Bernard Edwards

Bernard Edwards is the Deputy Communications and Navigation Systems Capability Lead for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. In that role, he provides technical advice to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. He also serves as the Chief Communications Systems Engineer at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. He supports the NASA representative to the Interagency Operations Advisory Group (IOAG) and until 2024 chaired the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) Optical Communications Working Group. He also served as the Chief Engineer for the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Project. He received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1989, a M.S. in Electrical Engineering in 1991, and a M.S. in Computer Science in 1993 all from The Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

Captain (N) Jose Freitas

Captain (N), José Matias de Freitas is a Navy Officer Commander graduated by the Naval Academy as a Weapons and Electronics Engineer. He served on board of various Portuguese navy war ships as a Weapon Engineer Officer (WEO) responsible for the performance and availability of the on-board weapons, sensors, Command Support Information Systems, combat, and communications systems. As Senior Engineer Officer supported the Executive Officer in resources management and information systems administration Ship Domain Administrator for IT. He was head of Weapon Systems Office for the Weapon and Electronic Systems Department at the Portuguese Navy - Technical Navy School and head of Communications and Cypher Department at Naval Communications Centre, being responsible for the transformation process in the naval communications infrastructures and implementation of main data center. After being deputy Director at Portuguese Navy IT and Communications Directorate, he was appointed as head of Planning and Programing Division, at the Portuguese MoD Directorate-General of National Defence Resources, since 2015 where he has been responsible for the coordination, monitoring and execution of Military Programming Law in the Armed Forces among other responsibilities, which includes the coordination of the implementing process of the Portuguese SST capability. Member of the EU-SST Steering Committee and PMO. He is the MoD representative at international forum, within UE, EDA, and NATO for the Space Domain (SATCOM, SST/SSA)

Captain (RN) Phil Coope

Phil joined the Royal Navy in 1993 having graduated from the University of Liverpool in Electronics and Communication Engineering. Twenty-eight years later he was delighted to accept the role of Deputy Head Space at UK Strategic Command, leading the Capability Development of Satellite Communications (SATCOM) and Position Navigation and Time. This is his second assignment in the Space Sector having previously worked as and Capability Manager for SATCOM and Programme Manager for Skynet 6.

Phil has been engaged in numerous major projects, notably delivery and acceptance of HMS QUEEN ELIZABETH Aircraft Carrier. He has also described the then future Royal Navy short-range air defence missile and radar systems, generated lifing policy for Defence ordnance, munition and explosives and contributed to the education of junior Royal Navy Officers at the Joint Services Command and Staff College.

Phil has served on T21, T22 and T23 class of Frigates and conducted UK and multinational operations in the North Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf. He also served in Hong Kong for territorial integrity and anti-smuggling operations and conducted media operations in Sarajevo, Bosnia.
 

Charlotte Gerhart

Ms. Charlotte Gerhart is the Chief, Tactical SATCOM Acquisition Delta, Military Communications and Position, Navigation, and Timing (MilComm & PNT) Directorate, Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB), CA. She is responsible for the acquisition, production, and fielding of tactical satellite communications capabilities for the Nation’s warfighters.

In 1998, Ms. Gerhart joined the civil service supporting the US Air Force Research Laboratory Space Vehicles Directorate. In this assignment she was responsible for managing the development and demonstration of space system technologies including thermal systems, structural systems, vibro-acoustic suppression, and laser communications systems.

In 2009, Ms. Gerhart moved to be the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) program as the manager of the WGS 7-10 program (also known as WGS Block II Follow-on), and later served as the Deputy Program Manager for the WGS program. From 2013 through 2018 she served as the WGS Program Manager delivering four satellites into operations, with two more in work.

In 2022, Ms. Gerhart transitioned to the newly formed MilComm & PNT Directorate and assumed leadership of the Tactical SATCOM Acquisition Delta. She has responsibility for the production and fielding of WGS 11+, the rapid acquisition and fielding of Protected Tactical SATCOM (PTS) Rapid Prototype payloads, Protected Tactical Enterprise Service (PTES) Rapid Prototype, Army & Air Force Anti-jam Modem (A3M), Air Force Wideband Enterprise Terminal (AFWET), and Enterprise Management and Control (EM&C).
 

Clare Hopper

Clare A. Hopper is Director, Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) Office, assigned to the Space Systems Command, United States Space Force, Washington, D.C. She is responsible for delivering COMSATCOM capabilities to support the joint warfighter, federal agencies, and international partners. Her portfolio includes the Enhanced Mobile Satellite Service (EMSS) Program Office, the EMSS Capabilities Office and the Department of Defense COMSATCOM Solutions Program Office.
EMSS is an $800 million global satellite program that provides the Department of Defense, federal and coalition partners with unlimited access to the commercial Iridium constellation, a mesh-network of 66 on-orbit cross-linked satellites, through a dedicated, EMSS controlled gateway.

The COMSATCOM Solutions Program Office acquires any commercial satellite capability for any customer, anywhere, and has over $5 billion under management.

