Our Founders

B. Alvin Drew, Jr.

Alvin Drew is the Department of Defense Liaison at NASA Headquarters.

Upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy, Drew entered the U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in May 1984. He served as a combat rescue helicopter pilot for three years prior to transitioning into USAF special operations, where he flew 60 combat missions. In 1992, he returned to flight training - first obtaining a rating in jet aircraft in April 1993, and then, becoming a test pilot, at the United States Naval Test Pilot School in June 1994. He subsequently worked as a project test pilot, commanded two flight test organizations, and served on the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command staff. As a Command Pilot with more than 25 years experience, Colonel Drew retired from the Air Force in September 2010. He has more than 3,500 hours flying experience and has piloted 30 different types of aircraft.

Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Drew reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of 2 years of training and evaluation, he was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch. From January-November 2009, he served as Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. He has logged more than 612 hours in space on STS-118 in 2007 and STS 133 in 2011. On Feb 28, 2011, Alvin became the 200th person ever to walk in space.

Alvin holds two bachelors degrees from the United States Air Force Academy as well as masters degrees from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the United States Air Force Air University. He is an active member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, American Helicopter Society.

Khristian Jones

Khristian T. Jones is a dedicated fourth-year Aerospace Engineering Major at Wichita State University. As a child, she had a fascination with space and dreamed of one day having the opportunity to travel there. She decided at the tender age of fourteen that Aerospace Engineering just had to be in her future. Khristian did not discover her love for flying until college at an internship at Southwest Airlines. As an African American female, she never knew that something like being a pilot was achievable. She will begin the process to gain her pilot’s license in the Fall of 2019.

Khristian has always had a passion for STEM, but even more of a passion for showing young women that they can achieve a career in it. Growing up, there were not many role models for her to see that she could be a successful woman in a STEM field. Through her work at Engineering Outreach at Wichita State University’s SEEDS (Science Engineering Educational Development for Students) program, she is able to get young ladies interested in STEM and inspire them to pursue a career wholeheartedly.

Khristian has performed research in the WSU Structures Lab for the NASA Jumpstart Undergraduate Research Program. As a Brooke Owens Fellow, she interned at the Mojave Air and Space Port. She has also worked at Airbus Americas. and The Spaceship Company.

Will Pomerantz

William Pomerantz is Vice President for Special Projects and Employee #001 at Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit, the innovative launch company for small satellites.

In addition to being a co-founder of the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, Will also co-founded the Brooke Owens Fellowship,

Will also serves as the Chair of the Board of Advisors of SEDS-USA, the world's largest student space organization. He is a member of the Editorial Board of ROOM, a Space Journal, and a mentor for TechStars, the world’s largest start-up accelerator network.

Will is a graduate of Harvard, the NASA Academy, and the International Space University. He has also worked at Virgin Galactic, the XPRIZE Foundation, Brown University, the Futron Corporation, and the United Nations, among others.

In 2004, Will co-founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of SpaceAlumni.com, an early social network for space professionals. He has served on two US Federal Advisory Committees: the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee and the National Academies of Science and Engineering’s Committee on Building a Better NASA Workforce.

Will is a working father and the proud husband of Diana Trujillo, the Robotic Arm System domain lead for the Mars Perseverance mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

TIFFANY LOCKETT

Tiffany Russell Lockett is the Assembly, Integration, and Test Lead for the Mars Ascent Vehicle at NASA”’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Tiffany recently completed a 1 year leadership development assignment as a management intern supporting the Center Director’s office at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. She worked on the office staff of the NASA Marshall Director Jody Singer and shadowed various leaders across the agency to learn more about how the center and agency operates.

She was previously the Project System Engineer for the Near Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout flight mission. She was also the co-principal investigator with Dr. Jeremy Munday on a technology development research project titled “Propellantless Attitude Control of Solar Sail Technology Utilizing Reflective Control Devices,” sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, Small Spacecraft Technology Program, which concluded in September 2017.

