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Our Team

Besides our full-time staff members, we are also supported by countless volunteers and supporters worldwide. To contact a staff member, please use our contact form and your message will be forwarded to the appropriate person. Interested in joining the X PRIZE? Jobs, Internships & Fellowships.

Peter H. Diamandis, M.D., Chairman & CEO

Dr. Diamandis is the Chairman and CEO of the X PRIZE Foundation (www.xprize.org), which awarded the $10,000,000 Ansari X PRIZE (www.xprize.org) for private spaceflight. Diamandis is now focused on building the X PRIZE Foundation into a world-class prize institute whose mission is to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. The X PRIZE is now developing X PRIZEs in fields such as Genomics, Automotive, Education, Medicine, Energy, and Social arenas.

Diamandis is an international leader in the commercial space arena, having founded and run many of the leading entrepreneurial companies in this sector. Diamandis also serves as the CEO of Zero Gravity Corporation (www.gozerog.com) a commercial space company developing private, FAA-certified parabolic flight utilize Boeing 727-200 aircraft. He is the Chairman & Co-Founder of the Rocket Racing League (www.rocketracingleauge.com). Diamandis is a co-founder and Director of Space Adventures (www.spaceadventures.com), the company which brokered the launches of four private citizens to the International Space Station.

In 1987, Diamandis co-Founded the International Space University (ISU) (www.isunet.edu) where he served as the University’s first managing director. Today he serves as a Trustee of the $30M ISU that is based in Strasbourg, France. Prior to ISU, Diamandis served as Chairman of Students for the Exploration and Development of Space (SEDS) an organization he founded at MIT in 1980. SEDS is the world’s largest student pro space organization.

Dr. Diamandis attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) where he received his undergraduate degree in molecular genetics and graduate degree in aerospace engineering. After MIT he attended Harvard Medical School where he received his M.D. In 2005 he has was also awarded an honorary Doctorate from the International Space University.

He is the winner of the 2007 Arthur C. Clarke Award for Innovation, the 2006 (inaugural) Heinlein Award, the 2006 Lindbergh Award, the 2006 Wired RAVE Award, the 2006 Neil Armstrong Award for Aerospace Achievement and Leadership, the Konstantine Tsiolkovsky Award, twice the winner of the Aviation & Space Technology Laurel, and the 2003 World Technology Award for Space. In 8th grade, while living in New York, Dr. Diamandis won first place in the Estes rocket design contest.

Diamandis’ mission is to open the space frontier for humanity. His personal motto is: “The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself!”

Tom Vander Ark, President

Vander Ark came to the X PRIZE Foundation after having served as Executive Director of Education for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation where he developed and implemented more than $3.5 billion in scholarship and grant programs to improve education throughout the United States. A prolific writer and speaker, Vander Ark has published more than 100 articles and given thousands of presentations on the subject of education. In December 2006, Newsweek readers voted Vander Ark the most influential baby boomer in education.

Prior to his role with the Gates Foundation, Vander Ark served as superintendent of one of Washington State's larger school districts which has been recognized for narrowing achievement gaps and reducing administrative costs. Vander Ark also has extensive experience in the private sector serving as a senior executive for a start-up retail chain that achieved $5 billion in revenue, as well as management and consulting experience in energy, telecommunications and business formation.

Beginning his career in energy, Vander Ark has an MBA in Energy Finance from the University of Denver and a BS in Mineral Engineering from the Colorado School of Mines.

