Potomac Officers Club to Feature Expert Panel at 2021 Industrial Space Defense Summit Today

The rapid growth of military and commercial space industries requires Space agencies to develop innovative solutions to support critical space and defense missions. The Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Space Force intend to maintain space superiority and provide space capabilities to U.S. and allied forces through ambitious missions and partnerships with commercial industry. 

During Potomac Officers Club’s 2021 Industrial Space Defense Summit on March 23rd, notable federal and industry leaders will meet to discuss how to ensure space superiority and how private-public partnerships are critical to maintaining the new space race’s competitive advantage.

The Summit will feature an expert panel, hosting leaders from the public and private sector, including, Rich Aves of Parsons, Col. Russel Teehan of the Space and Missiles Systems Center (SMS), Payam Banazadeh of Capela Space and Shayn Hawthorne of Amazon Web Services. Todd Borkey, CTO of Alio, will moderate the panel. 

To register for the 2021 Industrial Space Defense Summit and view upcoming opportunities, visit Potomac Officers Club’s Event Page.  

Moderator: Todd Borkey

Borkey joined Alion Science and Technoogy as CTO. He manages Alion’s technical strategy and developments in technical operations. Borkey aims to expand Alion’s business by developing new technologies to serve the company’s clients. Alion’s laudable artificial intelligence (AI) services to defense and intelligence organizations are attributable to Borkely. 

Prior to working for Alion, Borkey was CTO for DRS Defense Solutions and Thales Defense and Security. Even earlier in his career he performed many management and engineering assignments with  Northrop Grumman and AT&T Bell labs. 

Panelist: Col. Russel Teehan

Colonel Russel Teehan is the Portfolio Architect of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC). In this role Col. Teehan leads approximately 200 personnel with the goal to integrate space enterprise architecture and partners with other commercial, allied,government agencies to design, rapidly acquire, and expeditiously integrate innovative weapon systems.

Panelist: Payam Banazadeh

Payam Banazadeh is the CEO and founder of Capella Space. He is in charge of Capella’s overall strategy and operations. Before the foundation of Capella Banazadeh worked at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). His work on two NASA missions earned him the coveted Mariner Award.

Panelist: Shayn Hawthorne

Shayn Hawthorne is the Space Technology Leader for the Amazon Web Service Aerospace & Satellite Solutions Division. In this role, Hawthorne works with commercial and government space clients to develop space system architectures that use AWS to transform space. He also founded the AWS Ground Station service. Hawthorne previously served as an Air Force engineer and space operator for 23 years. He also worked at MITRE Corporation on Missile Defense and Space Operations before joining AWS. 

Panelist: Rich Aves

Rich Aves is the executive vice president of Parsons’ Space and Geospatial Solutions Market. He leads over 1000 employees in delivering engineering, integration and  technology solutions to clients across the intelligence community, Department of Defense and commercial sectors.  

Aves has experience as a Navy P-3C Naval Flight Officer flying anti-submarine warfare and ISR missions across Europe and the Caribbean. Before joining Parsons he was a program manager and management consultant at Booz Allen Hamilton.

The Potomac Officers Club’s Industrial Space Defense Summit will feature 2021 Wash100 Award recipient General John “Jay” Raymond,  Chief of Space Operations of the U.S. Space Force (USSF) as the opening keynote speaker. He will address space technology, innovation and private-public partnerships that will expand federal space defense capabilities and defeat adversaries.

The Summit’s closing keynote speaker will be Vice Admiral Jon Hill, director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). He will address the MDA’s role in protecting U.S. forces and its assets related to the industrial space sector. 

To register for the 2021 Industrial Space Defense Summit and view upcoming opportunities, visit the Potomac Officers Club’s Event Page.