Episode 59: Heather Nelson

Heather Nelson is currently a Director of the Club for the Future at Blue Origin. Previously, she served as Blue Origin's Senior Manager of University Relations, and worked at NASA as the Assistant Director of the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant. She also worked in astrobiology as part of the Education and Public Outreach team at the Penn State Astrobiology Research Center.

Andy Sadhwani is a principal propulsion engineer at SpaceX. He has been an academic researcher at both NASA and Stanford University. **Andy earned dual master’s degrees in mechanical engineering and aeronautics and astronautics from **Stanford, and became a civilian astronaut aboard Virgin Galactic's "Galactic 007."

Joseph Pelfrey is the senior advisor to the deputy associate administrator at NASA. Throughout his long NASA career, Joseph has served in many positions, including aerospace engineer, design integration lead, and the director of the Marshall Space Flight Center. He has contributed to the ISS program, Ares I rocket, and the SLS.

Julie Savage is the Director of Space Platforms and Threat Sensors Growth at Leidos. She was a RADAR Flight Test Director and Lead RADAR Systems Engineer at Reagan Test Site in Kwajalein Atoll, is a National Space Club Board Member serving the Education committee, and the Vice President of Sponsorships on the Space Force Association Board of Directors. Julie was a counselor at Space Camp in 1996, and was inducted into the Space Camp Hall of Fame in 2026.

Retired US Air Force Brigadier General Damon Feltman served as the Deputy Chief Strategy and Resources Officer for the United States Space Force. **Feltman holds multiple advanced degrees in space leadership, strategic studies, and business management, serves as Board Chair for the **Association of Commercial Space Professionals, and is a mentor to Vanderbilt University’s Space Edge Accelerator program. Today, he is the Chief Executive Officer of the Space Force Association, a 501c3 nonprofit and recognized national military association supporting the U.S. Space Force.

Michelle Christensen is a Mission Operations Integrations Lead of Lunar Permanence at Blue Origin. She was previously a Flight Director for New Shepard Mission Operations and Engines Test Lead developing the BE-4 engine. She attended the University of Alabama in Huntsville and Penn State University, earning a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering.

Ethan Couch is a cofounder and general manager of Yellowhammer Brewing in Huntsville, Alabama. Yellowhammer is a local craft brewery that has been serving Huntsville for 15 years. Yellowhammer is the brewery behind T-Minus, a tangerine kölsch inspired by Tang that raises scholarship money to send kids to Space Camp!

Eiman Jahangir is Section Director for General Cardiology and Cardio-Oncology at Vanderbuilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Eiman has been a finalist for NASA’s Astronaut Candidate Program twice, was the medical officer for the first analog astronaut mission at the Space Analog for the Moon and Mars at Biosphere 2, **and became the 704th person to travel to space aboard **Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

Jason Williamson is a civil engineering graduate of Purdue University. He has decades of civil and structural engineering experience and is the senior vice president of Dunaway. Jason recently attended adult Space Camp as part of Team Magellan, winning the Commander’s Cup, and is preparing to launch into space onboard Purdue 1 with Virgin Galactic in 2027.

Anna Boyd was a United States Navy helicopter pilot and Company Officer before serving in the US Navy Reserves for over a decade. She was commanding officer of SEAL Team 18 - Unmanned Aerial Systems and commanding officer of the Navy Reserve Naval History and Heritage Command. Today, she is the Senior Product Manager at Pinnacle Solutions in Huntsville, Alabama.