Headshot of Jennifer Vaughn (formal, 2012)

Jennifer Vaughn

Chief Operating Officer, The Planetary Society

[email protected]

+1-626-793-5100

The fearless leader behind the team at The Planetary Society is Jennifer Vaughn, our chief operating officer. She started with the Society working on The Planetary Report in 1997, moving up from Editorial Assistant to Managing Editor to Director of Publications. In time, her passion for The Planetary Society and her aptitude for management led her to the Chief Operating Officer position shortly after Bill Nye took the helm as Chief Executive Officer.

From forging partnerships to overseeing program implementation to managing the strategic planning process to hiring new staff, Jennifer  does it all. Day-to-day, you’ll most often find her planning a meeting or in a meeting with staff, directors, board members, donors, members, partners, or sometimes, even herself. She’s passionate about people and the power of teamwork. A dedicated support system for the staff, Jennifer devotes time from her days to help cultivate each individual’s skills and goals so that both the Society and the individual grow in a positive way.

Jennifer also manages to have a life outside of The Planetary Society in which she owns a dance studio and performance space. She does all of this with a smile and an attitude so optimistic you might think she’s faking it—she’s not.

Latest Articles

Creating A Movement for Space

A look back at The Planetary Society's founding documents and the origins of the organization.

Why I Explore

I explore space because I like feeling insignificant. I crave a dark night sky that reminds me that our Sun and even our galaxy are not unique. I find comfort in thinking about countless generations of humans looking at the same sky and asking questions similar to the ones I ask.

2016 Cosmos Award Honoree Alan Stern and the New Horizons team

New Horizons Principal Investigator Alan Stern and the mission team received The Planetary Society's 2016 Cosmos Award for Outstanding Public Presentation of Science.

Latest Planetary Radio Appearances

Inspiring the next generation through space education

In this week's episode of Planetary Radio, we're honoring the educators who inspire young, curious minds to explore the marvels of the Cosmos.

20th Anniversary of Planetary Radio

Join the Planetary Society’s CEO, its co-founder Louis Friedman, and others as we mark Planetary Radio’s entry into its third decade.

Sail on! Bill Nye and others celebrate LightSail 2’s three years in space

Celebrate the third anniversary of LightSail 2’s launch with Bill Nye and other leaders of The Planetary Society.