About me

With nearly two decades inside some of the most high-performing engineering and operational environments in technology, my passion lies in making organizations click. I specialize in operational efficiency and execution in technical orgs; cross-functional strategic leadership at the intersection of new technology, business, and design; and the communication of complex science and technology concepts to the general public.

I am the founder and CEO of an aerospace engineering and operations consulting firm called vdot, which helps space startups execute on hard things fast. Prior to that, I served as Chief Operating Officer of Firefly Aerospace, worked in engineering leadership for Blue Origin’s Lunar Lander and Space Station programs, and was a senior engineer and technical program manager at SpaceX for the Starlink, Dragon, and Falcon 9 programs. I also moonlit on the SpaceX launch webcasts, where I co-hosted the Falcon Heavy demo livestream, the first ever commercial launch of U.S. astronauts to space, as well as the Emmy Award winning SpaceX + NASA Demo-1 livestream.

Prior to joining the commercial space industry, I was a science writer, taught leadership courses at Harvard, worked on Mars robots and solar system public engagement at NASA/JPL, and developed novel spinal implant technologies at Medtronic. I spend my spare time mentoring space startups across the world in the Creative Destruction Lab accelerator; serving on the XPRIZE Space Exploration Brain Trust; mentoring young, Black engineers as part of the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship; and serving on the advisory boards of early stage aerospace and climate tech startups. 

I earned my bachelor's degree from Princeton University in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering with certificates in Engineering Biology and Robotics & Intelligent Systems. My master's degree is in Business & Government Policy from the Harvard John F. Kennedy School of Government, where I wrote my thesis in partnership with NASA on getting the general public engaged in Space Exploration.