ISDC 2026: June 4-7, 2026

Conference Speakers

Featured Speakers

Aarti Holla-Maini

Director, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs

01 Holla-Maini, Aarti

Dr. Harrison H. "Jack" Schmitt

Apollo 17 NASA Astronaut

02 Schmitt, Harrison H. “Jack”

Michael López-Alegría

Chief Astronaut, Axiom Space

03 López-Alegría, Michael

Dr. Lindy Elkins-Tanton

Director, Space Sciences Laboratory at UC Berkeley

04 Elkins-Tanton, Lindy

Jeffrey Manber

Special Representative to the Chairman and CEO, Voyager Technologies

05 Manber, Jeffrey

Bill Diamond

CEO, SETI Institute

06 Diamond, Bill

David Brin

Astrophysicist and Novelist, Caltech Distinguished Alumnus

Gerry Griffin

Apollo Flight Director Mission Control

08 Griffin, Gerry

Robert "Hoot" Gibson

Former NASA Chief Astronaut

09 Gibson, Robert “Hoot”

Susan Kilrain

Former NASA Astronaut

10 Kilrain, Susan

Dr. Steven Hawley

Former NASA Astronaut

11 Hawley, Dr. Steven

Dr. James L. Green

Former NASA Chief Scientist

12 Green, James L.

Isaac Arthur

President, National Space Society

Keith Cowing

Editor, NASAWatch.com and Astrobiology.com

Dr. Pascal Lee

Planetary Scientist, SETI Institute and Mars Institute - ISDC 2026 Co-Chair

Rod Pyle

Ad Astra Editor-in-Chief, Author, Host of "This Week in Space" - ISDC 2026 Co-Chair

Conference Speakers

We extend our great thanks to the speakers whose insights and expertise significantly enrich the International Space Development Conference. Their contributions, fueled by deep knowledge and passion for space exploration, broaden perspectives and inspire our community. We are deeply appreciative of their involvement and the impactful knowledge they share.

Caitlin Ahrens

Assistant Research Scientist, NASA GSFC/UMD

Ahrens, Caitlin

Stevan Akerley

Space Ambassadors Program Director National Space Society

Akerley, Stevan

Zaheer Ali

Space Paladin, Director of the Space MBA Program, University of Central Florida

Lee Anderson

Growth and Strategy Leader, Independent

Phnam Bagley

Partner and Creative Director at Nonfiction

Nishchal Baniya

CEO, Everest Sustainability Foundation

Baniya, Nishchal

Gary Barnhard

CEO, Xtraordinary Innovative Space Partnerships, Inc

Kevin Barry

Business Analyst

Larry Bartoszek

Owner, Bartoszek Engineering

Bartoszek, Larry

Meredith Beckford-Smart

Executive Director, The Futures Forum

Beckford-Smart, Meredith

Dr. Jim Bell

Professor, School of Earth and Space Exploration, Arizona State University

Dr. Sherry Bell

Dean of Psychology, Kepler Space University

Zsófia Biró

Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Center for Air and Space Law, University of Mississippi

Tony Boone

Director of Tourism & Economic Development & Spaceport, City of Sierra Vista

Kathleen Brett

Program Analyst, Space Security & Stability, Secure World Foundation

Brett, Kathleen

Stephanie Brick

Founder, Licensed Architect, Salutogenic Design & Consulting Group

Brick, Stephanie

Alastair Browne

Author, Cosmic Careers

Browne, Alastair

Natalie Byrd

Student, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Benjamin Calloway

Systems Engineer, Space Frontier Foundation

Calloway, Benjamin

Ginger Chen

Data Scientist, Florida Institute of Technology

Chris Cochran

Field CISO and VP of AI Security, SANS Institute

Mark Cochran

Lead Researcher, Public Capital Foundation

Reef Collins

Student Intern, Mars Institute and University of Central Florida

Teviet Creighton

Professor, South Texas Space Science Institute, UTRGV

Creighton, Teviet

Leonardo Javier Gámez Cuéllar

Intern, Mars Institute, Tecnológico de Monterrey

Cuéllar, Leonardo Javier Gámez

Michela Cutigni

Aerospace Engineer, Sapienza University of Rome/Thales Alenia Space

Cutigni, Michela

Avery Davis

Secretary/Treasurer, TL5SS, Tucson Chapter of the NSS

Burt Dicht

National Space Society Director of Membership

David Dillon

Founder & CEO, Electromagnetic Launch, Inc.

Daniel Faber

Founder, Bent Pipe

Maryann Benny Fernandes

Graduate Student, Duke University

Fernandes, Maryann Benny

Dr. Amanda Fetch

ML/AI Working Group Chair, United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation

Fetch, Dr. Amanda

Dr. Bernard Foing

President SRI, CEO LUNEX EuroMoonMars

Ayden Frey

Student Researcher, Wolfpack CubeSat Dev Team

Mordy Friedman

CEO, World Space Elevator Competitions

Friedman, Mordy

Douglas Gage

Principal, XPM Technologies

Tyee Garcia

Student, South Texas Space Science Institute, UTRGV

William W. “Bill” Gardiner

Lab Director, Analytech Div. of Laboratory Consulting Sources, Inc.