Prize Team Executive Directors

Bretton Alexander, Executive Director, Space and Wirefly X PRIZE Cup

Alexander brings rich expertise in government, international and entrepreneurial space efforts to the X PRIZE Foundation. In addition to his full-time responsibilities with the Foundation, Alexander serves as President of the Personal Spaceflight Federation, the association of commercial human spaceflight companies, and Senior Advisor to the aerospace company Transformational Space Corporation (t/Space). Prior to joining the entrepreneurial space community, Alexander served under presidents William J. Clinton and George W. Bush as Senior Policy Analyst for space issues. During his tenure at the White House, he was one of the primary authors of the "Vision for Space Exploration" announced by President Bush in January 2004. He has also held positions in the Federal Aviation Administration's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, the Aerospace Corporation, and ANSER Corporation. Alexander holds Master and Bachelor of Science degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia
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Jesse Berst, Executive Director, Energy and Environment Prizes

Berst is a recognized authority on the emerging clean energy/smart energy revolution and the market opportunities it represents. He previously served as Managing Director of GlobalSmartEnergy, a company that provides high-level, strategic consulting to large corporations, utilities, investors and government agencies. Berst serves on the Advisory Council of Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He chairs the sub-committee responsible for the Energy & Environmental Science Directorate, where more than 1,000 scientists and staffers work to uncover solutions to the nation's energy and environmental issues. In the '80s and '90s, Berst was a featured columnist at a succession of leading magazines and authored more than 700 columns and articles analyzing technology and business trends. His analysis and commentary were featured widely on national radio and television, including Good Morning America, ABC Nightly News, CBS Radio News, and Business Talk Radio. During this period, Berst founded or co-founded three high-tech publishing companies, New Riders Publishing (acquired by Macmillan), Micropublishing (acquired by Cygnus Business Media), and CompuTh!nk (acquired by Ziff-Davis). He then became a Vice President and "intrapraneur" at Ziff-Davis, where he conceived and founded "AnchorDesk," which became the company's most popular and profitable Internet property. Berst was born in eastern Washington and graduated with highest honors from the University of Puget Sound with a degree in business administration.

Don Foley, Executive Director, Progressive Automotive X PRIZE

Foley is a veteran communicator with extensive experience in national politics and corporate affairs. After 20 years on Capitol Hill, he spent four years as vice president of worldwide corporate communications for Northwest Airlines and two years as chief operating officer at Powell Tate, a Washington, D.C., public affairs firm, before becoming a founding partner of Prism Public Affairs. Foley arrived in Washington in 1977 after managing Rep. Richard Gephardt's (D-Mo.) first congressional campaign. He served as Gephardt's press secretary for 12 years and served as deputy press secretary in the 1984 presidential campaign of Walter F. Mondale. Foley served as administrative assistant for Sen. Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) for three years and served five years at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). Appointed by Sen. George Mitchell, Foley served under Sens. Charles Robb, Bob Graham and Bob Kerrey. He left the DSCC to become convention manager of the 1996 Democratic Convention.
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Bard Geesaman, Executive Director, Life Sciences

Dr. Geesaman joined the X PRIZE Foundation from MPM Capital, where he worked as a Venture Partner, assessing new investment opportunities and assisting in business development for existing portfolio companies. At MPM he founded JapanBridge, an oncology pharmaceutical company in Tokyo which focuses on expediting drug development in Asia. Prior to MPM, he served as the Vice President, Medical Development for Elixir Pharmaceuticals, where he oversaw clinical strategy for drug development and the human genetics program, as well being involved in the company’s business development team. Coincident with these activities, Dr. Geesaman was a General Partner at F2 Ventures, a UK based venture capital fund, and he continues to serve on the board of directors for these investments. His first experience in business immediately followed his medical training; Dr. Geesaman founded and was Chief Technical Officer of Catalyst Medical Solutions, where he designed and coded an enterprise application to enhance hospital revenue and improve medical documentation and compliance.

Dr. Geesaman’s academic background ranges from the fields of computer engineering to computational biology to clinical medicine, and he has written for a number of publications in these fields. Dr. Geesaman became board certified in Internal Medicine in 2000, after completing a Clinical Fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He has a PhD in Systems and Computational Neurobiology from MIT, an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and a B.S. from U.C. Berkeley in Systems Neurobiology.