Tiffany is a graduate of Notre Dame of Maryland University with a Bachelors in Physics and of the University of Maryland with a Bachelors in Aerospace Engineering. She began her career at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in 2006, transferring to Marshall Space Flight Center in July 2008 to work on the Constellation project. At NASA, she has supported James Webb Space Telescope, the the International Space Station, the Space Shuttle operations, and the Launch Services Program.

Mrs. Lockett is married to Melvin Lockett Jr., an Assistant District Attorney for Madison County and they live in Huntsville, AL with their dog, Vandie.

Our Founders

B. Alvin Drew, Jr.

Alvin Drew is the Department of Defense Liaison at NASA Headquarters.

Upon graduation from the United States Air Force Academy, Drew entered the U.S. Air Force as a Second Lieutenant in May 1984. He served as a combat rescue helicopter pilot for three years prior to transitioning into USAF special operations, where he flew 60 combat missions. In 1992, he returned to flight training - first obtaining a rating in jet aircraft in April 1993, and then, becoming a test pilot, at the United States Naval Test Pilot School in June 1994. He subsequently worked as a project test pilot, commanded two flight test organizations, and served on the U.S. Air Force's Air Combat Command staff. As a Command Pilot with more than 25 years experience, Colonel Drew retired from the Air Force in September 2010. He has more than 3,500 hours flying experience and has piloted 30 different types of aircraft.

Selected as a mission specialist by NASA in July 2000, Drew reported for training in August 2000. Following the completion of 2 years of training and evaluation, he was initially assigned technical duties in the Astronaut Office Station Operations Branch. From January-November 2009, he served as Director of Operations at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. He has logged more than 612 hours in space on STS-118 in 2007 and STS 133 in 2011. On Feb 28, 2011, Alvin became the 200th person ever to walk in space.

Alvin holds two bachelors degrees from the United States Air Force Academy as well as masters degrees from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and the United States Air Force Air University. He is an active member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots, American Helicopter Society.

Khristian Jones

Khristian T. Jones is a dedicated fourth-year Aerospace Engineering Major at Wichita State University. As a child, she had a fascination with space and dreamed of one day having the opportunity to travel there. She decided at the tender age of fourteen that Aerospace Engineering just had to be in her future. Khristian did not discover her love for flying until college at an internship at Southwest Airlines. As an African American female, she never knew that something like being a pilot was achievable. She will begin the process to gain her pilot’s license in the Fall of 2019.

Khristian has always had a passion for STEM, but even more of a passion for showing young women that they can achieve a career in it. Growing up, there were not many role models for her to see that she could be a successful woman in a STEM field. Through her work at Engineering Outreach at Wichita State University’s SEEDS (Science Engineering Educational Development for Students) program, she is able to get young ladies interested in STEM and inspire them to pursue a career wholeheartedly.

Khristian has performed research in the WSU Structures Lab for the NASA Jumpstart Undergraduate Research Program. As a Brooke Owens Fellow, she interned at the Mojave Air and Space Port. She has also worked at Airbus Americas. and The Spaceship Company.

Will Pomerantz

William Pomerantz is Vice President for Special Projects and Employee #001 at Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Orbit, the innovative launch company for small satellites.

In addition to being a co-founder of the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, Will also co-founded the Brooke Owens Fellowship,

Will also serves as the Chair of the Board of Advisors of SEDS-USA, the world's largest student space organization. He is a member of the Editorial Board of ROOM, a Space Journal, and a mentor for TechStars, the world’s largest start-up accelerator network.

Will is a graduate of Harvard, the NASA Academy, and the International Space University. He has also worked at Virgin Galactic, the XPRIZE Foundation, Brown University, the Futron Corporation, and the United Nations, among others.

In 2004, Will co-founded and served as Editor-in-Chief of SpaceAlumni.com, an early social network for space professionals. He has served on two US Federal Advisory Committees: the Federal Aviation Administration’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee and the National Academies of Science and Engineering’s Committee on Building a Better NASA Workforce.

Will is a working father and the proud husband of Diana Trujillo, the Robotic Arm System domain lead for the Mars Perseverance mission at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.