Simon Peter “Pete” Worden, (Brig. Gen., USAF, Ret., PhD) (born 1949, in Michigan, USA) is the Chairman of the Breakthrough Prize Foundation and Executive Director of the foundation’s ‘Breakthrough Initiatives’. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Michigan and a PhD in Astronomy for the University of Arizona. Prior to joining the Breakthrough Prize Foundation, Dr. Worden was Director of NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, California, USA until his retirement on March 31, 2015. He has held several positions in the United States Air Force and was research professor of astronomy at the University of Arizona, Tucson, USA. He is a recognized expert on space and science issues – both civil and military, and has been a leader in building partnerships between governments and the private sector internationally.

Michelle Hanlon is Co-Director of the Air and Space Law Program at the University of Mississippi School of Law and its Center for Air and Space Law. She is also a Co-Founder and President of For All Moonkind, Inc., a nonprofit corporation that is the only organization in the world focused on protecting human cultural heritage in outer space. For All Moonkind has been recognized by the United Nations as a Permanent Observer to the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. Michelle Chairs the International Committee of the National Space Society and is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Space Law, the world’s oldest law journal dedicated to the legal problems arising out of human activities in outer space.

James A. M. (Jim) Muncy is the President and founder of PoliSpace. Mr. Muncy started PoliSpace, an independent space policy consultancy, in early 2000 to help space entrepreneurs and intrepreneurs succeed at the nexus of space business, technology, and public affairs. Muncy spent over five years working in the U.S. Congress, including three yeas on the Professional Staff of the House Science Committee. Muncy spent over two years on Rep. Dana Rohrabacher’s as lead space policy staff. He worked as a policy assistant in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy under President Reagan. Muncy began his work in space policy in 1981 as a staff advisor to Rep. Newt Gingrich, where he helped found the Congressional Space Caucus. A long-time leader in the space advocacy community, Muncy co-founded the Space Frontier Foundation in 1988. He is a frequent speaker and writer on space policy issues. Mr. Muncy holds an MS in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota and a BA from the University of Virginia, where he was an Echols Scholar.

Laura Montgomery teaches space law at Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law. In her private practice through Ground Based Space Matters she specializes in regulatory space law, with an emphasis on commercial space transportation and the Outer Space Treaties. She provides expert opinion on the Commercial Space Launch Act, its implementing regulations governing the launch of launch vehicles, the reentry of reentry vehicles, the operation of launch and reentry sites, and the financial responsibility and liability requirements of those regulations. She has testified to the space subcommittees of both the House and Senate, including, most recently in the summer of 2019.  Laura Montgomery spent over two decades with the Federal Aviation Administration. She served as the manager of the Space Law Branch in the FAA’s Office of the Chief Counsel. Before that, she was the FAA’s Senior Attorney for Commercial Space Transportation.  She has published articles on the Outer Space Treaty, human space flight, and launch safety. She also writes science fiction, some of which is bourgeois, legal science fiction.

Chris Hearsey has over ten years’ experience in the private, non-profit, and government sectors of the aerospace community. In that time, Chris has built and managed his firm OSA Consulting LLC and previously served as the Director of DC Operations and Legislative Affairs for Bigelow Aerospace. Chris also has served as Special Assistant to the Director of the Office of Space & Advanced Technology at the US Department of State and has managed political campaigns at the state and federal level, including a run for Congress in Maryland in 2018. Chris holds a BA in Mathematical Economics from Temple University, a MS in Legal Theory from The American University, a MS in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota, and a JD with honors in Air & Space Law from the University of Mississippi School of Law.

Stephan Reckie is the Executive Director of Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Space, a universal network of ecosystems for Astropreneurs. He is the co-founder of Angelus Funding, a trust-based global angel network actively investing in innovative and meaningful opportunities. Stephan is a member of the EBAN Space Executive Committee and the Global Business Angels Network. He is a co-founding partner at Edge of Space, a company enabling STEM access to space. As the CEO of Transform Poverty Global, he is focused on aligning entrepreneurs to address global poverty along with climate change. Stephan serves on the board of directors of numerous impactful companies, including Spring Health India, University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), and has personally made 39 investments since He is an adjunct professor at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. Stephan holds Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees in Electrical Engineering from Tufts University. He is a second-generation Armenian Russian and a true native New Yorker, fluent in 5 languages.

Hoyt Davidson is the founder and Managing Partner of Near Earth LLC, an investment banking boutique focused on the satellite industry, commercial space and the Internet of Things.