Prize Team Senior Directors & Consultants

Neal Anderson, Senior Director, Progressive Automotive X PRIZE

Anderson has a decade of experience boosting productivity, revenue and profit for both start-ups and existing companies. He has recently consulted for clients including Stanford University and Idealab. As President & CEO of True Floors, Inc., Anderson infused consecutive years of double-digit growth into a previously stagnant business. Before that, he co-founded creative agency Ideawork Studios LLP, helping quickly build it into a profitable, award-winning business with key clients including PBS, Tenet Healthcare, and Ziff Davis. Earlier, Anderson worked with several creative agencies, spearheaded one of the first online marketplaces for government procurement with Visa and Chase, and ran Marketing & PR for a remote communications software company. He holds a BA in English from UC Santa Barbara.

jonathon_greenblattJonathan Greenblatt, Senior Advisor, Global Entrepreneurship X PRIZE

Jonathan Greenblatt is a senior advisor to the X-PRIZE Foundation, leading an effort to create a global competition around bottoms-up, entrepreneurial models of poverty alleviation. He is the co-founder of Ethos Water, a former vice president of Starbucks Coffee Company and board member of the Starbucks Foundation. Acquired by Starbucks in 2005, Ethos currently is sold in more than 6,000 Starbucks locations and other premium retail outlets across North America. The brand also will invest more than $10 million by 2010 in sustainable water programs that help children around the world get clean water. Prior to founding Ethos, Greenblatt served in the White House and Commerce Department where he developed international economic policy with a focus on emerging markets and post-conflict economies. Along with his work for the X PRIZE Foundation, Greenblatt teaches social entrepreneurship at the Anderson Graduate School of Management at UCLA and advises corporations and non-governmental organizations on the intersection between innovation and sustainability. Greenblatt serves on numerous advisory boards and is a director of the African Leadership Foundation. He is a member of the 2007 Class of Henry Crown Fellows of the Aspen Institute and the Pacific Council on International Policy. Greenblatt lives in Los Angeles, California with his wife and two sons and is an avid member of Red Sox Nation West.

Cristin Lindsay, Senior Director, Progressive Automotive X PRIZE

Before bringing her process-driven expertise to the Automotive X PRIZE, Lindsay was the Director of Operations for X1 Technologies, helping the desktop search company develop its innovative software and grow from 0 to 40 employees from 2002 to 2006. Before X1, Lindsay worked on several ground-breaking startup companies at Idealab, including Energy Innovations, Omnilux, and XBeams. She also managed Idealab's knowledge management and intranet efforts. Lindsay was part of the Leadership and Organizational Development group at Times Mirror before it was bought by Tribune Company in 2000. She started her career in Advertising Operations at the Los Angeles Times. Lindsay holds a BA in History with a minor in Anthropology from UCLA.

Marc Hodosh, Senior Director, Archon X PRIZE for Genomics

Hodosh joined the X PRIZE Foundation earlier this year to lead the Archon X PRIZE for Genomics. Most recently, he was a consultant to inventor Dean Kamen at DEKA Research & Development. Hodosh is also Chairman of Dean's FIRST Robotics competition in Boston which inspires thousands of high school students to pursue careers in science & technology. In 2002, Hodosh became President of ID One, which specialized in facial recognition technology for the U.S. military and intelligence communities. Just prior, Hodosh was Director of Business Development at Viisage Technology, a biometric & secure ID company. He also started two consumer product companies in 1996 & 1997, which invented and imported merchandise that sold via major retailers such as Bed Bath & Beyond, QVC Television, Toys-R-Us and more. Hodosh holds a BA in Psychology/Neuroscience from Ithaca College and a Masters in Medicine from Boston University Medical School.

John Shore, Senior Director, Progressive Automotive X PRIZE

Shore has a mix of scientific, engineering, business, and political experience. He spent 17 years as a research scientist and Branch Head at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory, where he was responsible for numerous innovations in computer architecture, software engineering, information theory, and signal processing. His technical publications include 24 peer-reviewed papers, as well as more than 50 reports and conference papers. He holds a U.S. patent in the field of parallel computing, and he published a general-audience book on computing. Shore was the Founder and served variously as CEO, CTO and Vice Chairman of Entropic, Inc., a software company that specialized in speech coding, speech synthesis and speech recognition technology. Entropic was acquired by Microsoft in late 1999. Since then, Shore worked as an independent consultant (technology and business development), and he served for a year and a half as Senior Advisor for Science and Technology to U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy. He holds a BS in Physics from Yale and a PhD in Physics from the University of Maryland.