Prior to this role, Mrs. Hopper was the SATCOM Division Chief, Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). In this role she managed the Department of Defense Enterprise Gateways Program Office, the SATCOM Operations Integration Branch, and the COMSATCOM portfolio described above, prior to its Congressionally directed transfer to the United States Space Force. Other assignments include Program Manager, EMSS and Program Manager for a classified telecommunications system within DISA’s National Leadership Command Capabilities Center (NLCC). Mrs. Hopper began her career in government with DISA as a Contracting Officer, and served as the Chief, Special Projects Contracting Branch, which held a contracts portfolio valued over $2 billion.

Prior to joining the government, Mrs. Hopper was a retirement funds analyst for T. Rowe Price.

Mrs. Hopper received her Bachelor of Science Degree in Finance from West Virginia University and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Mrs. Hopper is Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) Level 3 certified in Contracting from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU).

Colonel (Ret'd) Cameron Stoltz

Colonel Cam Stoltz enrolled in the Canadian Forces as a Communications and Electronics Engineering (Air) Officer. His postings include the Aerospace Maintenance Development Unit in Trenton, engineering and project support positions in Ottawa, and A6 of 1 Canadian Air Division and Canadian NORAD Region (Winnipeg). Senior staff positions at National Defence Headquarters include Director Strategic Communication Services and Director Air Support.

Colonel Stoltz has served as Commanding Officer of 8 Air Communications and Control Squadron (Trenton) and Commanding Officer of the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment (Kingston). He also commanded the Operation APOLLO National Command Control and Information Systems Squadron in Camp Mirage.

In 2017, Colonel Stoltz was posted to his current position as Director Space Requirements. Colonel Stoltz holds both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Royal Canadian Military College of Canada, as well as a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from University of Ottawa, and is a graduate of the Canadian Forces College in Toronto.

Colonel (Ret'd) Jennifer Krolikowski

Colonel (ret) Jennifer Krolikowski most recently served as the Chief Information Officer for Space Systems Command, the acquisition arm of the United States Space Force. In her first assignment, she served as a project engineer in the Manufacturing Technology Directorate at Wright Labs. After receiving a Master’s in Aeronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology, Jennifer was assigned to the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron and accumulated 50+ flying hours in the B-52. She moved to the GPS Joint Program Office where duties included Executive Officer; Branch Chief, GPS III Acquisitions; and Air Force Program Executive Office’s GPS Staff Director. Col Krolikowski taught at the National Security Space Institute and became their Deputy Director for Mission Support. At HQ Air Force Space Command, she served as Chief, Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Requirements. After graduating Air Command and Staff College, Jen consecutively worked as the Tactical Data Network Program Element Monitor; Deputy, Command and Control Division; and Chief, Executive Action Group under the Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisitions. She commanded as Materiel Leader of an ACAT I program, Base IT Infrastructure. Upon graduating Air War College with her third Master’s degree, Col Krolikowski became Branch Chief, Integrated Air and Missile Defense Global Requirements on Joint Staff. She then promoted to Military Assistant for DASD/Space, Strategic, and Intelligence Systems, Office of the Secretary of Defense. She commanded as Senior Materiel Leader for Space C2, establishing the USSF’s premier software factory, Kobayashi Maru.
 

Colonel A.J. Ashby

Colonel A.J. Ashby is the Senior Materiel Leader for the Acquisition Delta Strategic SATCOM Division, Space Systems Command, Los Angeles Air force Base, CA. In this role, he leads 100+ military, government civilians, and contractors in the development and acquisition of our nation’s most critical strategic space capabilities. His $20B portfolio includes the Evolved Strategic SATCOM and Enhance Polar Systems recapitalization Programs.

Colonel Ashby enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1990 and received his commission after completing Air Force Officer Training School in 2001. He transferred to the U.S. Space Force in 2021. Col Ashby served in numerous acquisition and operations leadership assignments within the Department of the Air Force, Joint Staff, and National Reconnaissance Office. He is also an experienced Special Missions Unit operator with multiple global contingency and humanitarian deployments with 5,300 hours in a variety of aircraft with 133 combat missions. Prior to his current position he served as the Division Chief for Space Sensing and Nuclear Command, Control, and Communications, within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Space Acquisition and Integration, Pentagon, Washington, D.C.

CWO5 Rilin Desamours

CWO5 Rilin “Phil” Desamours, a native of Nyack, New York, graduated from Miami Edison Senior high school, June 2001. Enlisted July 2001, and was assigned a primary Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) of Field Radio Operator. Subsequently attained multiple follow-on MOS, Multi-Channel Radio Operator, SATCOM, Advanced Extremely High Frequency Systems Operator and Forward Observer. He was appointed to Warrant Officer February 2011, and commissioned in August 2012. He is a graduate of Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School and Command and Staff College. He possesses a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems Management from UMUC, an MBA from New England and Master of Science degree in Systems Engineering Management from the Naval Post Graduate School Monterey CA.

