Ron Jones (Space Architect) is best known in the space community as the developer of the original Integrated Space Plan in the late 1980s. He is an aerospace professional with 25 years of experience primarily at NASA, Martin Marietta, Rockwell, and Boeing. He worked on the Space Shuttle and Space Exploration Initiative in addition to various military programs. In addition to his position at Boeing he also serves as Deputy Program Manager of BioSpace Experiments. He has also participated extensively in the National Space Society and the Planetary Society. Email Ron Jones or phone (941) 201-3375 x 702.

Steven G. Jorgenson (CFO) is co-founder and managing member of the Viridian Fund, where he has been the Portfolio Manager since its inception. Prior to his role at Viridian, Steven was Portfolio Manager for Guardian Atlantic Investments. and as an Account Manager for fixed income trading at Ronin Capital. Steven began his career working on the trading floors of the Chicago Board of Trade(CBOT), the Chicago Board Options Exchange(CBOE), and as a Member of the Chicago Stock Exchange. In addition to his role at Viridian, Steven is also the Founder and Investment Advisor Representative for Fifth Point Advisors, LLC, and is an advocate for the commercial space industry in his role as a Partner at Space Finance Group Holdings LLC. He is an active analyst, advisor, and angel investor in cutting-edge technology companies. Email Steven Jorgenson (link sends e-mail) or phone (941) 201-3375 x 703 (link sends e-mail)

Michael joined the Foundation in 2017 as Chief Executive Officer. Human expansion into the solar system has been his personal mission since he was Chairman of the Moon Society in 2004 and co-founder of Masten Space Systems in 2005. Since then he has helped build a social networking startup, an IT consultancy, and a seed-stage venture capital fund. He is a Space Frontier Foundation Advocate and President of the Georgia chapter of the National Space Society. He received an MBA from Georgia Tech in 2011 and resides in northern Atlanta.

Jay Wittner (CEO) serves as President of Kickstarter Coaching and is a Founding Partner of the Space Finance Group and Integrated Space Analytics. He has been a member of the National Space Society and other space advocacy groups since 1986. He served three terms on the NSS Board of Directors during which he was Vice President of Membership and a member of the Executive Committee. His financial support of NSS was recognized by a permanent appointment to the Buzz Aldrin Council. Since graduating from Emory University Business School with a degree in Finance, Mr. Wittner has worked in and consulted on numerous industries including: crowdfunding, investing, jewelry, non-profits, real estate, retail, and space. Email to [email protected] (link sends e-mail), or phone (941) 201-3375 x 700

Gary Bickford (CTO) has combined long term professional involvement in advanced technology startup companies and applied research institutions with a lifelong interest in space and belief in the future of humans in space. He has founded or co-founded multiple high tech startups, including one that achieved listing on the American Stock Exchange with a valuation of over $225,000,000. In that startup he worked on projects for companies including Martin Marietta, General Electric, and McDonnell Douglas. He later was a Project Scientist in the Visual Understanding Lab at Carnegie Mellon’s Robotics Institute and Control Systems Manager for Red Whittaker’s RedZone Robotics, managing development of a robotics controller for Westinghouse Nuclear. Mr. Bickford believes that the companies who participate in the early stages of commercial and private space development today will be the core institutions for the future of humans in space. Mr. Bickford has recently made early stage investments in space technology startups. Contact Gary Bickford or phone (941) 201-3375 x 701

Thomas A. Olson

Director of Business Development for Avealto, Ltd.

For over three decades, Mr. Olson has been a business systems engineer and analyst in the Communications, Aerospace, and Publishing sectors. In addition, he has worked in analysis and operations roles in the Financial Services sector (cash and fund management). A serial entrepreneur, he co-founded Exodus Consulting Group as a “catalyst” helping tech startups and investors find each other. He served on the original organizing committee for the ’Space Investment Summits’, an event that brought together interested investors and space entrepreneurs for knowledge sharing and professional networking. From 2006-2010, he was a regular contributor to the “Space Cynics” blog, fighting against the ignorance, obfuscation, and boosterism that often pervades the NewSpace sector. Today he serves as Director of Business Development for Avealto, Ltd., based in the UK, an early-stage firm that will soon provide High Altitude Platforms for internet and mobile services to underserved areas around the world. He is also Chair and Founder of The Center for Space Commerce and Finance, a Texas based not-for-profit which is the parent organization for the NewSpace Business Plan Competition.

Space Business is doing better than ever. According to Bryce Space & Technology (formerly Tauri Group), the 2015 Global Space Industry is $335B, and has been growing every year.

With lower cost to orbit, Moore’s Law applied to any size satellites, barriers to entry are melting away and the floodgates are opening. A variety of Small-Sat Launch vehicles are coming on line and we will showcase some at ISDC. New business models are emerging for space development, drawing investment as risks are mitigated and opportunities expand.

This year’s ISDC includes the St. Louis Regional NewSpace Business Plan Competition. Conference attendees sit ringside for intense pitches from emerging space-scalable businesses.

Past competitors include Masten Space Systems (2006), Altius Space Machines (2011), Spire Global (2012), Flagsuit (2009), Generation Orbit (2013), Skycorp (2013), Elysium Space (2014) and more. The winner of this regional will go to the national event – and beyond

Michael Laine has been involved with Space Elevator research since 2001 – the definitive NASA Institute for Advanced Concepts study. At the conclusion, Laine used the accumulated knowledge to form LiftPort Group to push forward the concept and commercially construct an Elevator on the Moon. Laine is President of LiftPort Group – the commercial effort to build the Space Elevator. LiftPort Group is an “idea factory” focused on commercializing the spin-off technologies developed in pursuit of the Lunar Space Elevator Infrastructure. A teenage fan once said that Michael Laine was building “the biggest thing, ever!” – our Lunar Space Elevator Infrastructure. He and his team of accomplished engineers (and a legion of other specialists!) think we can build the Lunar Elevator in 7-9 years for $800M. Laine’s array of professional experiences – U.S. Marine, investment advisor, internet entrepreneur and real estate developer – have each contributed to the global program of building the Space Elevator. Laine is leading the effort to build a new Institute focused on commercial development of space; Chairs the Keiretsu Forum’s Space Committee; and is Past President of the U.S. Alumni Association for the International Space University.

Dr. Pascal Lee is chairman of the Mars Institute, senior planetary scientist at the SETI Institute, and director of the NASA Haughton-Mars Project on Devon Island in the Arctic. He is based at NASA Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, CA. His research focuses on Mars, its moons, and the future human exploration of Mars. He has led over 30 expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctica viewed as planetary analogs, including the Northwest Passage Drive Expedition, a vehicular traverse along the fabled Northwest Passage to help plan future pressurized rover journeys on Mars. The expedition is the subject of the documentary feature film Passage To Mars. He is an FAA-certified helicopter commercial pilot and flight instructor, and was scientist-pilot of the first field test of NASA’s Space Exploration Vehicle. He is a recipient of the United States Antarctic Service Medal and the author of the award-winning book Mission: Mars (Scholastic).