Brooke Owens Fellowship Class of 2023

The Brooke Owens Fellowship—a nationally-acclaimed nonprofit program recognizing exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities with space and aviation internships, senior mentorship, and a lifelong professional network—announces its Class of 2023 Brooke Owens Fellows

The Class of 2023 marks the seventh class of “Brookie” Fellows. The 47 Fellows were selected through a fair and extremely competitive application process involving written and creative submissions, interviews with the Fellowship’s leadership team and its close network, and interviews with leading aerospace employers from across multiple sectors in the US aerospace industry. Almost 1,000 promising and talented students applied worldwide, coming from Ivy League universities, major research universities, historically black colleges and universities (HBCU’s), liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and major international universities. The Fellows were selected based on their incredible talent, desire to pursue a career in aerospace, stand-out creative abilities, record of leadership and most importantly commitment to their communities.

The Brooke Owens Fellows will each be matched to an executive-level mentor in the aerospace industry who will support and work with the Fellows to help launch their careers. This summer, the Fellows will start their internships and come together for the annual Brooke Owens Summit in Washington, DC. The Class of 2023 will also become part of the network of 249 Brookie alumni spanning all aspects of space and aviation including engineering, scientific research, policy, journalism, and entrepreneurship.

The Brooke Owens Fellowship was founded in 2016 to honor the memory of beloved industry pioneer and accomplished pilot D. Brooke Owens, who passed away in June 2016 at the age of 35, after a hard-fought battle with cancer. The program was co-founded by Lori Garver, the former Deputy Administrator of NASA; Cassie Lee, CEO of Sound Future; and William Pomerantz, the Vice President for Special Projects at Virgin Orbit. The Brooke Owens Fellowship celebrates its ongoing mission and legacy of disrupting the historical gender imbalance in the aerospace industry by continuing its mission to provide opportunities and access to talented young professionals from women and gender minorities from all backgrounds.

Today, the Brooke Owens Fellowship is led by the 5-person Executive Team that includes Caroline Juang, a Ph.D. Candidate at Columbia University in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences; Emily Calandrelli, a science communicator and host of Netflix’s Emily’s Wonder Lab; Kayla Watson, a System Reliability Engineer at Amazon Prime Air; Lori Garver, co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship and former Deputy Administrator of NASA; and Will Pomerantz, co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship and Vice President of Special Projects at Virgin Orbit. Earlier this month, Diana Trujillo, Former Mars Perseverance Mission Lead at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, transitioned off the team after two years of service, and Garver was welcomed back into the day-to-day activities of the Executive Team. During this transition, both Trujillo and Garver were active members in selecting the newly-announced class of 2023 Brookies.

On behalf of the Executive Team, Garver says, “We are overjoyed to welcome our seventh class of ‘Brookies’, to the Fellowship, which is now providing nearly 300 women and gender minorities access to the ever more important aerospace industry. The program is expanding the diversity of the workforce in the sector and the experience and knowledge gained by these talented individuals will help it deliver a better future for humanity.”

The 2023 Brooke Owens Fellows are:

