights and offers a unique perspective on space environments and aerospace workforce development. 

Advisory Board

Biomedical Space Research

 Dr. George Pantalos is a professor of Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Louisville,  Dr. Pantalos has flown 62 research missions on parabolic aircraft and twice aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.  

Advisory Board

Science and Technical Advisor

  Chris Matty is an aerospace engineer and physicist with over 20 years of experience at NASA Johnson Space Center. 

Advisory Board

 Education and Curriculum

Celena Miller is the Project Manager at UT Austin's Center for Space Research and the Principal Investigator for the Liftoff Summer Institute.