His service in the operating forces includes: Field Radio Operator, Wideband SATCOM Operator, Forward Observer within several echelons within both II MEF and I MEF. Deployed to OIF I & II with the II MEF Ground Commend Element (GCE). Multiple MEU deployments with I MEF. Platoon Commander, Tactical Communications Planning and Engineering Officer, Operations Officer, Space Operations Planner within multiple levels of III MEF, in the Pacific. His service outside the operating forces includes Reequipments Manager with Combat Development and Integration (CD&I), HQMC, and Project Officer with Marine Corps Systems Command.

CWO5 personal decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal, Navy, and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (with two gold stars), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

David Dean

I am a Chief Systems Engineer with over 37 years of experience in the Defence and Security Environment, which has included MOD PE, DERA and QinetiQ.

I joined Dstl in 2004 and I have been an Operational Analyst, systems engineer and consultant. I was the Theme Advisor for Combat Identification and currently work in the Cyber and Information Systems Division as the Principal Advisor for MilSatCom within the Dstl Space Programme.

My current role includes leading national and international research activities, and providing support to the UK Skynet 6 programme and Space Command.

My main areas of interest include Space Hybrid Networks, future MilSatCom bearers, secure waveforms and space platform protection, and space industrial policy.

I was born in Romford, Essex; have degrees in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Systems Engineering and am a Fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.

Deanna Ryals

Ms. Deanna L. Ryals is the Director, International Affairs, Space Systems Command, Los Angeles AFB, CA. In this role, she is responsible for driving innovative partnerships with Allies, InterAgencies, and Industry to build a joint robust and resilient military space enterprise that is “Allied by Design”. Ms. Ryals is the USSF lead in developing and executing space FMS and shapes the use of armaments cooperation to set the conditions for an allied inclusive space architecture in accordance with Department and Service strategic guidance.

Ms. Ryals entered federal government service in 1988, and for more than 25 years, she supported the DoD in both civil service and industry in financial management and acquisition. In 2000, Ms. Ryals moved to the Secretary of the Air Force staff in the Space Acquisition Directorate and managed a MILSATCOM terminal portfolio worth $10B, then took over as the single SAF/AQS focal point for international activities. In 2012, Ms. Ryals moved to the Air Force Program Executive Officer for Space Launch (AFPEO/SL) as the PM for Acquisition Strategy development and secured DoD Acquisition Executive approval of a new acquisition strategy for future DoD NSS launches that introduced a competitive environment for all certified U.S. launch service providers. Ms. Ryals rejoined MILSATCOM in January 2013 with her transition to Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). After being named SMC’s Chief Partnership Officer in 2018, Ms. Ryals ascended to her current role as Director, Int’l Affairs with the stand up of Space Systems Command in August of 2021.

Dr Aurelie Trur-Mirahmetolu

Dr. Trur is an independent global space policy expert with two decades of involvement with
the international space community. Originally from France, Dr. Trur spent the better part of the last
decade between Türkiye, France and Japan. Developing global experiences, she graduated with a
Ph.D. from the Tokyo-based National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies (GRIPS), writing her
dissertation on space sustainability and debris governance. Her research interests combine
diplomacy, policy and governance of space activities, international cooperation, global governance,
security, and sustainability issues affecting the future of humankind.

Recently invited to head a new space diplomacy project at the Foreign Policy Institute of
Ankara DPE (Dis Politika Enstitüsü), Dr. Trur provides strategic advice for space policy, cooperation,
education and outreach projects globally including lately in Türkiye, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific
regions, besides contributing to editorial board and peer review roles for academic journals covering
space and international affairs. She publishes and peer reviews articles in Acta Astronautica,
Astropolitics, Eurasian World, Space Policy, The Hague Journal of Diplomacy, and Nature
(Astronomy) and is an editorial board member of Astropolitics and the Advanced Space Law Journal.

Involved in international affairs in various capacities across several continents, Dr. Trur
covered space diplomacy and strategy issues as a researcher starting twenty years ago in France
with her diplomatic and international studies’ master at École des Hautes Études Internationales
(HEI Paris) and her master in space studies at the International Space University (ISU Strasbourg).
She combined international academic and private sector experiences providing policy consultancy
and project management to a leading operator of satellite telecommunications, SES, at their
Brussels office following policy research internships with George Washington University’s Space
Policy Institute and with the United States Navy Department of Contemporary History.

Dr. Trur has been a member of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) since 2016 and
of multiple space associations, committees, and boards, the latest being the International
Astronautical Federation IAF ACCESS MECA Subcommittee supporting emerging space nations. She
participates in United Nations-led space diplomacy initiatives and experts’ workshops, the latest
being the World Space Forum hosted at the United Nations’ Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
in Vienna, Austria, in preparation of the 2024 Summit of the Future.

Dr Brendan Mulvaney

Dr. Brendan Mulvaney is currently the Director of the China Aerospace Studies Institute at National Defense University. He was a Marine for a quarter of a century, where he flew more than 2000 hours as an AH-1W Cobra pilot, and was an Olmsted Scholar in Shanghai, China.

He enlisted in 1991 and was commissioned in 1993 after graduating from UC San Diego. He earned his Master’s in Leadership from the University of San Diego in 2002, and was selected as one of three Marine Olmsted Scholars for 2003. He studied at Fudan University in Shanghai, China from 2003-2005 where he earned his Ph.D. in International Relations.

