Madison is a Senior Mission Assurance Engineer at Millennium Space Systems supporting satellite capability development portfolios. She brings a unique perspective and wealth of experience to her role, having previously played an integral part in advancing groundbreaking launch capabilities for both domestic and international markets during her tenure at Virgin Orbit. She is this year’s Event Manager for Space Generation Fusion Forum following 4 years of continuous involvement organizing SGAC global events. Madison is a passionate advocate for STEM education, engaging in long-term K-12 outreach, mentoring, and advocacy programs to ignite curiosity within the next generation of space enthusiasts.

Danielle is a Space Vehicle Systems Engineer at Northrop Grumman. Her background includes roles in spacecraft system level integration and test, launch systems integration, program management, and affordability. She is passionate about bringing diverse perspectives together to solve the industry’s toughest problems, and cultivating a future where space is accessible and sustainable for all. She believes SGFF is the perfect avenue to inspire young professionals and students to help achieve those goals, having been a delegate in 2022. She is extremely excited to work alongside Madison this year to bring what they hope to be the best SGFF yet to 2024.

Chiedza, is a LLB graduate and Practicing Lawyer in Zimbabwe. She is the current SGAC NPoC for Zimbabwe, and an aspiring SpaceLaw and Policy expert. Additionally, she is a Mentee for SSPI-WISE and was a 2023 UNOOSA Space4women mentee. She is an active member of SGAC and was the Deputy Event Manager for the 7th AF-SGW 2023. She is passionate about early exposure to the Space Industry as well as elevating women’s voices with STEM, recently, she was a panelist for the SSPI-WISE Women’s day Celebrations and continues to advocate to bring more young women into the Space Sector.

Fatima is an Aerospace Engineer from El Salvador. She is based in Australia and works as a Systems Engineer (Satellites) at Gilmour Space Technologies. She is an active member of Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC) and has served as the National Point of Contact (NPoC) for El Salvador

Long time SGFF delegate, first time SGFF organizer! I have a background in mechanical engineering and international relations, and currently work as a Mission Manager at Rocket Lab. I’m a space nerd, but also a book nerd, horror movie nerd, plant nerd and wine nerd.

Willca Villafana works as a Research Computational Associate at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory. He develops open-source software for low-temperature plasma systems with applications in space propulsion and industry. Dedicated to bridging research and practical use, he values interdisciplinary efforts. Excited for SGFF 2024, he’s committed to advancing space exploration and community engagement.

First and foremost, I am a space, science, and superhero enthusiast! I am also a Test Engineer with Sierra Space and I work on the Dream Chaser spaceplane!

Saheed is a passionate advocate for space education and awareness. He’s a Geospatial analyst, with a degree in Remote Sensing and Geoscience Information Systems(GIS) from the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Nigeria. He currently serves on the SGAC Scholarship team and the organizing committee of the Africa Space Generation workshop. Previously, he served as a member of the organizing committee of the Space Generation Fusion forum. Through the Space4all Initiative, he promotes advancing space education and awareness, inspiring the next generation of space leaders in Africa. In 2023, he won the SGAC African Space Leader Award, recognizing his contributions to the sector. Saheed envisions a career in Geospatial technology and Earth Observation while pursuing professional development opportunities to make a meaningful impact in the field.

Paulina Valle is a Mexican young professional born in Hong Kong, raised in Shanghai. She is a recent International Business graduate, specializing in aerospace commerce and policy. She has a background of studies in Mexico, US, France and Germany. Paulina currently works as a business developer in a company builder and is on the global team of PR & Comms at SGAC.

