Hello ISU*USA Alumni!!!!

We are very pleased to announce that we have many awesome candidates running for ISU*USA Board this term (2009-2010). Please select who you are voting for and reply back to this address by Sunday Feb 1st midnight (one week from today) with your selections added to the body of this email. Any ISU alumni living in the US or from the US is eligible to vote. All the candidates statements are below.

Indicate your selection by putting an 'X' in front of their name
(i.e.
X Loretta Whitesides- President
Donald Duck- President)

Kirk Kittell- President
Michael Laine- President

Daphne Dador- Vice President

Gina Pieri- Director of Development
David Treat- Director of Development

Amanda Stiles- Director of IT/Communications
Ashley Whelan- Director of IT/Communications

Shandy Asturias- Treasurer

President: Kirk Kittell

I am very appreciative of my summer at ISU and would like to share my time and effort to improve the ISU network. The key experience I offer as ISU*USA President is my experience working in alumni groups: participating in the established University of Illinois organization and founding an alumni group for Boy Scout summer camp staff (isrstaff.org). I've learned strategies that work for alumni groups (e.g., how to add value to the supported organization through institutional knowledge and volunteer hours) and many more that don't (e.g., consistent communication is necessary because "if you build it they will come" does not work). Also, I helped stir ISU alumni activity in DC area while I was at Orbital.

As President, I will keep plans simple for volunteers yet meaningful for members. Alumni have a limited time budget, a constraint that must be managed to complete any ISU-USA project.

* Get 50 US alumni to attend 2009 alumni conference (in support of ARC planning committee)

* Confirm US alumni contact information in ISU database (150 contacts by SSP 2009)

* Request points of contact for areas of high ISU alumni density and make contact information available on isu-usa.org (not to replace local email lists, but to improve reliability of communication for new and traveling alumni)

SSP 2006; MS, BS, Aerospace Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Propulsion Subsystem Engineer, SAIC, Houston.

President: Michael Laine
These are my credentials: http://tr.im/8ubb – I'm a futurist and a visionary. Regardless of what you think of the Elevator to Space, whether you think it's a good idea or agree with Prof Talyrenko when he refers to it as "a flying carpet, the stuff of fiction". Regardless, consider this. I am dedicated. I have consistently worked on this "someday/maybe project" for seven years. What that means to you, is that I have an unshakeable vision of the future and a willingness to work toward a long-term goal. I am methodical and focused. I make mistakes, and then I correct my course. Occasionally I succeed; but these successes are only baby-steps toward the future that I am designing.

So why vote for me? So really, why vote for me? A couple of reasons. First, until Tuesday this week, I had never heard of ISU-USA… And that is a problem. If a student like me, from the most recent class in Barcelona, can fall through the cracks, then anyone can. And they shouldn't.

· So that is Agenda Item 1: connect with past classes – all 600-700 people. People joke that ISU is the 'space mafia' because we are so connected. But the truth is, about 70% of our connections have slipped away. Let's find them, and if possible, reconnect—reengage—rededicate.

· Agenda Item 2: Build an infrastructure for going forward. Build a bridge to current students and prospective students, so that when they return, they KNOW that there is a community waiting for them.

· Agenda Item 3: Create a plan and Develop goals – for ISU-USA. Short/mid/long-term objectives and then create a plan that will get us there.

When I asked Diamandis & Richards & Peeters & Simpson what the plan for the school was, I got vague, watery, non-responses. The closest thing I got was from Diamandis, when he talked about having a campus on a space station and on the Moon… So, IF that is the ISU goal, then what is the plan? How do we get from where we are, to where we want to be? Now, I'm under no illusions that what we do in ISU-USA will create a plan that the whole school will agree on. But I do think that ISU-USA should have a set of goals, and plans and concrete actions that lead us to a particular future. And what we do here, will have impacts in France.

I'm the kinda guy that can take a vision – an imagined future – and build it. What future do you want?

Take care,
Michael Laine SSP 08, Barcelona

P.S. I've written three times before Christmas about ISU for Discovery Channel blogs - http://blogs.discovery.com/next_generation/ I restart my series next week, writing about classes, and instructors.

Vice President: Daphne Dador

As Vice President, I will work to locate as many ISU*USA alumni as possible and invite them to join ISU*USA. I know that one of the strengths of ISU is our vast network, so my main goal will be to make that network stronger in the U.S. by expanding our community and making it easy for alumni to connect.

Developing relationships has been a core practice in my profession as an aerospace policy professional and as an active community organizer and volunteer with organizations including: AIAA, National Space Society, Space Generation Congress, Yuri's Night, SEDS, GW Space Society, Women in Aerospace, various political campaigns, and community service activities. Specifically, I am experienced in providing services to membership organizations, e.g., professional development programs for professional societies and students; retention activities, e.g., conferences and social events.

Additionally, I bring a nationwide network of government, corporate, and academic contacts throughout the aerospace industry that will benefit our Board's membership and fundraising drives. I also have a personal desire for this year's alumni conference to be a smashing success since it will be held in my hometown at NASA Ames.

SSP 2005; MA, George Washington University, Intl. Science and Technology Policy (focus: Space Policy), 2006; BA, Catholic U., Politics, 2004; Manager, Aerospace Industries Association.

