Episode 49: Ben Chandler

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.

Ben Chandler has served as the President & COO for Easy Auto and Sunrise Acceptance since 2017. He attended Space Camp and Aviation Challenge programs 16 times, helped form the Space Camp Alumni Association, is a licensed pilot and airplane owner, and has served on the board of the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation. Ben is Chair of the Cleveland, Tennessee, Regional Jetport Authority and Past Chairman of the Cleveland and Bradley County Community Foundation.

Mike Wicks began his career as a United States Army civilian engineer and private contractor for the Department of Defense. He co-founded and led Summit Research Corporation, found and led Integration Innovation Inc., or i3, and served as a vice president at Lockheed Martin when they acquired i3. In retirement, Mike and his wife Christine formed the nonprofit Wicks Family Foundation and is president of the Houston-based Diakonos Research developing of state-of-the-art cancer immunotherapies.

Robin Soprano and Nathan Carter are part of the future-looking leadership of Space Camp. Robin is vice president of Space Camp. She has been with the US Space and Rocket Center for nearly a decade, and previously was a director at Sci-Quest and an engineer with the United States Army at Redstone Arsenal. Nathan is the Director of Strategic Camp Development, and previously was the Director of Mission Support for Space Camp.

Astronaut Dr. Gretchen Green is a Brown, Yale, and Harvard educated radiologist practicing in North Carolina. She attended Space Camp four times, and served as a crew trainer. Dr. Green has served on the Space Camp Alumni Association Board and is currently on the U.S. Space & Rocket Center Education Foundation's Board of Directors. In May of 2025, Dr. Green added the title of Astronaut to her resume, flying aboard Blue Origin’s NS32 New Shepherd rocket.

Dr. Alexandra Kemp is an advanced human factors systems engineer at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, in Phoenix, Arizona. She is an adjunct professor of space human factors at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a bioastronautics researcher for the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences, and a classically trained professional opera singer.

Cheri Volkin is the accountant and scholarship coordinator for the US Space and Rocket Center Foundation. She previously served as an accountant for the US Embassy in Paris, France, and in guest relations for the Rocket City Trash Pandas before joining the Space and Rocket Center as an Aviation Challenge Docent.

Duke and Tina Tucker are married professionals working in the aviation industry. Tina is president of Pinnacle Solutions, and Duke is the vice president of business development at Akima. Together, these companies are developing state-of-the-art training and simulation products, as well as a variety of other services for the aviation industry.