He served several tours in California, Iraq, Japan, and the Western Pacific. He served as the first Director of the Commandant’s Red Team, and supervised the implementation of Red Teaming in the Marine Corps. In 2013 he transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy, where he was the Associate Chair for the Languages and Cultures Department, and taught Mandarin Chinese, Chinese culture, and cross-cultural literacy.

Dr Joanna Hart

Joanna thrives on bringing people together to address complex challenges and deliver change. The Space Partnership equally represents industry, academia and government, enabling shared priorities to identified and collective action agreed so that the ambition contained within the National Space Strategy. Director is delivered. Joanna started in the role in March 2023 after nine years working across the space and innovation ecosystems, first at the Satellite Applications Catapult and then at the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC, part of UK Research and Innovation).

As the Harwell Space Cluster Development Manager, Joanna worked with stakeholders to grow the Cluster from 80 organisations to over 100 today that collectively employ over 1,400 people (up from 800 in December 2017). As STFC’s Skills Factory Director, Joanna led the development of STFC’s Skills Factory proposal to address national technical skills shortages, resulting in a doubling of the STFC apprenticeship scheme.

With a first career in investment banking at UBS and Credit Suisse, a PhD in particle physics, Joanna has a strong financial and scientific background.

Dr Martin Strohmeier

Martin Strohmeier is a Senior Scientific Project Manager at the Cyber-Defence Campus in Switzerland and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford. Before coming to Oxford for his PhD, he received his MSc from TU Kaiserslautern, Germany and worked as a researcher at Lancaster University’s InfoLab21 and Lufthansa. He is interested in wireless security, critical infrastructures and adversarial machine learning. Martin is also a co-founder and board member of the OpenSky Network.
 

Dr Sharon Lemac-Vincere

Dr Sharon Lemac-Vincere is an interdisciplinary academic at the University of Strathclyde and visiting academic at the international Space University, Strasbourg. Sharon has also set-up and sold her own business and as such she brings real life experience to her work.
Sharon works at the intersection of space entrepreneurship and cyber security. She conducts research in this field. More recently she launched an executive space cyber security course at the University of Strathclyde in partnership with the International Space University. Sharon also hosts a podcast: Space: No Rocket Required and she has designed the first Space Tartan called ‘Vincere Ad Astra’.
 

Dr Ulpia-Elena Botezatu

Dr. Ulpia-Elena Botezatu is the Chair of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) and currently serves as a Space Policy Officer at the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA). With extensive expertise in space security, Dr. Botezatu represents her agency as a delegate to prominent organizations such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the Europena Commission, the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (EUSST) Partnership, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and NATO's Science and Technology Organization (STO), focusing on pivotal issues related to space security and the peaceful use of outer space. With a Doctorate in Engineering Sciences and a Master's degree in Urban Management, she has made substantial contributions to space situational awareness and the security of critical space infrastructure. Dr. Botezatu is not only an author of numerous academic articles but is also preparing a book on the confluence of space and urban environments. Her work is instrumental in fostering international collaboration towards the enhancement of space security and the promotion of peace in outer space. Currently, she is pursuing a degree in international law with a focus on space law, aiming to further contribute to the development of legal frameworks that support the sustainable and peaceful exploration of outer space.

Dr Vincent Lenders

Vincent Lenders is Director of the Cyber-Defence Campus at the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport. He has been working in the field of cybersecurity since 20 years, mostly focusing on research and penetration testing. He has published over eighty papers in the field of aerospace cybersecurity and is the co-founder of the OpenSky Network. He holds a Master’s degree and a PhD in Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies from ETH Zurich.

Heinrich Krispler

Helen Weedon

Helen Weedon is Managing Director of the Satcoms Innovation Group (SIG) which is dedicated to promoting innovation within the satellite industry. Helen has been involved with SIG since 2011, previously supporting the group with marketing, PR, and admin activities. Helen has over 20 years’ experience within the satellite and broadcast industries. She is the founder of Radical Moves, a specialist PR and Marketing agency. Helen is fluent in French and German, with a good knowledge of Welsh and a basic knowledge of Dutch and Spanish. Helen regularly addresses the industry on the challenges faced by the satellite industry and the innovative approaches needed to resolve them.

Jessie Hamill-Stewart

Jessie Hamill-Stewart is a Cyber Security (TIPS-at-Scale) CDT (PhD) candidate at University of Bath and University of Bristol. She investigates the cyber resilience of space infrastructure through multidisciplinary research, which combines technical analysis of cyber attacks and more qualitative approaches such as document analysis and interviews.

John Irving

John Irving is the European Space Agency Security Engineering Manager in the Director General's Security Office. In this role, he supports security efforts to enhance the agency's overall security posture and resilience.

John initially focused on UK Tactical Datalinks. Later, both in the industry and at ESA, he made significant contributions to Europe's Global Navigation Satellite System, Galileo. He was entrusted with critical security elements and systems engineering throughout the entire system development lifecycle.

Since 2020, John has been at the forefront, spearheading the team in a collaborative effort with industry to develop the ESA Space & Security Cyber Centre of Excellence (SCCoE) and the Cyber-Security Operations Centre (CSOC). His contributions also extend to establishing the new ECSS European space system security standard.
 