• Akshara Kuduvalli, a Sophomore studying Computer Engineering at University of California, San Diego. Kuduvalli will intern with HawkEye 360.
• Alexandria Baca, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Central Florida. Baca will intern with Airbus U.S. Space & Defense.
• Alexis Lupo, a Senior studying Physics at the University of Texas at El Paso. Lupo will intern with Draper Laboratory.
• Alina Santander Vinokurova, a Senior studying Mechatronics Engineering at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. Santander Vinokurova will intern with Zipline.
• Althea Noonan, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Noonan will intern with the Federal Aviation Administration Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA-AST).
• Amber Porteous, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Alabama in Huntsville. Porteous will intern with Lonestar Lunar.
• Ananya Malhotra, a Junior studying Mechanical engineering and Applied Mechanics at University of Pennsylvania. Malhotra will intern with Blue Origin.
• Anjali Koganti, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of California, Los Angeles. Koganti will intern with the Aerospace Corporation.
• Caitlin O’Brien, a Senior studying Astrophysics at the Ohio State University. O’Brien will intern with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
• Caleigh Stagnone, a Senior studying Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering at the University of Washington. Stagnone will intern with Loft Orbital.
• Cari Reinert, a Senior studying International Political Economy at the University of Texas at Dallas. Reinert will intern with BryceTech.
• Casey Junkin, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Texas at Austin. Junkin will intern with Lockheed Martin.
• Devanshi Narayan, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Narayan will intern with SpaceX.
• Eileen “Eli” Duong, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Boston University. Duong will intern with Venturi Astrolab.
• Eleanor Sigrest, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science at Stanford University. Sigrest will intern with Relativity Space.
• Elizabeth “Liz” Karagiannes, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology. Karagiannes will intern with Lockheed Martin.
• Hannah Joo, a Junior studying Computer Science and Cognitive Science at the University of California, Berkeley. Joo will intern with SpaceX.
• Isabelle “Izzy” Ragheb, a Sophomore studying Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the California Institute of Technology. Ragheb will intern with Amazon Prime Air.
• Ishani Peddi, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Peddi will intern with Ball Aerospace.
• Jolene Lee, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Lee will intern with Relativity Space.
• Kylie Schmidt, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Kentucky. Schmidt will intern with SpaceX.
• Lauren Paulson, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Paulson will intern with Virgin Orbit.
• Leela Cañuelas, a 5th Year Senior studying Mathematical Physics and Philosophy at Brown University. Cañuelas will intern with Planet.
• Lillian “Lilly” Saub, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Alabama. Saub will intern with USNC Tech.
• Madison Forseth, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at San Jose State University. Forseth will intern with Ball Aerospace.
• Margot Daberkow, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder. Daberkow will intern with Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC).
• Maria “Miriam” Klaczynska, a First Year studying History of Science at University of California, Berkeley. Klaczynska will intern with Space News.
• Maria Korolik, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering and Astrophysics at Yale University. Korolik will intern with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
• Maya Harris, a Senior studying Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University. Harris will intern with ABL.
• Meenakshi “Meena” Pandit, a Senior studying Science, Technology, & Society at Brown University. Pandit will intern with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA).
• Nicole McGaa, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. McGaa will intern with Blue Origin.
• Nidhi Sonwalkar, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at Cornell University. Sonwalkar will intern with Northrop Grumman.
• Olivia Kolakowski, a Sophomore studying Mechanical Engineering at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Kolakowski will intern with Northrop Grumman.
• Payton Porter, a Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. Porter will intern with Sierra Space.
• Raveen Sidhu, a Senior studying Microbiology and Oceanography at University of British Columbia. Sidhu will intern with Space Capital.
• Saima Jamal, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at University of Michigan – Ann Arbor. Jamal will intern with KBR.
• Sala Ba, a Junior studying Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University. Ba will intern with Blue Origin.
• Samina Patel, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Institute of Technology. Patel will intern with Voyager Space Holdings.
• Shelby Courreges, a Senior studying Astrophysics at Texas Tech University. Courreges will intern with the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.
• Shireen Dooling, a Senior studying Astrophysics at Arizona State University. Dooling will intern with NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.
• Skylar Edwards, a 5th Year Senior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Colorado Boulder. Edwards will intern with United Launch Alliance (ULA).
• Sophie Pieta, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Pieta will intern with Hermeus.
• Sweta Alla, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering and Chemistry at University of Colorado Boulder. Alla will intern with the Aurelia Institute.
• Tatiana Michel, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Michel will intern with Joby Aviation.
• Thendral Kamal, a Sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering at Purdue University. Kamal will intern with SES.
• Urvi Alamela, a Junior studying Aerospace Engineering at University of Texas at Austin. Alamela will intern with Blue Origin.
• Vanessa Van Decker, a Senior studying Mechanical Engineering at Toronto Metropolitan University. Van Decker will intern with Zipline.