Accion Systems Expanding U.S. Government Efforts, Adding Extensive Government Space Experience to Advisory Board
Accion Systems, a leading in-space propulsion company, welcomes three new Advisors bringing defense, intelligence and NASA experience to the company.
BOSTON, March 29, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Accion Systems announced today the introduction of three new company Advisors. Accion has multiple government space missions planned this year and is expanding its efforts with key U.S. government space programs. These three Advisors include: Jeanne C. Foster, former executive at multiple U.S. intelligence agencies; Dr. Michael Griffin, former NASA Administrator and Department of Defense CTO; and Dr. Lisa Porter, former Department of Defense Deputy CTO, founding Director of IARPA, and Executive Vice President of In-Q-Tel.
"Accion heritage includes strong R&D relationships with U.S. defense and civilian space programs. As we expand into more operational missions, we need expert guidance from former government leaders who understand the critical needs of these missions. We are very happy to welcome this group of talented, experienced government leaders to advise Accion through the next phase of growth," said Peter Kant, CEO of Accion Systems.
Jeanne C. Foster is the Chief Executive Officer at JCF Consulting, LLC. Ms. Foster has 30+ years of experience in the federal government across the Intelligence Community (IC) and the Department of Defense (DoD). Prior to starting her own consultancy, Ms. Foster was the Deputy Director of the Chief Information Office (CIO) and Information Technology (IT) Services Directorate at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, where she led and directed NGA's mission and enterprise IT development and operations, operations managing an annual budget exceeding a billion dollars and a workforce of more than 5000 people. Previously, Ms. Foster spent several years at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) eventually in the role of Chief Operating Officer and Director of the Office of Mission Resources, DS&T. Prior to joining CIA, she was also the Director, Special Communications Office (SCO) and Director, Office of Development and Engineering (OD&E) at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).
Dr. Michael D. Griffin is the Former Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (USD(R&E)), and in that role shared responsibility with the Deputy Under Secretary for the research, development, and prototyping activities across the DoD enterprise. In earlier roles, Mike served as the Administrator of NASA, and as the Space Department Head at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. He has held numerous executive positions in industry, including Chairman & CEO of Schafer Corporation, President and Chief Operating Officer of In-Q-Tel, CEO of Magellan Systems, and EVP/General Manager of Orbital ATK's Space Systems Group. Earlier in his career, he played a key role in conceiving and directing several "first of a kind" space tests in support of strategic defense research, development, and flight-testing. These included the first space-to-space intercept of a ballistic missile in powered flight, the first broad-spectrum spaceborne reconnaissance of targets and decoys in midcourse flight, and the first space-to-ground reconnaissance of ballistic missiles during the boost phase.
Dr. Lisa Porter is the Former Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (DUSD(R&E)), and in that role shared responsibility with the USD(R&E) for the research, development, and prototyping activities across the DoD enterprise, including oversight of the activities of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the DoD Laboratory and Engineering Center enterprise, and the Under Secretariat staff focused on developing advanced technology and capability for the U.S. military.
Dr. Porter previously served as Executive Vice President of In-Q-Tel (IQT) and Director of IQT Labs. Prior to joining IQT, Dr. Porter was the President of Teledyne Scientific & Imaging. She was the first Director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and also previously served as the Associate Administrator for the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Dr. Porter also served as a program manager and senior scientist at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The Accion Systems Advisory Board also includes:
- Paulo Lozano, PhD - M. Aleman-Velasco Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and Director of the MIT Space Propulsion Lab
- Barry Matsumori - CEO of BridgeComm
- William Swanson - Former Chairman and CEO of Raytheon
For more information on Board members, please visit: http://accion-systems.com/about-accion/
About Accion Systems
Accion Systems develops advanced satellite propulsion systems for the space industry. Accion's in-space propulsion technologies optimize scalability, performance, and efficiency. Accion's flagship product, TILE, uses proprietary ion electrospray thrusters, bringing electric propulsion to satellites of all sizes and redefining in-space capabilities. Accion Systems was founded in 2014 and is based in Boston, MA.
http://www.accion-systems.com
Media Contact
Elizabeth Barno, Accion Systems, +1 857-244-1050, [email protected]
SOURCE Accion Systems
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