Joshua Broom

Joshua Broom is the Head of Space at the UK Department for Business & Trade (DBT). He leads the Department’s space engagement with UK companies looking to export to global markets, and international companies wishing to invest and locate in the UK space sector, as well as investors looking to invest into UK companies and capabilities. He also coordinates the Department’s contributions to cross-government space policy and governance working with the Department for Science, Innovation, & Technology (DSIT), the UK Space Agency, Ministry of Defence (MOD), Foreign, Commonwealth, & Development Office (FCDO), and Cabinet Office.

Josh has worked in the UK Government on space since he joined the Civil Service in 2017. He has held four different roles in the Department for the Environment, Food, & Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the UK Space Agency, and Department for International Trade – now DBT. He has tackled many complex issues such as negotiating with the European Union on UK participation in EU space programmes, mobilising space-based assets and expertise for emergency responses to international crises in Australia and elsewhere, establishing precedent-setting agreements and partnerships with strategic space-faring allies, and landing companies from abroad across the UK space ecosystem.

Prior to his career in the Civil Service, Josh studied at Loughborough University and Cranfield University to secure bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering and environmental science respectively. He is a self-professed space ‘geek’, keen traveller, and rugby enthusiast.
 

Juliana Suess

Juliana is the Research Fellow on Space Security as part of the Military Sciences team at RUSI and is the host of the podcast War in Space. She was previously Project Officer and Research Analyst at RUSI International. Her research interests include global space governance, sustainability, counterspace capabilities and space warfare.

Juliana holds an MA in Conflict, Security and Development from King’s College London and a BA in Politics and International Relations from the University of Reading. Prior to joining RUSI, she was an intern for the Development, Concept and Doctrine Centre, the independent think tank of the Ministry of Defence. There she researched varied topic areas, including geo-strategic, security and stabilisation topics, as well as future and contemporary trends in warfare.

Kees Buijsrogge

Kees Buijsrogge obtained his degree in Science and Policy at Utrecht University (M.Sc., distinction). He has been with TNO for 11 years and has served in various roles in applied research in High Tech Systems applications within TNO. He started his career at TNO in business development, then moved towards management of research groups in the defense domain of TNO. Since 2012 he has been Research Manager of the Optics Department in Delft, which includes the Optics Manufacturing unit.
Since September 1, 2017 he has been appointed Director Space & Scientific Instrumentation.
As Director, he is responsible for the strategic vision of the unit: ensuring that the unit’s objectives align with both society’s needs on Satellite Communication, Earth Observation and Astronomy, and boosting Dutch commercial competitiveness within international value chains.

In addition to his role at TNO, he is a Supervisory Board member at Princess Máxima Center for Pediatric Oncology, a Board Member at SpaceNed, member of the Supervisory Board at TU Delft Space Institute and Board Member at Space Expo Noordwijk.
 

Kimberly Morris

Kimberly Morris is the Deputy for Space Operations at Naval Network Warfare Command. In this role, she has supervision of Navy SATCOM Operations. She supervises the asset allocation and mission planning of the Navy’s Commercial Broadband Satellite Program. She is currently leading an initiative to demonstrate resilient SATCOM through proactive management and control techniques by using pre-allocated MILSATCOM compatible commercial capabilities as maneuver space.

Kimberly retired from the U.S. Marine Corps in 2014 after 20 years as a Communications Officer. During her career, she held several SATCOM centric billets including leading one of the first Joint Force wideband SATCOM “Enabler” detachments from amphibious shipping and after 9-11 as a Communication Company Commander in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Her last assignment was team lead for the Expeditionary SATCOM acquisitions program at MARCORSYSCOM.
After retirement, she served as a program analyst in support of OPNAV N2N6 responsible for the Navy’s Commercial SATCOM and Wideband programs before accepting her current position at Navy Network Warfare Command.

She is the recipient of the Navy Meritorious Civilian Service award, the Meritorious Service Medal with three stars, the Joint Commendation Medal, the Navy/ Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and the Navy/ Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

Laetitia Cesari

Laetitia Cesari is a Doctoral Researcher at the University of Luxembourg and is currently a visiting researcher at UNSW Canberra Space. She is also an external consultant for the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). She specialises in Space Law and Policy, and has authored papers, articles and books focusing on security and safety aspects, including cybersecurity, space data, verification and monitoring, and space situational awareness.

Lieutenant Colonel (Ret'd) Abde Bellahnid

Lieutenant Colonel Melanie Strodtman

Lieutenant Colonel Michael Macdonald

Lt Col Macdonald joined the Royal Marines in Feb 1999 and, on completion of recruit training, specialised as an RM Signaller, deploying with the 3 Commando Brigade HQ and Signals Squadron to Kosovo (Op AGRICOLA IV) and Afghanistan (Op JACANA).

He commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 2003 and, after completing initial troop commands, specialised as a Radio Signals Officer before joining the Commando Helicopter Force, deploying to Iraq (Op TELIC VII and VIII). This was followed by a move to HQ 3 Commando Brigade as the SO3 J6 and Battle Captain, deploying to Afghanistan (Op HERRICK IX). As an acting Major, he then took charge of the Trials and Training Support Group within the Defence CBRN Centre.

On promotion to Major, his initial SO2 appointment was as the Officer Commanding the CIS Training Company at the Commando Training Centre, Royal Marines (CTCRM). He was then selected for Sub-Unit Command and assumed command of the Communications Squadron, 30 Commando (Information Exploitation) Group RM. He then returned to CTCRM, as the Second in Command or the Specialist Training Wing. This was followed by a broadening appointment outside the RM. In his final role as a Major, he was appointed to be the Second in Command of 30 Cdo IX Gp RM.

On promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, he assumed a Navy Command HQ, as the SO1 Equipment Capability in the Commando Force Project Team within the Develop Directorate.

Since September 2023 he has been working in the Navy Plans and Capability team within the MoD
 

Lieutenant Colonel Phil Alvarez

Lt Col Phillip N. Alvarez is the commander of the 1st Air and Space Communications Operations Squadron at Ramstein Air Base, Germany where he commands 149 total force personnel across six career fields delivering, operating, and defending nine diverse C5ISR network platforms used by over 3,400 users and intelligence analysts at 19 locations in the United States Air Forces in Europe, Air Forces Africa, and United States Air Forces Central Command-Forward theaters of operations. He leads the management and sustainment of the command’s $90M Air Force Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System (JWICS) net-centric enterprise, the operation and mobilization of the Air Force’s only deployable JWICS communications suite, the only approved black network, and two global command and control systems.

Lt Col Alvarez is a prior-enlisted Airmen and achieved the rank of Staff Sergeant before earning a Reserve Officer Training Corp (ROTC) scholarship. Lt Col Alvarez received his commission from the University of South Florida ROTC program, earning Distinguished Graduate honors. He is a cyberspace operations officer and has held positions at the Squadron, Group, Wing, Numbered Air Force, Combatant Command, Joint and NATO levels. Lt Col Alvarez most recently served as Deputy Division Chief, Warfighting Capabilities and Integration Division for United States Air Forces in Europe and Africa. In this capacity, he led 191 personnel and managed a $260 million budget, directing command, control, communications, cyber defense, development, modernization, nuclear command and control program management, and operational analysis to provide reliable, resilient and interoperable technology for 9 Wings, 6 Main Operating Bases, and 92 Geographically Separated Units across 2 Combatant Commands.
 

Major General Hans Folmer

Major General (MGEN) Hans Folmer was appointed Chief of Staff of the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCI Agency) as of 3 March 2022. In his role, MGEN Folmer acts as the NCI Agency’s senior military officer and provides oversight of day-to-day activities, while ensuring the efficient and effective operation of the Agency’s functional support elements.

From summer 2018 until 2021, he served in NATO as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff of the NATO CIS Group (NCISG) in Mons, Belgium. In this period, he was also appointed acting SHAPE Deputy Chief of Staff Cyberspace for an extended length of time.

In June 2015, he became the first Commander of the Netherlands Defence Cyber Command, having previously commanded the Cyber Task Force from 2011 to 2015. During that time, MGEN Folmer was responsible for the implementation of the cyber programme for the Armed Forces of the Netherlands.

From 2010 to 2011, MGEN Folmer was Chief Joint C4ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance) requirements at the Dutch Ministry of Defence, Directorate for Operational Policy, Requirements and Planning. Prior to this role, he was the Chief of the European Union’s (EU’s) Operations Centre and Watchkeeping Capability in Brussels, Belgium. MGEN Folmer also chaired the Brussels Joint Coordination Team for the EU Supporting Action for African Union’s mission to Sudan (AMIS). From October 2006 until May 2007, he was the Military Assistant to the Commander, NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Regional Command (South) in Kandahar, Afghanistan. MGEN Folmer was the Commanding Officer of the bi-national CIS Battalion of the 1 (German/Netherlands) Corps from June 2004 until May 2007. With his battalion, he participated in NATO Response Force and won the General Fellgiebel prize for best German signal battalion. As liaison officer at Germany’s Bundeswehr Operations Command, from 2002 until 2004, he was involved in the planning of operations in Afghanistan,

in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Bosnia and the Persian Gulf. He has held previous positions such as Assistant Chief of Staff G4 of the Netherlands Mechanized Division and Senior Policy Advisor at the Army Directorate of Materiel, as well as Senior Project Manager on IT systems, communications, IT Architecture and Command and Control Systems.
 

Major General Sami Nurmi

Major General Sami Nurmis Deputy Chief of Staff, Strategy of the Finnish Defence Forces as of 1 April 2024.

Previously, he has served as Head of Unit, Ministry of Defence, Head of Defence Courses at the National Defence Uni-versity, Director of Communications for the Finnish Defence Forces and assistant to the Chief of the EU Military Staff in Brussels.

Major General Steven 'Bucky' Butow

Steve “Bucky” Butow is the Director of the Space Portfolio at the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU). He joined the team in 2015 as a plank owner when DIU was known as the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx) and helped establish the organization’s operating locations in Silicon Valley; Boston, Massachusetts; and Austin, Texas.

