41 Undergraduate Women Selected as Brooke Owens Fellows

Today, the Brooke Owens Fellowship Program – an award-winning, volunteer-led program awarding internships and senior mentorship to exceptional undergraduate women seeking careers in aviation or space exploration – announced 41 young leaders as recipients of 2018 Brooke Owens Fellowships. After completing a rigorous and highly competitive application and multi-phase interview process, each Fellow has been placed into a paid summer internship at one of the nation’s leading aviation or space companies.

The 41 Fellows were selected from an applicant pool comprised of promising students enrolled in Ivy League universities, major research universities, historically black colleges and universities, liberal arts colleges, community colleges, and major international universities. Each candidate was evaluated on the basis of her technical excellence, creativity, commitment to service, and career growth potential. The 2018 class of Fellows encompasses students pursuing careers in engineering, policy, finance, business development, public engagement and combinations thereof.

In addition to their paid summer work experience, each Fellow has been paired with a hand-selected, senior aerospace professional to serve as her mentor. For 2018, our pool of mentors includes the most recent NASA Administrator and the two most recent Deputy Administrators, NASA’s former Chief Scientist, several CEOs as well as commercial, international and U.S. Government astronauts. All mentors are selected based on their contributions to aerospace and their commitment to fostering the next generation of leaders.

The Brooke Owens Fellowship Program was founded in 2016 to honor the memory of beloved space 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 and now General Manager at the Air Line Pilots Association; Cassie Lee, Head of Space Programs at Vulcan Inc.; and William Pomerantz, the Vice President of Special Projects at Virgin Orbit. The vision of Garver, Lee, and Pomerantz – close friends and former colleagues of Owens – is to create a cohort of young women interested in aviation and space who have the knowledge and relationships to enter the workforce and advance a positive future in her spirit. Those wishing to learn more or to donate to this non-profit initiative can visit http://www.brookeowensfellowship.org.

Ms. Garver says of the Fellows: “We are proud to introduce our 41 extremely talented members of the Brooke Owens Fellowship Class of 2018.  These women will join the 36 alumni Fellows from 2017 in contributing their innovative spirit and capabilities to the aerospace community.  This program was founded to provide early career experience and mentorship to collegiate women interested in aviation and space. The overwhelmingly positive response to the Fellowship from our 30 host organizations, mentors, alumni and volunteers demonstrates our collective recognition of the value these exceptional women can offer our industry. Working on this program with co-founders Will Pomerantz and Cassie Lee has meant more to me than anything in my 30+ year career and I can’t wait to see how these 77 “Brookies” (and counting) contribute to advancing aviation and space in the future. Brooke’s light continues to shine bright”.

The Brooke Owens Fellows, Class of 2018:
The Aerospace Corporation: Julia Mihaylov (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Prescott Campus, Aerospace Engineering – Astronautics, Class of 2019)
The Aerospace Corporation: Anna Voelker (The Ohio State University, Science Communication and Accessibility, Class of 2018)
Airbus: Chloe Long (Binghamton University, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2019)
Air Line Pilots Association: Sarah Carty (Tufts University, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2019)
Air Line Pilots Association: TyNiyah Harris (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Major: Aeronautical Science, Class of 2021)
Amazon: Kayla Watson (The Ohio State University, Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2019)
Altius Space Machines: Abby Breitfeld (Princeton University, Electrical Engineering, Class of 2020)
Avascent: Skylar Eiskowitz (The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2019)
Ball Aerospace: Amani Garvin (Columbia University, Physics, Class of 2019)
Ball Aerospace: Shannon Kearney (Wellesley College, International Relations, Class of 2018)
Blue Origin: Maddie Koldos (University of Southern California, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2019)
Blue Origin: Sophia Porter (Johns Hopkins University, Physics and Applied Mathematics & Statistics, Class of 2018)
Bryce Space and Technology: Samantha Berek (Yale University, Astrophysics and Anthropology, Class of 2020)
Bryce Space and Technology: Emma Louden (Princeton University, Astrophysics, Class of 2020)
Commercial Spaceflight Federation: Catherine Grace Gimbert (Dickinson College, Environmental Science, Class of 2018)
Generation Orbit: Payton Barnwell (Florida Polytechnic University, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2019)
Generation Orbit: Julia Di (Columbia University, Electrical Engineering, Class of 2018)
HawkEye 360: Alexandra Gartner (Yale University, Electrical Engineering, Class of 2019)
Jet Blue Technology Ventures: Jamie Helander (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University – Worldwide, Aeronautics, Class of 2019)
Made In Space: Madeline Kothe (University of Wisconsin-Madison, Engineering Mechanics and Astronautics, Class of 2018)
Mojave Air and Space Port: Madison Harrington (Iowa State University, Aerospace Engineering and Religious Studies, Class of 2020)
Mojave Air and Space Port: Kristen Lemaire (McNeese State University, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2019)
The Museum of Flight: Katrina Sletten (Drake University, Astronomy, Physics & Public Relations, Class of 2018)
Orbital ATK: Jacquelyn Linevsky (University of Florida, Astrophysics, Class of 2018)
Orbital ATK: Teresa McBryan (Arizona State University, Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2020)
Planet: Josephina Salazar Morales (University of Texas at Austin, Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2020)
Radiant Solutions: Ayla Grandpre (Rocky Mountain College, Computer Science & Chemistry, Class of 2018)
Scaled Composites: Kryn Ambs (Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Spaceflight Operations, Class of 2019)
Scaled Composites: Courtney Simpson (Purdue University, Mechatronics Engineering, Class of 2019)
Sierra Nevada Corp.: Carson Brumley (University of Colorado at Boulder, Aerospace Engineering Sciences, Class of 2019)
Sierra Nevada Corp: Kayleigh Dobson (Santa Clara University, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2019)
Space Angels: Luc Riesbeck (New York University Shanghai, Social Sciences: International Relations Track, Class of 2018)
The Spaceship Company: Mercedes McCarthy (North Carolina State University, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2020)
SpaceX: Maddie Garcia (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2020)
SSL, a Maxar Company: Lilly Clark (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2018)
Stratolaunch: Shannon Gatta (University of Washington, Informatics, Class of 2020)
Ventions: Anya Ustinova (University of California San Diego, Aerospace Engineering, Class of 2018)
Virgin Galactic: Courtney Schmitt (Johns Hopkins University, Mechanical Engineering, Class of 2018)
Virgin Orbit: Millie Kriel (Texas A&M University, Electrical Engineering, Class of 2019)
Virgin Orbit: Meera Undakat (University of Washington, Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering, Class of 2019)
Vulcan Inc.: Esther Putman (University of Kentucky, Biology and Neuroscience, Class of 2019)

For more information on the Brooke Owens Fellowship Program, our 30 host companies and the list of 2018 mentors, please visit: www.brookeowensfellowship.org.

For media inquiries:
info@brookeowensfellowship.org