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SSPI's 20 Under 35

SSPI’s annual list of “20 Under 35” features 20 employees and entrepreneurs to keep your eye on in coming years. They were selected from nominations submitted by the membership and evaluated by the same panel of judges who name winners of the Promise Awards. They represent, quite simply, the best of us in the years ahead.

The “20 Under 35“ are honored each year at SSPI’s Future Leaders Dinner. At the Dinner, SSPI presents the three top-ranked members of the 20 Under 35 with a Promise Award, recognizing them as leaders of their year’s cohort, and honors the Mentor of the Year for fostering young talent, both within his or her organization and throughout the industry. For more information on the SSPI Promise and Mentor Awards, click here.

The 2023 "20 Under 35"

SSPI honored the sixth annual “20 Under 35” list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 18, 2023.
 

Bhavi Jagatia
Planet
Promise Award Recipient

Julie Newman
Boeing
Promise Award Recipient

Onyinye Nwankwo
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Promise Award Recipient

Aysha Alharam
Bahrain National Space Agency

Andrew Chau
Millennium Space

Amy Comeau
Boeing

Laura Cummings
Astroscale U.S.

Christian Keil
Astranis

Srikanth Kodeboyina
Blue Eye Soft dba Blue Space

Neha Lin
Iridium

Dr. Zhe Liu
Maxar

Armando Loli
Boeing

Asad Malik
iRocket

Matej Poliacek
DLR – German Aerospace Centre

Sapna Rao
Lockheed Martin

Alix Rousselière
Euroconsult

Glory Sikka
Maxar

Kenneth Smith
The Aerospace Corporation

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Future Leaders Celebration

This annual event celebrates the 20 Under 35 young employees and entrepreneurs to watch in the coming years, honoring the top three of them with Promise Awards and one industry veteran as Mentor of the Year. Click here to learn more. 

The 2022 "20 Under 35"

SSPI honored the fifth annual "20 Under 35" list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 12, 2022.
 

Chiara Cocchiara
EUMETSAT
Promise Award Recipient

Donya Naz Divsaler
Caidin Biotechnologies
Promise Award Recipient

Dr. Anthony Yuen
Space Generation Advisory Council
Promise Award Recipient

Charis Angeli
Hellas Sat

Dr. Olivia Borgue
University of Luxembourg

Joakim Espeland
QuadSAT

Trina Jefferson
Ball Aerospace

Ryan Jeffrey
Sidus Space

Saroj Kumar
University of Alabama at Huntsville

Dr. Vivek Muralidharan
University of Luxembourg

Mariam Naseem
University of Maryland, College Park

Angga Risnando
Telkomsat

Alvaro Sanchez
Integrasys

James Spicer
SpaceLink

Jenna Tiwana
ispace

The 2021 "20 Under 35"

SSPI honored the fourth annual "20 Under 35" list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 5, 2021.
 

Kelsey Doerksen
Planet
Promise Award Recipient

Sydney Hamilton
Boeing
Promise Award Recipient

Raven Moreland
Ball Aerospace
Promise Award Recipient

Daniel Carey
ATLAS Space Operations

Luke Clancy
Speedcast

Meg Eckensen
Ursa Space Systems

Luis Ferreira
Airbus Defence and Space

Dr. Markus Geiss
OHB System AG

David Harary
OBXTek Inc., SAF/SQ

Mikala Johnson, Ph.D.
Kymeta Corporation

Mina Konaka
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

Dr. Akshata Krishnamurthy
NASA Jet Propulsion Lab

Sam Lewis
ATLAS Space Operations

Valentina Luchetti
Space Generation Advisory Council

Courtney Schmitt
Blue Origin

Jimmy Strates
NXT Communications Corp.

Nathan Welborne
Viasat Government Systems

The 2020 "20 Under 35"

SSPI honored the third annual "20 Under 35" list at the Future Leaders Celebration on October 6, 2020.
 

Taylor Kerl
Maxar
Promise Award Recipient

Brittany Zajic
Planet
Promise Award Recipient

Brittany Zimmerman
Paragon Space Development
Promise Award Recipient

Harriet Brettle
Astroscale

Bethany Downer
ESA – Hubble Space Telescope

James Farrell
Boeing

George John
Hogan Lovells

Joost van Oorschot
Maana Electric

Melissa Orlick
Isotropic Networks

Nicholas Puschman
Bird & Bird LLP

Sahith Reddy Madara
University of Sharjah

Manny Shar
Bryce Space & Technology

Derek Thompson, PhD
Phase Four

The 2019 "20 Under 35"

SSPI announced the second "20 Under 35" list at the 2019 Future Leaders Dinner.
 

Daniel Alvarez
Millennium Space Systems
Promise Award Recipient

Julian Horvath
Iridium
Promise Award Recipient

Natalia Larrea Brito
Euroconsult
Promise Award Recipient

Chris Beauregard
National Space Council

Gaurav Bhatia
Hughes Network Systems

Dr. Nikita Chiu
Space Engineering Research Center

Ryan Clulo
ATLAS Space Operations

Lindsay Crossan
The Boeing Company

Dr. Ashwati Das
Jet Propulsion Lab

Guillermo Del Rio
Elara Comunicaciones

Isil Demir
Planet Labs

Sajit Jumani
GEOshare

Jomya Lei
The Boeing Company

Joao Lousada
GMV Insyen AG

Andrea Marin
Intelsat

Adam Milewich
Intelsat

Abiodun Ogunbiyi
Aerospace Palace International

Manny Shar
Bryce Space and Technology

Jeremy Turpin
Isotropic Systems

The 2018 "20 Under 35"

SSPI announced the inaugural "20 Under 35" list at the 2018 Future Leaders Dinner.
 

Jillian Gorsuch
SSL
Promise Award Recipient

Theodore McDonald
SpaceX
Promise Award Recipient

Mike Safyan
Planet Labs
Promise Award Recipient

Ali Akhtar
Supernet

Zack Downey
Ursa Space

Joanna Estrada
Elara Comunicaciones

Phil Hahn
Blue Origin

Arlen Kam
OneWeb

Marvin Salas
Elara Comunicaciones

Peter Schimitsch
Globecomm

JP Sheehan
OneWeb

Krystal Wilson
Secure World Foundation

Adam Yozwiak
OneWeb