American Astronautical Society Board of Directors Election Results

The American Astronautical Society is pleased to announce the results of our 2022 Board of Directors election.

This year’s election filled all Officer positions, along with our At Large Directors. Several Board members transitioned into Officer positions, and the Society added several At Large Directors to the Board.

“We are excited about our Society leadership team bringing representation across the space enterprise, providing AAS a valuable diversity of perspectives,” said AAS President Ron Birk. “AAS appreciates the work of the prior term’s leadership team, positioning our organization to continue to grow and strengthen our network as we all come together to advance space activities for all.”

The 2023-2024 term for Officers and Board Members officially began at the conclusion of the Board of Directors meeting on Friday, December 16. The roster of the AAS Board of Directors is below. Please see the AAS website for further updates on AAS events, awards, publications, and other activities.

AAS Officers

• President – Ronald J. Birk, The Aerospace Corporation
• Executive Vice President – Charlie Stegemoeller, SAIC
• Vice President Education – Abby Dickes, Voyager Space
• Vice President Finance – Steve Witkowski, Moog, Inc.
• Vice President International – Kathleen Karika, Virgin Galactic
• Vice President Membership – Bobby Watkins, Barrios Technology
• Vice President Programs – Martin Frederick, Northrop Grumman Corporation
• Vice President Public Policy – Lewis Groswald, Lockheed Martin Corporation
• Vice President Publications – David B. Spencer, The Aerospace Corporation
• Vice President Strategic Communications & Outreach – Robert H. Bishop, University of South Florida
• Vice President Technical – Matthew Wilkins, L3Harris
• Legal Counsel – Franceska O. Schroeder, Esq., Schroeder Law DC
• Executive Director – Jim Way

Chairs, Editors, and Liaisons

• AAS Publications Office – Robert H. Jacobs, Univelt, Inc.
• Capitol Hill Liaison – Richard M. Obermann, House Committee on Science, Space, & Technology
• Chair, Guidance & Control Committee – Ian Gravseth, Ball Aerospace
• Chair, History Committee – Michael L. Ciancone
• Chair, International Programs Committee – Kathleen Karika, Virgin Galactic
• Chair, Rocky Mountain Section – Ian Gravseth, Ball Aerospace
• Chair, Space Flight Mechanics Committee – Jeffrey R. Stuart, Jet Propulsion Laboratory
• Chair, Space Surveillance Committee – Ryan Coder, The Aerospace Corporation
• Editor, The Journal of the Astronautical Sciences – Maruthi R. Akella, The University of Texas at Austin
• Editor, Space Times – Amir S. Gohardani

Board of Directors

Term Expires 2023

• David Alexander, Rice University Space Institute
• Steve Arnold, JHU Applied Physics Laboratory
• Therese Jones, Satellite Industry Association
• Carol Lane, Cynergy, LLC
• Zigmond V. Leszczynski, L10 Innovations
• Charles Scales, Sierra Lobo, Inc.
• Suneel Sheikh, ASTER Labs, Inc.
• Brett Silcox, Astroscale

Term Expires 2024

• Maruthi Akella, University of Texas at Austin
• Niel Holt, Space Dynamics Laboratory / Utah State University
• John Horcak, The Ohio State University
• Aaron Lewis, Arianespace, Inc.
• John Shannon, The Boeing Company

Term Expires 2025

• Russell Carpenter
• Jacqueline Cortese, Blue Origin
• Mike Fox, Maxar
• Mike Gazarik, Ball Aerospace
• Mike Gold, Redwire
• Bristol Gunderson, Astranis Space Technologies
• Scott Hall, Teledyne Technologies Incorporated
• Mike Moreau
• Susan Nelson, IBEX2 Solutions
• David Radzanowski