Gardiner, William

Nick Georges

Space Entrepreneur, Central Wyoming College and Astra Nova

Santiago N. Gollarza

BLUECUBE Aerospace, Dual Enrollment Student, Florida Atlantic University

Gollarza, Santiago N.

Aolani Gonzalez

Undergraduate Student, Yale University

Gonzalez, Aolani

Dr. Gretchen Green

Astronaut, Explorer, Educator, The Expert Resource

Green, Dr. Gretchen

Steven Griggs

President, Space Railway Corporation

Michelle Hanlon

Executive Director, Air and Space Law at Ole Miss

Hanlon, Michelle

Art Harman

President, The Coalition to Save Manned Space Exploration

Sahda Haroon

Student, Purdue University

Scarlett Hartzman

Student Intern, Mars Institute

Hartzman, Scarlett

Roseanne Healy

Managing Director, Enterprise Corporation

Healy, Roseanne

Michael Helton

Consultant, Helton Associates

Helton, Michael

Grant Henriksen

Policy Committee Chair, National Space Society

Henriksen, Grant

Joannes Paulus Tolentino Hernandez

Associate Professor of Nursing, Helene Fuld College of Nursing

Hernandez, Joannes Paulus Tolentino

Paula Hill-Collins

Vice President and Clinical Director, St. Mary's Health Wagon DBA Health Wagon

Hill-Collins, Paula

Jeremy Wain Hirschberg

Research Specialist, Weill Cornell Medicine

Hirschberg, Jeremy Wain

Dr. Giuseppe Iaria

Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Calgary

Iaria, Dr. Giuseppe

Holger Isenberg

Independent Researcher & Founder, areo.info

Isenberg, Holger

Jessica Jelke

Intern, The Aerospace Corporation

Dr. Fredrick Jenet

National Space Society Board of Directors

Jenet, Fredrick

Susan Jewell

CEO, Mars-Moon Astronautics Academy and Research Sciences

Haig John

Doctor of Chiropractic, Board of Directors, Odyssey Charter School

Karlton Johnson

Chairman, National Space Society Board of Governors

Johnson, Karlton

Michael Johnson

Physical Scientist, Satmortech

Johnson, Michael

Richard Kacik

Aerospace Engineer (Ret.), NSS Contest Judge

Dr. Nick Kanas

Professor Emeritus (Psychiatry), University of California, San Francisco

Kanas, Dr. Nick

Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba

CEO, Vicillion

Kanjumba, Wanjiku Chebet

Robert Katz

CEO and Executive Director of the World Innovation Network

William Kemp

CEO, Aethon Space, Inc.

Mo Tasrif Khan

Master's Student, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Khan, Mo Tasrif

Braedyn Kim

Student, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

John Knapman

Director of Research, International Space Elevator Consortium

Ajay Kothari

President, Astrox Corp

John Kross

Senior Contributing Editor, Ad Astra

Bryan Kuklinski

Executive Vice President, Orbital Construction Pioneers Inc.

Kuklinski, Bryan

Lisa La Bonté

Principal, Carnegie Ventures

La Bonté, Lisa

Michael J. Laine

President, LiftPort Group

Laine, Michael J.

Julia Lantos

Research Assistant, Sophomore, Saint Mary’s School

Joe Latrell

CEO, Quub, Inc.

Chris Liu

Student Researcher, Charter School of Wilmington

Rachel Long

Student, Aerospace Engineering, Mars Institute and UC Davis

Dr. Alla Malko

NSS Awards Committee

Malko, Dr. Alla

John Mankins

President, Mankins Space Technology

Stephen Marvin

Emeritus Professor, West Chester University

Marvin, Stephen

Muhammed Marzooq

Student, University of Calicut

Marzooq, Muhammed

Amy Mcdowell

Academic, International Space University

Gerald Mclaughlin

Co-Manager, NSS Live in a Healthy Space Contest, NIH (Ret.)

McLaughlin, Gerald

Dr. Joseph Meany

President, Interstellar Research Group

Bryce Meyer

NSS Space Ambassador, Space Farms, St Louis Space Frontier

Christian B. Meza

CEO and Director of Exothermic Films

Meza, Christian B.

