Jane Nkechi Egerton-Idehen is a Tech Executive, Author and Angel Investor. She is currently the Managing Director and CEO of Nigerian Communications Satellite Limited.

Prior to NigComSat, she was Meta's Head of Sales for the Middle East and Africa. In the two decades before joining Meta, she was the Nigeria Country Manager and the Regional Sales Director for the West African branch of Avanti Communications Group PLC, a U.K. satellite company. She cumulatively spent 13 years in Sales and Management in the Telecommunication Infrastructure giant Ericsson. She also worked as a Cluster Lead for Nokia Siemens Network in West Africa.

Ms. Egerton-Idehen is also the founder of Women and Career (www.womenncareer.com), an organization that support girls seeking careers after school.

Will is a technical business development professional with a 20+ year track record of harmonizing customers in need of solutions with passionate space-flight hardware delivery teams that deliver on those needs. He began his career as a furlable space structures architect resulting in many dozens of successful flight hardware deliveries and over two-dozen patents. Will is known for co-founding Roccor LLC in 2011, leading its engineering team through the first half of its growth and the business development team through the second half until a successful acquisition by Redwire in 2020 where he stayed on in a VP of Advanced Programs role for over 2 years.

Chris Gehant is Capella’s Vice President of Constellation Operations responsible for internal ground software development and 24 / 7 space operations. Chris has 23 years of experience with ground architecture supporting federal Position, Navigation & Timing, Satellite Communications, and Earth Observation missions.

Lori W. Gordon is Systems Director in the Space Enterprise Evolution Directorate at The Aerospace Corporation. In her role, she leads enterprise integration initiatives focused on international competition and collaboration, commercial ventures, and legislative and regulatory frameworks in support of space infrastructure and economic growth, security, and resilience, all in the national interest. At Aerospace since 2018, Gordon is also a partner with Aerospace’s Center for Space Policy and Strategy (CSPS) and leads Aerospace’s engagement with myriad collaborators, including the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC) and the National Security Institute (NSI). With more than 20 years of professional experience, Gordon has contributed to the development of national-level strategies, capabilities, and programs across homeland, intelligence, and civil agencies.

Austin is the President of SQS US Defense LLC. His responsibilities include finding the smart way forward in a sea of architectural and technical choices to accelerate capabilities to strengthen our nation.

Austin leverages his 30+ years serving in the military to build, empower and lead high performing teams to deliver superior results in all areas. He is a proven leader in disruptive innovation with applied technologies. Austin also brings an uncanny ability to reduce complex problems and envision unconstrained strategies.

When Austin is not working, he enjoys being with his family, traveling and experiencing other cultures.

Kaffie Kirby is an undergraduate at North Carolina State University, pursuing a B.S. in Physics and a B.A. in Chemistry. With a strong interdisciplinary foundation, she is especially drawn to the fields of astrophysics and quantum physics, and intends to pursue a Ph.D. focused in one of these areas.

Kaffie’s academic path is driven by deep curiosity and a lifelong love of learning. She is passionate about exploring the universe at both the cosmic and quantum levels and is equally interested in the collaborative, real-world applications of scientific research—particularly as they relate to space science and innovation.

Growing up in a military family, Kaffie developed an early appreciation for service and discipline, which continues to shape her perspective as she considers future roles in research, policy, and science leadership. A member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society, she enjoys documentaries, history, and all things science. She is excited to contribute to the evolving conversation around the future of space science.

Mr. McClelland has worked in a variety of executive, operations, technology, research and development, and business roles in the energy, defense, healthcare, cybersecurity, quantum and computer science industries. Over 35 years of industry experience, he worked at Science Applications International Corporation, SAIC, for over 23 years and Sempra Energy for SDG&E for eight years and Qubitekk a quantum networking company as the chief revenue officer for the last 6 years. Currently, working with IonQ, a publicly traded quantum computer and networking company focused on quantum networks. Mr. McClelland was an ocean in-surf rescue boat operator and founder and Chairman Emeritus’s of the Prevent Drowning Foundation of San Diego.

Joel Mozer is a physicist, futurist, and leader in national security strategy, especially in science and technology. He was the first Chief Scientist Officer of the United States Space Force.

As Chief Scientist, Dr. Mozer was the central lead for all science and technology matters for an organization that then comprised approximately 11,000 space professionals worldwide and managed a global network of satellite command and control, communications, missile warning and launch facilities. In this role, he developed long-term military requirements for the Space Force.