In his reserve capacity, Butow is a Major General serving as the Commander of the California Air National Guard where he leads 4,900 Airmen assigned to five wings and a headquarters staff. Prior to this assignment, he was a Special Assistant to the Director, Air National Guard.

Butow is a former Commander of the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield, CA, where his responsibilities included organizing, training, equipping, and maintaining 970 combat-ready forces and $1 Billion dollars of special mission aircraft and equipment supporting the U.S. Air Force's combat rescue and personnel recovery missions. He has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Joint Search and Rescue Center for U.S. Central Command in 2005, and as Chief of Personnel Recovery for U.S. Air Forces Central in 2007 supporting Operations IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM. Prior to joining DIU, Butow was the Vice Chief of the Joint Staff, California Military Department with responsibilities including cybersecurity, incident awareness and innovation. He has more than 3,500 flying hours in T-37, T-38, C-130, HC-130 and MC-130P aircraft.

As a researcher with the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) Institute, Butow worked on instrument concepts for Mars surface soil analysis at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. He later served as co-principal investigator for a series of airborne science missions for which he was recognized for outstanding achievement and contributions to the Space Science Division in 1999 and received an Ames Honor Award as a member of an Astrobiology Mission Project Team in 2000.

Butow graduated from San Jose State University with a B.A. in Physics & Astronomy and earned a M.S. in Management with specialization in Air and Space Strategic Studies from the University of Maryland. He has also completed executive courses at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and was a member of the National Leadership Preparedness Initiative (NPLI) Cohort 16.

Major Semra Turkalp

Major Semra Turkalp joined the Defence Space Security Center at the Royal Netherlands Air Force in March 2020. As Senior Legal Counsel Space, she provides legal support to the civilian and military space experts and operators of the Defence Space Security Center, and to the high level policymakers and the Military Staff within the Ministry of Defence. In addition, as a Subject Matter Expert she takes part in various international consultations and conducts negotiations on behalf of the Minister of the Netherlands space related projects, agreements and cooperation with allied nations, NATO and/or the EU.

Major Turkalp obtained her law degree, with a specialization in Space Law at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Prior to joining the Royal Netherlands Air Force, she served at the Netherlands Public Prosecution Service involving cases of international crimes at the Appeals Court of the Hague and the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

Michelle Hanlon

Michelle L.D. Hanlon is the Executive 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 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 and its sister publication, the Journal of Drone Law and Policy. Michelle is 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. In this capacity, she was instrumental in the development of the recently enacted One Small Step Act in the United States. 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 and recently launched its Institute on Space Law and Ethics.

Michelle received her B.A. in Political Science from Yale College and her J.D. magna cum laude from the Georgetown University Law Center. She earned her LLM in Air and Space Law from McGill University. Prior to focusing on aviation and space law, Michelle was engaged in a private business law practice.

Michelle Mullen

Mike Dean

Name Withheld for Security Reasons

A senior representative from the UK National Cyber Security Centre will join us to provide the keynote of the Cybersecurity for Space & SATCOM Focus Day. Name withheld for security reasons.

Philippe Bertrand

Philippe Bertrand was elected by the European Union Member States as the Chairman of the Security Accreditation Board (SAB) of the EU Space Programme in May 2022. The SAB is the security accreditation authority for all of the EU Space Programme’s components where Member States take decisions in a strictly independent manner.

Prior to that, Mr. Bertrand worked as a European affairs coordinator at the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA) in France. Philippe Bertrand has a vast experience in space-related activities and more specifically in satellite navigation. He has held several managerial positions in the public sector, namely in the French Armed Forces, the office of the French Prime Minister and the European Commission.

Pinar Yasar Orten

Mrs. Pinar Yasar Orten is a SATCOM professional who leads the efforts related to SATCOM technology roadmaps and bringing those technologies to NATO as Head of SATCOM Technology in NATO Communications and Information Agency Chief Technology Office (CTO).
She is part of CTO-STAR (Space Technology Adoption and Resilience) team, where the team deals with all space domain technology related matters in NCIA.

Having almost 2 decades of experience in the domain, Pinar joined the NCI Agency after working in defence industry over a decade.

Her experience spans from design, development and acquisition of Electronic Warfare and SATCOM Systems for space, land, maritime and air domains as well as managing diverse engineering teams. Providing latest SATCOM technology to the Alliance, Pinar applies sound engineering principles using both traditional and innovative methods.

She has her B.Sc. degree in Electrical and Electronics Engineering as well as M.Sc. in the same domain with a focus on electromagnetics and novel RF materials, which is one of the disruptive technologies and has published papers in this domain. She is alumni of NATO-wide Executive Development Program.
 

