Our Patron
Professor Gregory Chamitoff
Originally from Montreal, Canada, Dr. Greg Chamitoff served as a NASA Astronaut for 15 years, including two Shuttle Missions and a long duration International Space Station Mission as part of Expedition 17 and 18. He has lived and worked in Space for almost 200 days as a Flight Engineer, Science Officer, and Mission Specialist. His last mission was on the final flight of Space Shuttle Endeavour, during which he performed two spacewalks, the last of which completed the assembly of the Space Station and was the final spacewalk of the Space Shuttle program. Dr. Chamitoff serves as Professor of Practice in Aerospace Engineering and Director of the AeroSpace Technology Research & Operations (ASTRO) Center at Texas A&M University.
Directors
Jackie Carpenter
Jackie has a diverse and long-standing background in education with firsthand experience working with school children.
She was a school teacher for 25 years and later worked in the Department of Education analysing the NSW school curriculum and how it corresponds with student learning.
Robert Carpenter OAM 1948 – 2023
Bob had an extensive background in the defence and aviation sectors, not least of all, serving Australia in the Vietnam war. He facilitated an enormous amount of training in the defence aviation sector and he applied his vast experience to STEM education for young people. He has left a lasting legacy and influenced the lives of so many young people. Read more about Bob and his life story, in his own words
Amanda Bourne
Holds a Bachelor of Business (Accounting) and has also obtained a Masters of Commerce (Professional Accounting) from the University of New England and advanced to Member status with the Institute of Public Accountants. Amanda thrives on anything taxation, business accounting and advisory related. Outside of the office Amanda enjoys participating in equestrian sports including trail riding and natural horsemanship.
Advisory Board
Peter Redman
Peter Redman is an accomplished Managing Director with a demonstrated ability, leading diverse teams of professionals to new levels of success in the Australian, New Zealand, Asian and Indian regions. He has strong business, commercial, operations and program management experience with an impressive track record of delivering above expectation.
Joanne Sim
Joanne is a highly experienced education professional with internationally recognised expertise in online assessments, curriculum implementation and trends in educational pedagogy. Throughout her professional and personal life, Joanne has been driven to provide engaging, interesting and diverse opportunities for others so they can be encouraged to achieve their best.
Amanda Mackinnell
Amanda MacKinnell combines 16 years operational service as an officer in the Royal Australian Navy, with program and project management experience gained in a number of Industrial sectors, particularly maritime, autonomous systems and digital transformation. She is presently engaged with the French Classification & Engineering company Bureau Veritas as the Project Manager for the Australian Naval Classification Framework Development and Implementation Project.
Greg Evans
Air Vice-Marshal Greg Evans (Retired) was educated at Strathfield SDA High School in Sydney and on graduation in 1975 completed training as a high school science and mathematics teacher at Avondale College. He taught at Hamilton SDA High School in Newcastle for the year 1981 before joining the Royal Australian Air Force as a pilot trainee early in 1982.
Shannon McConnell
Shannon has been introducing students to the excitement of space exploration since 1998. Working with NASA, she has led the Galileo Outreach Team, the Cassini Formal Education Team, and the Deep Space Network Education and Public Outreach Office.
Shannon holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in Astronomy and Environmental Engineering from the University of Southern California as well as being a Committee Chair for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses and an Executive Member of the Board of Directors for Don Bosco Technical Institute, a Project-based STEM focused high school in Rosemead, California.
Naomi Mathers
Dr Naomi Mathers has been an active member of the Australian Space Industry for more than 20 years. She has contributed to the establishment of two key Australian space facilities, the Victorian Space Science Education Centre (Australia’s first dedicated space education facility) and the Advanced Instrumentation and Technology Centre (Australia’s national space environmental test facility). Naomi is an experienced board director, representing Australia on the International Space Education Board (ISEB), and serving on the boards of the Space Industry Association of Australia (Deputy Chair), the Australian Government Space Industry Innovation Council and the DFAT Australia Korea Foundation. She is also an active member of the international space community serving on multiple committees of the Asia Pacific Regional Space Agency Forum (APRSAF) and the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
Mark Murphy
Mark is a founder and the Chief Creative Officer of FTLX!, a wholly owned subsidiary of Blockchains, Inc. He comes from the story side, having started in the theater: writing, directing and designing for the Tony Award-winning McCarter Theater on the campus of Princeton University. He then shifted into storyboards, working heavily in commercials before moving into animation. After developing projects at Cartoon Network (“The Cosmic Clubhouse” and “Iowa 88”)) and Disney Channel (“Sumo-Pop”), Mark moved on to producing/writing/co-directing a ground-breaking collaboration between NBC, The International Olympics Council and XFM (one of China’s largest Media Companies), for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.