X PRIZE Foundation Senior Leadership

Sarah Evans, VP, Communications

Evans has nearly 15 years of experience in senior and executive public relations and marketing positions. Before joining the X PRIZE Foundation, Evans served as VP of Communications at the Prostate Cancer Foundation and as the Practice Leader of the social marketing and lifestyle division at CarryOn Communication. While at CarryOn, she directed the national multi-award-winning Ansari X PRIZE media operation. Prior to CarryOn, Evans was a vice president at Porter Novelli, a top ten global public relations firm. She was director of marketing for the Peace Corps during the Clinton Administration and also served as the press secretary of the National School-to-Work Office. Evans has on-air experience as a national public affairs television show panelist, and has served as a spokesperson on CNN and National Public Radio among others. She started her career as part of the communications team for Senator John F. Kerry (D-MA). Evans earned a BA with honors in political science from Boston College.

Brent Kocher, SVP, Partnerships & Marketing

A 16-year veteran in the field of sports and entertainment marketing, Kocher brings extensive corporate partnership and marketing experience to the X PRIZE Foundation. Former positions include VP of Marketing & Sponsorship for the 1999 NFL Sydney American Bowl in Australia, where he remained to manage the sponsorship and marketing of Sydney's "Host City" 2000 Summer Olympic campaign. Following the Sydney Olympics, Kocher took his experience to Salt Lake to develop and market similar programs surrounding the 2002 Winter Olympics. Kocher returned to the gridiron when he accepted the role as VP of Marketing for the Houston Super Bowl XXXVIII Host Committee. Kocher has a BA in Marketing from Ball State University.

Marc Schulman, VP, Partnerships & Marketing, X PRIZE Cup

Schulman came to the X PRIZE Foundation in August of 2006 with 10 years of marketing experience from his previous position with the Fiesta Bowl Foundation. During his tenure at the Fiesta Bowl Foundation he served in a multitude of roles supporting various events in and around the state of Arizona. He began his career as Event Coordinator, managing the 50+ events that make up the Fiesta Bowl and Insight Bowl Festival. In 1998, Schulman transitioned into a marketing and sponsorship role. In this capacity he was responsible for generating revenue based on sponsorship sales and partnership gifts to support the Fiesta Bowl Foundation's varied events. Schulman holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Missouri.

X PRIZE Foundation Management

Andromeda Abushady, Senior Director, Human and Corporate Shared Services

Abushady joins the X PRIZE Foundation with 10 years of human resources experience in the enterprise software and web applications verticals, having typically been involved from pre-funding through M&A. As Director of Human Resources & US Corporate Services for Marketwire.com/CCN Matthews, Abushady was responsible for organizational and human capital development, including corporate operations, serving as a key member of the core executive team. Before joining Marketwire/CCN Matthews, she served as Vice President of Human Resources at Spire, a small entrepreneurial IT consulting firm based in New York. Abushady also held key human resources and recruiting positions at Kinecta Corporation (now Stellent, recently acquired by Oracle) and Network Research, a technical recruiting agency based in the San Francisco, Bay Area. Abushady holds a B.S. in Biology from the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Amy Y. Day, Director, Production

