Board of Directors

Thomas R. Ingersoll
Chief Executive Officer & Board Member, Universal Space Network

Mr. Ingersoll was selected in 1996 by USN founder Charles "Pete" Conrad, Jr., to lead the management of the USN operation. Prior to joining USN, Mr. Ingersoll served a 10-year term at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace in the Advanced Programs/PhantomWorks Division. He has held leadership roles in several significant programs, including co-pilot and lead flight test engineer on the Delta Clipper Experimental (DC-X) reusable launch vehicle, as program manager of the NASA DC-XA upgrade project and as deputy program manager of the X-33 program. In addition, he was involved in a number of advanced space power and transportation R&D programs.

Joseph H. Rothenberg
Chief Customer Service Officer, President & Board Member, Universal Space Network

Mr. Rothenberg's career spans 21 years in the aerospace industry and 18 years with NASA. Mr. Rothenberg joined NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 1983 as the Hubble Space Telescope operations manager. In 1990, he was named to lead the Hubble Space Telescope Project and is widely recognized for the success of its first servicing mission, which corrected the telescope's flawed optics. In 1987, he was named chief of the Mission Operations Division, and in 1989, deputy director of the Mission Operations and Data Systems Directorate. He retired from NASA in 2001 as the associate administrator for Space Flight, having been responsible for the Space Shuttle, Space Station and all of NASA's Space Operations and Space Communications programs. From 1995 until his promotion in 1998, he served as director of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, where he was responsible for the development and execution of the scientific research program carried out by NASA's Earth-orbiting scientific satellites.

Gwen Griffin
Managing Director, Griffin Marketing

Ms. Griffin has 22 years of experience in branding companies through the integrated use of traditional marketing communications tools. She has led her team in serving clients with worldwide brand recognition, including NASA, Sprint PCS, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, McCormick & Schmick's Seafood Restaurants, Feld Entertainment and Universal Pictures.
Ms. Griffin coordinates crisis communications for Million Air and American Jet International. She also provides strategic counsel for clients including The Coalition for Space Exploration, Space Florida, Spacehab, MEI Technologies and the Technological Research and Development Authority. She has overseen global events including the launch of a U.S. pavilion at the Paris Air Show 2001 for AADI/Hannover Fairs USA, World Space Congress 2002 and the re-launch of Mooney Airplane Company at AirVenture Oshkosh in 2003.

Al Seckel

Since leaving Caltech in 2005 to pursue writing and his own research, he has continued his work in spatial imagery with psychology researchers at Harvard. Mr. Seckel retired from doing research at the California Institute of Technology to focus on philanthrophic activities, although he still gives lectures in his areas of expertise: cognitive neuroscience and the science of perception. Mr. Seckel is one of the world's leading experts in the field of visual and other types of sensory illusions, and is the author of over 18 books, many related to visual illusions. He has lectured at many of the world's most prestigious institutions and conferences on these topics.
Two of his books have won prestigious national awards: First place award (2001) for "Best Book for Reluctant Young Readers" by the American Library Association for "Optical Illusions," Carlton Books, 2000
Mr. Seckel has been very active in raising educational awareness of science for over thirty years, and has had his own column in the Los Angeles Times and Santa Monica News on science-related topics. In addition, he has been active in designing and building many large interactive galleries for science museums around the world.

Nancy Conrad

Craig Gelfound
Partner, Arent Fox LLP

Craig Gelfound is the lead intellectual property partner in the Los Angeles office of Arent Fox. He has extensive experience in all aspects of domestic and foreign intellectual property counseling, prosecution, licensing, transactions and litigation, with emphasis on electronic, telecommunication and computer-related technology.
Craig advises clients regarding the creation, maintenance and exploitation of complex intellectual property portfolios. He also litigates intellectual property matters; negotiates various agreements, contracts and licenses; handles due-diligence efforts in connection with merger and acquisition deals; prepares and prosecutes patent and trademark applications; and counsels clients on various other intellectual property and related matter.

Bahram Nour-Omid, Ph.D.

Dr. Nour-Omid's professional career began as a consulting scientist at the Lockheed Palo Alto Research Laboratory, in 1982, where he directed R&D efforts for computational modeling and analysis of scientific and engineering problems using high performance computers. Currently he is a founding member of Shelter Capital Partners, LLC., a private Venture Capital firm in Southern California with investments focus in Information Technology. He is specifically focused on application software for Telecommunication, Health Care, Infrastructure and Enterprise Business Automation markets. In 1999 Dr. Nour-Omid co-founded and served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer if StudioXchange, Inc., a provider of production site, labor and equipment procurement services for the entertainment industry. In 2000 StudioXchange was merged into iFilm (acquired by MTV Networks).
Dr. Nour-Omid is currently a director of Roamware, Inc., a leading provider of software solutions for the global wireless carrier market, a director of Kryptiq, a provider of workflow connectivity and contract management solutions for the healthcare industry and Chairman of iSensix, a provider of wireless monitoring systems for Hospitals.
Dr. Nour-Omid earned a B.S. from the University of London's Imperial College, and an M.S. in Structural Engineering, M.A. in Mathematics and Ph.D. in Engineering and three years of Post-Doctorate study in Computer Science at the University of California, Berkeley.

Joshua Neubert

Mr. Joshua Neubert received his Bachelor and Master degrees in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2003 and 2004 respectively. He continued as a graduate researcher studying lunar exploration and resource utilization at the University of Hawaii until joining the X PRIZE Foundation in June of 2005.
Mr. Neubert organized numerous conferences and symposia during his time at MIT and served as the national chairman for the "Students for the Exploration and Development of Space" from 2002 until 2005. He continues to serve as a member of the National Space Society's International Space University Scholarship Committee and as an Advisory Board member for the Coalition for Space Exploration.
Mr. Neubert was responsible for promotions, content development, educational programming, and other logistical coordination for the X PRIZE Cup from 2005 until the summer of 2008 when he helped form the Conrad Foundation. Mr. Neubert now focuses his time on bringing the great programs of the Conrad Foundation to students around the world.