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Board of DirectorsMeet our BoardOur volunteer Board of Directors is responsible for setting the 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 13 board members (more or fewer are permitted by charter) elected by their peers. The Planetary Society’s Board comprises 13 members and meets two times a year. The Society has a Chairman, President, and Vice President who, along with our Executive Director, comprise an Executive committee; they meet weekly via telephone. 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.
President 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.
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 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.
Jim BellAssociate Professor, Cornell University Astronomy Department Jim Bell joined The Planetary Society’s Board of Directors in 2005. An Associate Professor in the Cornell University Astronomy Department, Bell is the lead scientist for the Pancam color imaging system on the NASA Mars Exploration Rover (Spirit and Opportunity) missions,and is working on a book titled "Postcards from Mars" (Pi Press, 2006) which will be a pictorial history of the rover missions. Bell served as the science team liaison for The Planetary Society's Red Rover Goes to Mars student program and the sundial experiment on the Mars Exploration Rovers.
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.
John M. LogsdonDirector, Space Policy Institute, George Washington University John M. Logsdon is a long-time supporter of The Planetary Society, who first served as chair of the Advisory Council and is now a member of the Board of Directors. In his role as Director of the Space Policy Institute at George Washington University (GWU)’s Elliott School of International Affairs, Logsdon is often interviewed by the media regarding space policy issues.
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. MurrayProfessor 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.
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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