Director for Development: Gina Pieri
Hello, ISU*USA alumni! My name is Gina Pieri, and I am a graduate of the 2008 Masters class. I am running for the position of Director for Development for the ISU*USA Board of Directors. One of the first questions I asked when I graduated from ISU was: how do I connect to the other alumni in the United States and more specifically, the greater Los Angeles area? What I discovered is that no good answer exists! The alumni database is incomplete, and the mechanism for integrating graduates into the alumni community is virtually nonexistent and poorly advertised. I look forward to working with alumni across the country, as well as the new members of the ISU*USA Board of Directors to establish a well-connected ISU network within the United States. There is a successful model already in place in Canada, which I believe can be used as a basis for creating an infrastructure to:

• recruit prospective students into the ISU programs,
• assimilate graduates into the alumni network,
• cultivate relationships within the alumni network, and
• build a scholarship fund for the benefit future classes.

As a recipient of a partial scholarship from ISU, I recognize the importance of providing monetary support to potentially successful students as an investment for the ISU community. Since graduating this past September, I have worked with Michael Potter to establish a Facebook group for ISU alumni in the Southern California area and joined the Organizing Committee for the ISU SSP 2009 Alumni conference at NASA Ames. I am excited to take on the challenge and hope you will support me in this role as Director of Development. Thank you!

Director for Development: David Treat

* 11 years engineering and managerial experience with Lockheed Martin supporting EVA and advanced life support projects at NASA JSC. 3 years as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington DC, specializing in space policy, technology, and industrial base issues. Broad perspective on the space community from the strategic level down to day-to-day tactical implementation.

* Extensive networks in the space community in Houston and in Washington

* Active in the local space community, including volunteer work for National Space Society International Space Development Conference (ISDC), Yuri's Night, and the George Washington University Space Society.

* Possess strong desire and motivation to foster a stronger sense of community and help the ISU USA alumni become more cohesive and communicative so that members can benefit from each other's experiences, share information, and outreach further into their local communities.

SSP 2007; MA, George Washington University, International Science and Technology Policy (concentration in Space Policy), 2007; BS, University of Kansas, Aerospace Engineering, 1994

Director for Information Technologies and Communications: Amanda Stiles
My name is Amanda Stiles (MSM '08), and I am running for the position of Director for Information Technologies and Communications.

I want to start off by noting that the ISU alumni are a truly unique group of people: ambitious, passionate about space, and acutely aware of the power of networking and working together on a global scale. My goal, as Director for IT/Communications of ISU-USA, would be to build, maintain, connect, and strengthen ISU alumni networks within the U.S. by creating a simple and effective online infrastructure. This would consist of the following:

• Creation of a central ISU-USA website, to be updated by the alumni community with news, updates, and announcements (with RSS feeds).
• Dynamic links to a number of networking tools (via the website) that ISU alumni already regularly use, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
• Knowledge and idea sharing via blogs, wikis, and/or forums. This would allow alumni to connect with each other, and would connect prospective/current ISU-USA students to the alumni network.
• Creation of a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter to keep alumni updated.

I have past experience in website design, management, and support which would enable me to implement these goals for the ISU-USA website. Several projects that I have been involved in include SpaceAlumni.com, Yuri's Night Houston, the California STEM Inventory, and the Conrad Foundation, among others. If elected, I would feel privileged to combine my skills and strengths with those of the rest of the board to create a strong U.S. alumni organization.

Director for Information Technologies and Communications: Ashley Whelan

With SSP09 coming to the US, we have a great opportunity to engage future alumni and re-engage past alumni. ISU has enriched my personal and professional networks and I want to help grow the ISU-USA community so all alumni reap the full benefits of the ISU network. As Director of Communications/IT, I will work with the other Board members to ensure ISU-USA provides useful and relevant services to alumni, increasing our communication with alumni and elevating our online presence. I have experience working with membership organizations, coordinating events, and communicating with a large and diverse constituency – through my volunteer work for Women in Aerospace, as well as my day job as Manager of Government Affairs for the Space Foundation. I also have a broad network of contacts throughout the space community, in all sectors.

SSP 2006; MA, International Science and Technology Policy, George Washington University, 2007; BA, Astrophysics, University of Colorado, 2005.

Treasurer: Shandy Asturias

As Treasurer, I would ensure that all monetary transactions of the new ISU*USA board will be quick and on schedule. I serve as the current Treasurer, ensuring a smooth financial transition from one board to another. It is an exciting year to serve on the board because of what we can help to facilitate: having more alumni being involved! The US hosting this summer's SSP not gives us the opportunity to help ISU have a great summer session but it gives us a chance to get the community more active.

Community development is something I have always been a part of, as exemplified by my activities in college and afterwards. Since ISU is one of the organizations that I am the proudest of, I will work with all the other officers to ensure that all of our goals are met. I have been an active volunteer in the following organizations: Society of Physics Students, AIAA, Yuri's Night, Space Generation Congress, and Big Brothers Big Sisters of America.

SSP 2005; MS, George Washington University, Systems Engineering (2010); BS Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Engineering Physics, 2003; Integration & Test Engineer, Orbital Sciences, 2007-present; Aerospace Engineer, AST, FAA, 2003-2007.

--
Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides
Yuri's Night | The World Space Party
1445 S St. NW
Washington DC 20009
626 429-6603 c
www.yurisnight.net

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful,
committed citizens can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."
- Margaret Mead

[pluto]