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Board of DirectorsMeet our BoardOur volunteer Board of Directors is responsible for governing and setting The Planetary Society's policies and future directions. They are all leaders, chosen for their passion about and knowledge of space exploration. The Society presently has 17 board members (more or fewer are permitted by charter) elected yearly by their peers. The Board normally meets twice per year. It has a Chairman, President, and Vice President and an Executive Committee. The Executive Committee consists of the three officers: Jim Bell, Bill Nye and Louis Friedman; the Board Chair, Dan Geraci; and three Board members at large. Currently they are: Heidi Hammel, Wesley T. Huntress, Jr., and Neil deGrasse Tyson Nominations are sought and considered periodically from a variety of sources, including from members of the Board and Advisory Council, Society Members, staff, and experts in the space community.
Chairman of the Board DANIEL T. GERACIDan Geraci joined the Planetary Society’s Board of Directors in 2003. He is Chairman and CEO of ClubAchilles – The Iron Age, a new luxury indoor golf club located in Palm Springs, California. Privately controlled, ClubAchilles is a unique recreation industry concept.
Jim BellAssociate Professor, Cornell University Astronomy Department Jim Bell joined The Planetary Society's Board of Directors in 2005. A professor of astronomy at Cornell University, Bell is also the lead scientist for the Pancam color imaging system on the Mars Exploration Rovers and has written two books about his Mars work: Postcards from Mars and Mars 3-D: A Rover's Eye View of the Red Planet. He has also been actively or previously involved as a science team member of the NASA Near-Earth Asteroid Rendezvous, Mars Pathfinder, Mars Odyssey, Comet Nucleus Tour, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, and Mars Science Laboratory missions.
Vice President Bill NyeScience Educator As a student at Cornell University, Bill Nye the Science Guy was introduced to the wonders of astronomy in a class taught by Carl Sagan himself, one of the original founders of The Planetary Society. So for Nye, it was like coming full circle to join the Society’s Board of Directors and later to become the organization’s newest Vice-president.
Executive Director and Secretary-Treasurer of the Board Louis D. FriedmanWhen Louis Friedman helped co-found The Planetary Society, he brought to his position as Executive Director a wealth of experience in the space exploration community, including 10 years at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and five at AVCO Space Systems Division. He has been a guiding force with the Society for over 20 years and remains as excited as ever about humanity’s journey into the solar system.
Heidi HammelSenior Research Scientist with the Space Science Institute Heidi B. Hammel joined The Planetary Society's Board of Directors in 2005. A Senior Research Scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, Hammel herself lives in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
G. Scott Hubbard
G. Scott Hubbard has been recognized as an innovator and leader in science, technology and management for more than 30 years - including 20 years with NASA. He currently is a Professor in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University.
Wesley T. Huntress, Jr.
Dr. Wesley T. Huntress holds the distinction of being chosen as the first President of The Planetary Society who was not one of the original three founding members. He succeeded Bruce Murray to the position in 2001, having served as the Society’s vice-president from 2000-2001.
Lon LevinPresident, SkySevenVentures Lon Levin is an entrepreneur and executive with more than 20 years experience in the space, new media, and telecommunications industries. Lon is President of SkySevenVentures, which works with and invests in new technologies, particularly space based businesses.
Alexis C. LivanosCorporate Vice President and President Committed to ensuring that today’s state-of-the-art technologies are employed to better understand and manage our changing planet, Alexis C. Livanos will bring a strong Earth focus with him upon joining The Planetary Society's Board of Directors. As corporate vice president and president of Northrop Grumman’s Space Technology sector, Livanos is responsible for the strategic direction and operations of the sector, which develops a broad range of systems at the leading edge of space, defense, and electronics technology. He also serves on the company’s corporate policy council.
Advisory Council Chair Christopher P. McKayPlanetary Scientist Board member Chris McKay has been active with The Planetary Society since its early days. McKay was awarded the Thomas O. Paine Memorial Award for the Advancement of Human Exploration of Mars by the Society in 1994.
Bruce C. MurrayCo-founderProfessor of Planetary Science and Geology, Emeritus, California
Institute of Technology Bruce Murray is professor of Planetary Science at the California Institute of Technology, where has been on the faculty since 1960. He participated in the development and interpretation of television images of the first successful Mars probe, Mariner 4 (1965); the subsequent Mars flybys, Mariners 6 and 7 (1969); the first successful Mars orbiter, Mariner 9 (1971-72); and the first probe to Mercury (by way of Venus), Mariner 10 (1974-75).
Elon MuskChairman and CEO, SpaceX Elon Musk, founder of three companies, joined The Planetary Society’s Board of Directors in 2003. Currently CEO and Chief Technology Officer of SpaceX, Musk is a strong supporter of space exploration. SpaceX is developing a family of launch vehicles intended to reduce the cost and increase the reliability of access to space.
Joseph RyanRyan Investments, LLP As one of the longest serving members of The Planetary Society’s Board of Directors, Joe Ryan has been a steadfast supporter of solar system exploration.
Steven SpielbergDirector and Producer One of the most celebrated directors in film history, Steven Spielberg first became affiliated with The Planetary Society in 1985 when he donated $100,000 to finance a new radiotelescope search for alien civilizations – META, the Megachannel Extraterrestrial Assay, based in Harvard, Massachusetts. A few years later, he joined the Society’s Board of Directors.
Bijal (Bee) ThakoreRegional Coordinator for Asia Pacific, Space Generation Advisory Council Bijal “Bee” Thakore has joined The Planetary Society’s Board of Directors as its youngest member. Thakore is the Regional Coordinator for youth space activities in the Asia Pacific region for the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) in support of the United Nations Programme on space applications. She serves as a liaison with local leaders and helps run regional projects with which youth groups and young students and professionals can work in an international environment and build their leadership skills. Thakore leads the 50 Years Visions Project at SGAC.
Neil deGrasse TysonAstrophysicist and Director, Hayden Planetarium, American Museum of Natural History A childhood glimpse of the Moon through binoculars helped steer Neil deGrasse Tyson towards his lifelong passion for science, space exploration, and unraveling the universe's far flung mysteries. Eventually, that closer look at another world also led Tyson to his role on The Planetary Society's Board of Directors, serving first as Vice President for three years and now as Chairman of the Board.
George YancopoulosPresident and Chief Scientific Officer, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals The first medical doctor to join The Planetary Society’s Board of Directors (2005), George Yancopoulos received his MD and PhD degrees in 1987 from Columbia University’s College of Physicians & Surgeons. |
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