Senior Representative

Senior Representative

Senior Representative

Senior Representative

Sherrill Lingel

Sherrill Lingel is program director for Force Modernization and Employment within RAND Project Air Force (PAF), and a senior engineer at RAND. She spent three years as a field analyst reporting directly to Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) leadership. She was a department director of Technology and Applied Sciences at RAND. Most recently, Lingel conducted research on Air Moving Target Indications (AMTI) for the Pacific theater and Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) for Agile Combat Employment (ACE) in Europe preceded by work on ACE in a contested electromagnetic spectrum environment in Europe. She also led a team providing an independent assessment of the Department of the Air Force's intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) flight plan’s alignment with the 2018 National Defense Strategy. She led a FY19 research team on artificial intelligence applications for JADC2 for the U.S. Air Forces Air Combat Command (ACC). Her research includes complexity in great power competition and warfare, multi-domain operations, JADC2, ACE, ISR capabilities for highly contested environments, and air and missile defense. Prior to joining RAND, she worked for the Norwegian Institute for Water Research in Oslo, Norway.

Lingel earned a Ph.D. in civil engineering and an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics engineering from the University of Washington, and a B.S. in aeronautical engineering from the University of Virginia.
 

Steve Pitcher

Mr. Steve Pitcher is the Senior Cyber Survivability Analyst for the Joint Staff J6. During Steve’s 20 years in the Air Force, and 19 years as a government civilian with the Missile Defense Agency and Joint Staff, he has held several cybersecurity, command and control, modeling and simulation, information sharing, Joint/Coalition operations, and cyber survivability positions. As part of the Joint Staff, he focused on developing cybersecurity approaches to enable coalition interoperability, with authoritative data services and web-based presentation applications to rapidly deploy a hybrid mission planning and execution network. More recently, he has worked to define how properly articulated cyber survivability threshold performance requirements can reduce resource and mission risk for the acquisition of warfighter systems, by ensuring cybersecurity and cyber resilience performance requirements are included in a program managers cost, schedule and performance risk trade space. This has been transformational in driving cyber security consideration within DevOps, and validation of the effectiveness of implementation during DevSecOps … helping to ensure warfighting capabilities are secure and resilient by design.

Trond Hermansen

Trond Hermansen is a SATCOM specialist within operational use of military SATCOM. He is now working as a special advisor in SATCOM to the Norwegian Armed Forces Cyberdefence. He is a former naval operational officer and has specialized in operational use of military SATCOM. He is presently engaged as operational project officer for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission project and the HEO-2 project that both will deliver 2 communication satellites in a high elliptical orbit in 2023 and 2026 respectvely.

Tulay Aydin

Tülay is a Research Associate specializing in Cyber Security in New Space at the University of the Bundeswehr Munich. An accomplished aerospace engineer, she brings extensive experience in the defense industry to her role, adeptly managing cutting-edge technology projects. Her passion for space technology and the space economy drives her commitment to advancing security measures and innovations in this dynamic field.

Vice Admiral Dr Thomas Daum

Vice-Admiral Dr Thomas Daum joined the Bundeswehr as an officer candidate in 1981. After studying computer science at the Bundeswehr University in Munich and completing his naval officer education, he received first command assignments on seagoing units. From 1996 onwards, he took part in the two-year admiral staff officers’ training at the Bundeswehr Command and Staff College in Hamburg.

His career as a senior officer was characterised by assignments at command headquarters and at the Federal Ministry of Defence, where he served in the areas of CIS support/C4ISR as well as concepts and capability analysis. He was also given command assignments at home and abroad, especially as commander of a fast patrol boat squadron, also on NATO operations.

He served as Head of the Information Technology Directorate at the Federal Office of Bundeswehr Equipment, Information Technology and In-Service Support (BAAINBw) from 2012 to 2015 and as Chief of Staff and Deputy General Manager as well as Chief Operating Officer of the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) in Brussels, Belgium, from 2015 to 2019.

After becoming Chief of Staff at the German Cyber and Information Domain Service Headquarters on 1 April 2019, Dr Daum was appointed as Chief of the Cyber and Information Domain Service on 25 September 2020.
 

Victoria Cope

Victoria joined Defence Digital in May 2023 as Commercial Director with responsibility for functional leadership of the directorate and commercial leadership of digital across the defence enterprise.

The enterprise focus includes digital category management, commercial optimisation & market innovation.

Prior to joining Defence Digital Victoria was the Commercial & Category Director for the UK Health Security Agency within the Government Commercial Function. Where she established and led the Commercial and Business Development functions.

Victoria has over 20 years’ experience in the Defence & Security sector, leading corporate procurement, commercial and finance functions within FTSE100/250 organisations including BAE Systems, QinetiQ, Airbus, Unilever and the UK Health Security Agency.

Victoria’s achievements were recognised by World Commerce and Contracting in the Inspiring Women list 2023. The Times & Sunday Times in 2019 as the winner of We Are the City Top 100 Women 2019 – Defence. Victoria was also awarded the Marshall of Cambridge Medal by the Duke of Edinburgh for her contribution to the industry.

Victoria is a chartered Aeronautical Engineer by background and holds an Executive MBA from Henley Business School. Victoria is a Fellow and Global Advisory Board Member of World Commerce & Contracting, a Non-Executive Council Member of The Air League Trust and a Non- Executive Director and Chair of Audit, Risk & Assurance Committee of the Inspiring Leadership Foundation