Lalitha Murali

Gifted and Talented Teacher, Glendale River-Hills School District

Murali, Lalitha

Claire Nalda

BA/MAIR Candidate, Johns Hopkins University

Dr. Claire Nelson

Chief Ideation Leader, Space Futures Forum

Nelson, Dr. Claire

Margaret O'Brien

Student, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

O’Brien, Margaret

Thomas Andrew Olson

Board Chair, Center for Space Commerce and Finance

Olson, Thomas Andrew

Haroon Oqab

Co-Founder and President, Kepler Space University

Ayse Oren

Architect, DesignArt

Doug Owens

Founder and Managing Partner, Space Outcomes LLC

Dr. Shawna Pandya

Director of Medical Research Orbital Assembly Corporation

John Parks

Founder & Ecologist, ExoScientific

Dr. Anthony Paustian

VP of Marketing National Space Society

Paustian, Anthony

Joseph Pelton

Chair, Alliance for Collaboration in the Exploration of Space (ACES Worldwide)

Jim Plaxco

President, Chicago Society for Space Studies

Gerald Rabl

Assistant Professor (Adjunct) Department of Mathematics and Physics, Manhattan University

Lev Reznikov

CDI Leader, Sagittarius Space

Dr. Andrew Rivkin

Principal Professional Staff, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory

Dr. Jennifer Rochlis

CEO, Advancing Frontiers, Inc.

Rochlis, Dr. Jennifer

Dr. Wolfgang Rohde

Executive Director of Innovation & Strategy, Aisune Foundation

Rohde, Dr. Wolfgang

Jules Ross

CEO, Joules Space Technology

Gabriel Rothblatt

Executive Director, US Space Walk of Fame Foundation Inc.

Rothblatt, Gabriel

Adrienne Rudolph

TERP RAPTOR Principal Investigator, University of Maryland

Rudolph, Adrienne

Ken Ruffin

Founder, Didymos Consulting LLC (dba Ruff-in-Space)

Kennady Ruth

Student, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Dante Sanaei

Senior Professional Staff, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab

James Schier

Chief Architect for Space Communications and Navigation, NASA (Ret.)

David Schuman

Attorney-Adviser, NASA Office of General Counsel (ret.), University of Vienna

Dr. Erik Seedhouse

Associate Professor Space Operations, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Seedhouse, Erik

Ela Sen

Student Intern, Mars Institute

Aryan Senthilkumar

Student, Northview High School

Senthilkumar, Aryan

Varadaraya Shenoy

Acting Instructor & Cerebrovascular Fellow, Neurological Surgery, UW Seattle

Shenoy, Varadaraya

Leo Shiina

Student, Stanford OHS

Camisha Simmons

Attorney | Principal | Managing Member, Simmons Legal PLLC

Simmons, Camisha

Dale Skran

COO/SVP, NSS

Dr. Logan Smith

Psychologist and Independent Researcher

Apoorva Somani

Student, United States Air Force Academy

Somani, Apoorva

Antonio Stark

Global Alliance Lead, ispace, Inc.

Jerry Stone

Freelance Space Presenter & Developer of Island Zero, Spaceflight UK

Ashling Sugarman

Juris Doctor Candidate, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law

Sugarman, Ashling

Ben Sullivan

Chemical Engineer

Dr. Peter A. Swan

Chief Architect, International Space Elevator Consortium

Phil Swan

Director of Infrastructure, The Atlantis Project

Bill Tarver

Physician, NASA (Retired)

Madhu Thangavelu

Department of Astronautical Engineering USC Viterbi School of Engineering and USC School of Architecture

Thangavelu, Madhu

Sandy Therrien

Founder and CEO, Blue Moon Space Operations LLC

Therrien, Sandy

Luis Torres

Founder & CEO, Torres Orbital Mining Inc

Sindhoora Vemula & Ananya Ram

High School Students, North Texas Chapter National Space Society

Vemula & Ananya Ram, Sindhoora

Harsh Verma

Student, Defence Institute of Advanced Technology

Bryan Versteeg

Conceptual Designer, Spacehabs.com

Versteeg, Bryan

Erick Villa

Science Communicator, Kenya Space Agency

Travis Wicks

CEO, Pegasus Online

Jaclyn Wiley

Space Regulatory Specialist, Zeno Power

Steven Wolfe

President and Co-Founder, Beyond Earth Institute

James Anthony Wolff

Partner, Greenspoon Marder LLP

Nancy C. Wolfson

Planetary Defense (PD) Program Management, Founder: "Look Up, It Is An Asteroid" and IAF PD-NEO Symposium E10

Wolfson, Nancy C.

Dennis Wright

Vice President, International Space Elevator Consortium

Aimei Helen Yang

Strategic Communications Leader in AI & Space Systems, Independent Researcher

Yang, Aimei Helen

David Jun Yang

Dean of Sustainable Development, Tsinghua Shanghai International Innovation Center

Yang, David Jun

Melodie Yashar

Space Architect, Founder, AENARA

Yashar, Melodie

Dr. Quanzhi Ye

Researcher, University of Maryland

Jennifer Young

Associate Professor, University of the Cumberlands

Young, Jennifer

Dr. Robert Zubrin

President, Mars Society, Pioneer Astronautics

Zubrin, Dr. Robert

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