Dr. Mozer previously served as the Chief Scientist of the Air Force Space Command and as the Lead Space Experimentalist for the Air Force Research Laboratory. He has more than 30 years of experience conducting research and leading exploratory development of space capabilities for national defense. His current research relates to human-machine teaming for national strategy.

George Pullen is a leading economist and a key voice on the future of American innovation in deep technology and the space economy. He is a hands-on strategic advisor and teacher who translates complex financial and technological shifts into clear, actionable insights for leaders and the public.

As the Chief Economist of MilkyWayEconomy, a D.C.-based think tank and consultancy, Pullen draws on his extensive experience from banking, investing, and senior government roles. He is the author or contributor to eight books and numerous papers, offering incisive analysis on everything from finance and alternative markets to the future of the space industrial complex.

Pullen serves as a board member and advisor to several deeptech and space companies, actively helping to build the industries he writes about. He has served as an economics facilitator for many Space Force groups and collaborations on space industrialization, including through a CRADA with SpaceWERX, cementing his role at the intersection of business, government, and technology.

John Reed is United Launch Alliance’s Chief Rocket Scientist, and former Senior Technical Fellow for Guidance Navigation and Control. Mr. Reed manages the Technical Fellows program at ULA. He is currently focused on a wide variety of initiatives from Principal Investigator for launch vehicle reuse to enhanced navigation and trajectory planning, from defining our next generation capabilities to creating a culture of innovation and protecting our Intellectual Property. He has been working a variety of roles on launch vehicles in Denver since 1986.

Reed is a long-time member of the AAS and an Associate Fellow of the AIAA. He is the Collaboration Program Chair for ASCEND and serves as TC Liaison for the Rocky Mountain Section of AIAA.

Prior to retirement in 2024, General (Ret.) “DT” Thompson served 38 years in the Air and Space Forces with assignments in operations, acquisition and academia. He commanded at the squadron, group and wing levels, deployed to SouthWest Asia, and served in senior positions in the National Reconnaissance Office, Air Force Warfare Center, United States Strategic Command, Air Force Space Command, and Headquarters United States Space Force.

Thompson’s military career culminated as first Vice Chief of Space Operations for the Space Force, where he played a key role in establishing the first new military branch in 73 years, and served on the Joint Requirements Oversight Council and Deputy Secretary of Defense Management Action Group.

Post retirement General Thompson continues to serve in advisory, leadership and educational roles.

Sam Visner serves as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center and as a Technical Fellow at the Aerospace Corporation. Sam is also a Senior Advisor to the Cybersecurity Solarium Commission.

Sam is a member of the of the Army Science Board, the Board of Directors of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities, and also serves as a member of the Cyber Council of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance and the Cyber Committee of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association. Sam is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Atlantic Council and is a former member of the Intelligence Community Studies Board. Sam is also a member.

Sam served previously as Director of the National Cybersecurity Federally Funded Research and Development Center (MITRE), sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Sam served as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, where he taught a course on cybersecurity policy, operations, and technology, and has also established a charitable trust for the University for the continued development of curricula in the study of information technology in international security.

Sam served previously as Senior Vice President at ICF (Cybersecurity and Resilience), Vice President at CSC (General Manager, CSC Global Cybersecurity), Senior Vice President at SAIC, and as Chief of Signals Intelligence Programs at the National Security Agency, from which he received the Agency’s highest award for civilian service in recognition of work done to transform the Agency’s signals intelligence infrastructure following 9/11.

Laura Winter, an award-winning journalist, is best known in the Space Community as the Editor and Host of The DownLink Podcast, a Defense & Aerospace Report production. The DownLink Podcast focuses on the intersection of space, the space business, and defense.

The DownLink Podcast is a 2022, 2023, and 2024 Defense Media Awards-winner and finalist in a multitude of categories. Laura’s work earned her Best Propulsion Submission award in 2023 and Best Cyber Security Submission award in 2024. The DownLink Podcast is also a 2023, 2024, and 2025 Aerospace Media Awards finalist for Best Space Submission.

Laura has worked in print, radio and television, and lived in and reported from eight countries on three continents, including more than nine years in Afghanistan and Iraq. The very first beat she ever had was covering the city of La Cañada Flintridge, which included NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for the Glendale News-Press.

Laura is now bringing her years of national security and space journalistic and editorial experience to STAX Talk.