(July 13, 2023 – New York City) – SSPI-WISE (SSPI Women in Space Engagement) has announced to announce the results of its 2023 officer election, which took place over the final week of June.

The membership of SSPI-WISE has elected former Vice Chair Jomya Lei of Viasat to the newly created position of President and Vinitha Lalvani of AvL Technologies as its first Vice President. Presidents and Vice Presidents of SSPI-WISE will serve one-year terms with the Vice President taking on the role of President in the year following her service as Vice President. Vinitha Lalvani will also continue to serve in her previous capacity as Co-Chair of the Social Media Working Group.

Debra Facktor of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense will serve her final year of a three-year term as Chairwoman of SSPI-WISE in 2023. Beginning this year, the position of SSPI-WISE Chairwoman will also include appointment in a non-voting capacity to the SSPI Board of Directors.

“The acceleration of SSPI-WISE from an idea to a movement within SSPI has been nothing short of amazing,” said executive director Robert Bell. “In addition to these changes, SSPI is giving WISE a permanent seat on our Board of Directors to ensure that the voices of our female members are heard and respected.”

SSPI-WISE’s membership also elected three new candidates to officer positions and two returning officers to new positions:

• Divya-Kala Bhavani, Head of PR, Communications & Marketing, Dhruva Space, and Toni Lee Rudnicki, Fractional CMO and Founder, TLR Consulting will serve as Co-Chairs of the SSPI-WISE Elevating Women Working Group
• Manal Tadros, Boeing Satellite Systems Insurance Office Manager at The Boeing Company will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Sustainment & Infrastructure Working Group
• Helen Weedon, Owner and Senior Account Director, Radical Moves Ltd. and Managing Director, Satcoms Innovation Group will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Social Media Working Group
• Heidi Anne White, Outreach Officer, Trottier Institute for Research on Exoplanets will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE STEM Outreach Working Group

Continuing to serve as SSPI-WISE officers are:

• Alix (Hornig) Wright, Senior Vice President, Marketing Communications, Speedcast will serve as SSPI-WISE Secretary
• Silvia Borges, Pre Sales Engineer, Hispasat will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Mentoring Working Group
• Negar (Moinee) Feher will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Elevating Women Working Group
• Jennifer Hoil, Director of Product Marketing, ST Engineering iDirect will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Sustainment & Infrastructure Working Group
• Justyna Kosianka, Senior Remote Sensing Scientist and Product Owner, Ursa Space Systems will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE STEM Outreach Working Group
• Andrea Maleter, retired, Space Business Booster will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Mentoring Working Group
• Wendy (Lewis) Newman, Public Relations and Communications Consultant, Strategic Voice will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Mentoring Working Group
• Melissa Orlick, Sales & Business Development Manager, Intellian Technologies will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Sustainment & Infrastructure Working Group
• Audrey Puderbaugh, Spacecraft Engineer, Iridium will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE STEM Outreach Working Group
• Rosario Toxqui, Senior Director of Marketing, Comtech Telecommunications Corp. will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Social Media Working Group
• Elisabeth Tweedie, Founder and Owner, Definitive Direction will serve as Co-Chair of the SSPI-WISE Social Media Working Group

SSPI-WISE was founded in December 2020, with the goal of engaging women in the space and satellite industry on topics ranging from STEM outreach and mentoring to networking and elevating women. In this new election cycle, the Networking Working Group will function in an ad hoc capacity, and SSPI-WISE did not elect leads for its function.

SSPI-WISE membership is open to women who are SSPI members, and has a mailing list option for those who identify as allies of women. Members may serve on working groups including working groups that focus on STEM Outreach, Elevating Women, Social Media and Mentorship. SSPI-WISE holds networking events at various conferences, and bi-monthly meetings that are open to men and women, with informative guest speakers.

About SSPI
Founded in 1983, Space & Satellite Professionals International (www.sspi.org) is on a mission to make the space and satellite industry one of the world’s best at attracting and engaging the talent that powers innovation. The space and satellite business has never seen a time of greater experimentation and disruption than we see today. Investment is the fuel for transformation, but people are the engine. SSPI helps the industry attract, develop and retain the talented people it needs to keep the engine turning. People who connect through high-profile events and gain recognition from prestigious awards. People who rely on SSPI for a broader understanding of the industry as much as for individual networking and career mentoring. From young people seeking a career path to industry veterans with wisdom to share, SSPI connects them all.

Talent, investment and opportunity flow to industries that make a difference. SSPI is the only organization that also promotes the enormous value of space and satellite through dramatic stories of our technologies and companies making a better world. Those stories overturn misconceptions about the industry that hold it back. They inspire our people and attract new ones to the industry. They help justify investment and give new customers a reason to care about our services and products. Through the stories we tell and the people we serve, SSPI inspires the growth of the $1 trillion space economy of the future.

For More Information
Victoria Krisman
Communications Manager
Space & Satellite Professionals International
vkrisman@sspi.org