Andrew is a Commercial Programs Manager at Intelsat, most recently managing the ground impact analysis team for Intelsat’s C-Band transition, a $5 billion project to transition critical RF spectrum traditionally used for satellite communications to its new use by mobile carriers for 5G networks. He has contributed to developing architecture for next-generation software-defined satellite networks, operations support systems improvements, and product readiness assurance. This spring he will graduate with his master’s degree in International Science & Technology Policy with a concentration in Space Policy from The George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute. He earned his bachelor’s degree in International Relations & Global Studies and Political Science from the University of the Pacific, and has served as a Council of American Ambassadors Walter and Leonore Annenberg Fellow, a Public Policy Leadership Fellow with The Fund for American Studies, and a GPS Innovation Alliance Space Fellow. Andrew’s primary professional interests are unlocking the full potential of space to foster global communications and ensuring communications technology provides free and easy access to markets and information worldwide. His research interests include U.S. spectrum policy, privatization and commercialization in the space industry, and the role of communications technology in diplomacy.

A recent transplant from Nebraska to Los Angeles, Alex has been involved with SGAC for a number of years, attending or helping organize various events, and he’s honored to help organize Fusion Forum for a third and final time before he ages out of SGAC. Alex currently works as a Mechanical Engineering Consultant for a small startup called Cislune, and still isn’t sure whether he prefers the LA beach or the LA mountains.

Alden is a recent graduate from the University of Miami. He later joined the RocketCanes, serving as the Outreach Coordinator. Alden competed in the NASA 2023 Student Launch and attended the 38th Space Symposium. Now, he contributes to the SGFF 2024 Organizing Team, aiming to provide professional opportunities to others.

China is a MIT PhD Candidate at the Laboratory for Aviation and the Environment. She received an Aerospace Engineering B.S. from UCLA in 2020 and an M.S. from MIT in 2023. Her current research explores how sustainable aviation fuel can decrease climate impacts of commercial aviation.

Michael performs space software sales and business development for a.i. solutions and is passionate about building bridges between technical ideas, business approaches, and policy possibilities to help promote a future where we are better because of the cool stuff we do in space.

Esther Deena is currently overseeing advanced technology development for Radian Aerospace supporting both the engineering and business development teams. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a BSE in Materials Science and Engineering and Physics. She spent a few years working in R&D before transitioning into business development. Throughout her career, Esther has remained heavily involved in Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity initiatives on a company and industry basis. She has lead multicultural employee resource groups overseeing North America and is involved with industry initiatives such as AIAA’s Diversity Working Group. Most recently she is the co-founder of the Women’s in Hypersonics group advocating for gender diversity and building an inclusive community within the hypersonic community. This is her second year on the SGFF Organizing Team and she hopes to support another amazing weekend with the SGFF delegates and is looking forward to getting to know the incredible group we have this year!

Newsha is an engineer and researcher with a background in project management gained at the Canadian Space Agency. She has been actively involved with SGAC as the co-lead of the Space Exploration Project Group (SEPG) for the past two years and has participated in SGFF twice, once as a global grant winner. Her primary focus is on leveraging cutting-edge technologies to advance space exploration and inspire the next generation of space enthusiasts. Driven by her passion, Newsha established the Mobiüs Space Institute and co-founded AURA, an organization dedicated to demystifying astrodynamics and space exploration, particularly in integrating AI technologies.

Abbhinav Muralidharan is a spacecraft systems and flight operations engineer at Blue Origin focused on Lunar exploration. Abbhinav previously worked at the NASA’s Johnson Space Center as a certified flight controller in the Explorations programs. He supported the Artemis 1 mission from the Mission Control Center in Houston. He specializes in concepts of operations development from formulation to execution for new spacecraft. Abbhinav is also a Fellow at Open Lunar Foundation, focusing on establishing transparent review mechanisms for Lunar payloads. He is passionate about equity in engineering, youth outreach and education, and enjoys venturing into the outdoors in his free time.

As a frequent researcher, writer, and commentator, Cody Knipfer is an active participant in the dialogue and debate about the future of the global commercial space sector. He currently supports the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Office of Space Commerce through Global Science & Technology, Inc. Prior to joining this team, he worked with GXO, Inc., supporting early-stage clients in the commercial aerospace sector, and spent several years in the Government Affairs offices of the Virgin space companies. He holds a Master’s Degree in International Science and Technology Policy, with a specialization in space policy, from the George Washington University’s Space Policy Institute, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and International Affairs from McDaniel College.