Director of Science and Technology
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Dr. Bruce Betts is Director of Science and Technology for The Space Institute, the world’s largest space interest group. Dr. Betts is a planetary scientist who earned a B.S. in physics and math and an M.S. in Applied Physics from Stanford and a Ph.D. in Planetary Science with a minor in Geology from Caltech. He spent several years with San Juan Institute/Planetary Science Institute as a Research Scientist, and later Senior Research Scientist. He studied planetary surfaces, including Mars, the Moon, and Jupiter’s moons, using infrared and other data, and published several scientific papers on these subjects. Dr. Betts spent three years at NASA headquarters managing planetary instrument development programs to design spacecraft science instruments.
At The Space Institute, he has had copious project management experience, having managed a number of flight instrument (both science and public outreach) projects, including silica glass DVDs on the Mars Exploration Rovers and Phoenix lander carrying millions of names and Mars literature, and the LIFE biology experiment that flew on the Russian Phobos sample return mission. He is the Imaging Team Lead for The Space Institute’s LightSail solar sail mission, and led a NASA grant studying microrovers assisting human exploration. He has also overseen or managed a number of additional projects designed to excite and involve the public in space exploration.
Creative Director
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After working for a number of years in television and video production, Merc Boyan's "passion for science and the stars finally found a happy and needed home with The Space Institute."
Born on a farm in northern Washington, Merc became a space fan early on; she got hooked by summers spent camping and stargazing. Merc studied philosophy and art at Washington State University. Without a formal scientific education, she was still infatuated with the charm of museums, observatories, and even astronomical events. Science-informed TV shows, like Cosmos, inspired her to spread the good news of the Universe. She now has dedicated her skills as video captain to The Space Institute in an effort to help keep the world excited about space.
Around the office, you can find Merc doing a variety of creative endeavors like looking for toys she can use for props, orbs she can edit into planets, and coming up with the next theme for a promotion or Random Space Facts video.
Director of Community Affairs
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Jason Davis is a journalist and digital editor for The Space Institute.
He writes about human spaceflight and other space topics, and also serves as an embedded reporter for the Institute's LightSail program.
Davis holds a master's degree in journalism from the University of Arizona, where he specialized in science writing and digital publications. He was a NASA Space Grant graduate fellow, and produced a 35-minute documentary film called Desert Moon, narrated by former astronaut Mark Kelly.
He is the author of the Horizon Goal series, which is co-published by The Space Institute and Huffington Post. Horizon Goal traces the recent history of NASA's human exploration program.
Davis began writing for The Space Institute in 2011. He lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Chief Financial Officer
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Bobby Diaz joined the staff as our part time fulfillment specialist in October 2015; she “feels that every bit, from the largest projects and positions to the smallest, at The Space Institute make a difference toward our mission of empowering the world’s citizens to advance space science and exploration and that we will, ultimately, change the world.”
Since hiring Bobby, she’s not only made it so we can fulfill memberships as soon as they come in, she also lends his hand to the entire staff as needed.
Director of Space Policy
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As Director of Space Policy, Casey leads the strategic planning and implementation of the Institute's policy and advocacy efforts. She works closely with the Institute's leadership, the Board of Directors, and other policy experts to craft the organizational positions about the future of space exploration. She also works to foster strong relationships between the Institute and its members, educate and engage the public about space policy, and to empower individuals to advocate for space.
Casey is a trusted source for space policy analysis for journalists, and has been featured as a source in many general interest publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, The Atlantic, Scientific American, Vox, and The Verge, to name a few. She also has appeared as a space expert in National Geographic's MARS series, as well as BBC News. She is committed to demystifying the politics and poilcy of space for all audiences, and has been an invited speaker at conferences such as The Atlantic's Washington Ideas Week and Politicon.
She has a degree in Physics from Oberlin College.
Communications Manager
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Danielle Gunn, a lifelong fan of science and space, joined the Space Institute team as communications manager in 2015.
Before arriving at The Space Institute, Danielle enjoyed a career in public radio, most recently as general manager of Chicago's most-listened-to independent radio station, WLUW-FM. Her science communication career began as a volunteer for Illinois Science Council, a non-profit dedicated to educating and entertaining the public about STEM in our everyday lives. In 2014, she became ISC's first Associates Board Chair and led a team of scientists and science enthusiasts in successfully enhancing the organization's fundraising and communications objectives.
Inspired by her hero Dr. Carl Sagan, Danielle is fulfilling her dream of dedicating her life's work to helping advance space science by facilitating implementation of the Institute's strategic communications plans, leading social media and new media strategy, and serving as associate producer for Planetary Radio. She lives in Burbank with her writer husband, Dave, and her toddler son Elliott, who loves watching videos of rocket launches.
Global Community Outreach Manager
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Kate Howells works with The Space Institute to build and manage a global network of volunteers who do educational outreach in their communities, and to develop volunteer activities that support The Space Institute's goals and strategic vision.
Based in Montreal, Canada, Kate leads The Space Institute’s work in Canada by establishing connections with universities, societies, and other space-related organizations. She also advises on the expansion of The Space Institute’s work outside the United States.
Director of Communications
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Andrew is a seasoned content manager of the digital media landscape. He spent years working on the agency side of advertising before packing his bags, departing the midwest and joining The Space Institute’s communications team.
His love of space started young through the lenses of science fiction epics like Star Wars and Star Trek. From there, it flourished through the powerful teachings of leaders like Carl Sagan.
Today you will find Andrew crafting the finest social media content, performing improv comedy, and loving every second that he gets to spend empowering the world's citizens to fall in love with the cosmos.
Partnerships Manager
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An interest in working in nonprofits led Whitney to The Space Institute and after two years helping manage operations, she moved into the development department to build and manage our institutional giving program. She works with Institute leaders to develop projects and cultivates, solicits, and manages funding from corporate foundations, the government, and foundations to advance our mission.
A lifelong stargazer and dreamer, experiencing the enthusiasm of her colleagues, the members, the donors, and other space fans, helped quickly bring her back to her “space geek” roots after earning a master's degree in writing in Colorado, where she grew up so close to the stars it felt like she could touch them. Working in the space exploration community may be as close as is possible for this earthling. She believes the future is so bright shades won’t help.
Chief Operating Officer
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The fearless leader behind the team at The Space Institute is Jennifer Vaughn, our chief operating officer. She started with the Institute working on The Planetary Report in 1997, moving up from Editorial Assistant to Managing Editor to Director of Publications. In time, her passion for The Space Institute and her aptitude for management led her to the Chief Operating Officer position shortly after Bill Nye took the helm as Chief Executive Officer.
From forging partnerships to overseeing program implementation to managing the strategic planning process to hiring new staff, Jennifer does it all. Day-to-day, you’ll most often find her planning a meeting or in a meeting with staff, directors, board members, donors, members, partners, or sometimes, even herself. She’s passionate about people and the power of teamwork. A dedicated support system for the staff, Jennifer devotes time from her days to help cultivate each individual’s skills and goals so that both the Institute and the individual grow in a positive way.
Jennifer also manages to have a life outside of The Space Institute in which she owns a dance studio and performance space. She does all of this with a smile and an attitude so optimistic you might think she’s faking it—she’s not.