Hoyt received a Physics degree from MIT and upon graduation spent six years in the Space Systems Division of Lockheed leaving as a Senior Research Engineer to return to MIT for an MBA.  At MIT’s Sloan School of Management, Mr. Davidson was awarded the Henry B. duPont III scholarship for academic excellence and headed to Wall Street where he rose to the level of Managing Director at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette and later at Credit Suisse. At DLJ, in the mid-1990s, he co-founded the Space Finance Group, the first corporate finance coverage group focused on the commercial satellite industry. This group had a #1 ranking for the sector for many years and raised over $15 billion for commercial satellite companies.

In 2002, he left Credit Suisse to start Near Earth LLC, to continue focusing on the growth of space-related companies. Near Earth is a FINRA licensed broker-dealer and provides M&A advisory services for small to lower middle market companies, equity private placement services and strategic and financial consulting. Clients include major companies and institutional investors in those industries, and early-stage entrepreneurial firms seeking private equity capital or strategic partners. Near Earth has also been engaged by NASA and the U.S. Air Force for space related consulting assignments. Hoyt currently serves on the board of XO Markets Holdings, the parent of NanoRacks LLC, and on the advisory boards of Lynk Global and Nexteon.  His non-profit participations include serving on the board of the Space Foundation, where he acted as Treasurer from 2016 – 2019 and is a member of its Finance Committee, serving on the board of the National Space Society, where he was the Vice President for Development from 2017 until recently and is a member of the Policy and Investment Committees, and he formerly served on the NASA Advisory Council for Commercial Space.

John C. Mankins is an entrepreneur and internationally-recognized leader in technology and systems innovation and management. He is the Founder and President of Mankins Space Technology, Inc., the President of Artemis Innovation Management Solutions LLC, a Director of Solar Space Technologies, Inc., a Professor at the Kepler Space Institute, and Vice President of the Moon Village Association. He was formerly Chief Technologist for Human Exploration and Development of Space (HEDS) at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. He was the lead for NASA’s Lunar Outpost team in 2003, providing the key concepts that led to the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) in 2004.

Mr. Mankins has been recognized as the leading expert in the field of space solar power (SSP), managing NASA’s programs in this area from 1995-2003. He co-chaired the recently completed International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) study of SSP (2008-2011) and was Principal Investigator of a NASA-supported investigation of a novel Solar Power Satellite (SPS) concept that he invented: SPS-ALPHA (SPS by means of Arbitrarily Large Phased Array). Since 2016 he has organized annually the only international SSP student competition sponsored by SPACE Canada, with diverse space advocacy organizations.

Dr. Greg Autry is the Chair of the Safety Working Group on the Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) at FAA. He has researched and taught technology entrepreneurship at UC Irvine, USC and ISU / Florida Tech. Dr. Autry served on the 2016 NASA Agency Review Team and as White House Liaison at NASA. He was nominated for NASA CFO in 2020 (Senate failed to vote). He publishes in peer reviewed journals and major outlets including Foreign Policy, Forbes, and Space News. He holds a BA from California Polytechnic University at Pomona and an MBA and PhD from UCI.

Bob Brumley is the Senior Managing Director at Marble Arch Partners, LLC. He currently serves as Chairman and CEO of the Laser Light Companies. He was CEO of TerreStar Corporation (formerly Motient Corp.) from 2006 to 2008, and CEO of TerreStar Global and TerreStar Networks Inc., from 2005 to 2008. He led these firms into the emerging field of hybrid mobile satellite and terrestrial communications, raising over $1B in private investment. He is a former senior executive with Deutsche Telekom and Bell Atlantic International [now Verizon]. He was appointed by President Reagan as Chief Legal Officer of the Department of Commerce and Senior Policy Advisor to the Secretary of Commerce and chaired the Reagan Administration policy working group that privatized commercial space transportation.

Bob holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the California Polytechnic State University, in San Luis Obispo, California, and has completed graduate courses and management programs at Harvard University, Santa Clara University, the Wye River Institute, San Jose State University and the Defense Acquisition University.

Alexandra (Sasha) Field is a partner at the Potomac Law Group in Washington DC where she specializes in working with companies in the aerospace and telecommunications industries providing targeted advice and representation appropriate to the developmental stage and resource constraints of each individual client. Ms. Field has worked for more than three decades in the space arena, which has given her the opportunity to experience working with and for nonprofits, regulators, and private companies in all stages of the development cycle from highly leveraged start-ups to prominent publicly traded companies. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Field served as General Counsel of Spaceflight, Inc., an aerospace company that specializes in space launch services. Earlier in her career, she worked in a number of startup space services companies and spent a number of years at the Federal Communications Commission in the International Bureau covering satellite and international licensing and policy issues. Ms. Field received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center; her M.A. from Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management; and her B.A. in astrophysics from Harvard University.