Day has been producing award-winning films for nearly twenty years with some 300 projects to her credit. She co-founded The Edge Picture Company (www.edgepicture.com) in 1991, still one of the UK's leading corporate image and communications production companies based in London's Covent Garden, and handled key client accounts including Shell, KPMG, Vauxhall Motors (part of GM), Price Waterhouse Coopers, Victoria & Albert Museum and BT (British Telecom) plc. She also served as Director on the Board of the International Visual Communications Association, the largest business media communications trade association in Europe. Her commitment to quality has been rewarded with many prestigious awards. In 2001, Day was part of the V&A Museum team that was nominated for a BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts), Britain's top media award. In 2005, she relocated to the US. Before joining the X PRIZE Foundation, Day completed work on 'Inside Rio Carnaval' for PBS and produced the one hour documentary 'The Real Roswell' for National Geographic.
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David Donell, Controller, Director of Finance

Donell comes to the X PRIZE Foundation with extensive experience building, strengthening and leading the financial function for companies in various stages including start-up, stable and high-growth. In 2005, Donell co-founded Intuitive Associates, Inc., a company handling, among other things, complex corporate tax assignments and forensic work in association with corporate and securities fraud assignment. Prior to founding Intuitive, Donell served as CFO for Avega Health Systems, where he drastically improved overall financial efficiency, positioning the company for eventual sale to MedAssets, Inc. Donell also worked as a Controller for Fasturn, Inc., where he managed human resources matters and staff in addition to his financial duties, and as the Vice President of Finance for Jalmar Properties, Inc. Donell holds a BS in Accounting from San Diego State University, and is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified Information Technology Professional.

Jaison Morgan, Senior Director, Prize Development

Morgan brings over twelve years of experience building systems and designing programs for public, private and non-profit agencies. Before joining the X PRIZE Foundation, he was a principal with Green Street Consulting Services, where he worked with a team of entrepreneurs to develop the first successful wage based tax credit syndication for a non-profit agency. A recent transplant to Santa Monica, Morgan previously worked for the Mayor's Office, City of Chicago, where he served as a Senior Policy Advisor and received commendations for his work managing teams of program directors from the public schools, parks and libraries. He has been responsible for launching multiple non-profit agencies and private business ventures. Morgan received his bachelor's degree in Political Science from Hampden-Sydney College and a master's degree in Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

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William Pomerantz, Director, Space Projects

Pomerantz holds a BA in Earth and Planetary Sciences from Harvard University, and a Masters of Science in Space Studies from the International Space University in Strasbourg, France. In addition to his work on the X PRIZE Foundation's space prizes, Pomerantz also serves as a coach for the Zero Gravity Corporation, joining passengers in weightlessness on parabolic flights. He is a graduate of the NASA Academy at Goddard Space Flight Center and has formerly worked at Harvard University, Brown University and the Futron Corporation, an aerospace consultancy based in Bethesda, Maryland. Pomerantz is a co-founder of SpaceAlumni.com, an online news and networking tool for young space professionals around the world, and served as Chief Editor for two years. He is currently Vice President of the ISU-USA Alumni Association. From 2006 through early 2007, Pomerantz proudly served on a National Research Council Federal Advisory Committee producing a report on "Meeting the Workforce Needs for the National Vision for Space Exploration."

becky_ramseyBecky Ramsey, Communications Director, Space

Ramsey is an accomplished communications professional who most recently served as policy analyst for NASA’s Space Operations Mission Directorate, where she worked to communicate the NASA vision and mission with the public sector. Her other duties included leading guest operations at Space Shuttle launches, marketing Space Operations programs, and speechwriting for senior Space Operations leadership. Prior to NASA, Ramsey was selected as Presidential Management Fellow for the Department of the Air Force, Directorate of Space Acquisition, where she provided expert advice as an authority in space policy. She began her career as the Director of Education for the Aerospace Education Center in Little Rock, AR. Ramsey holds a B.A. from Hendrix College and an M.A. from the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University.

Ryan Wilson, Director, Alliances

Wilson brings nearly a decade of experience in marketing, consulting and business development to the X PRIZE, having managed Fortune 100 clients as an Account Executive for HA-LO Industries, once the largest promotional advertising agency in the world. He also served as one of the initial stakeholders of Marketworks Inc, a global technology and marketing services company that currently supports more than 4,000 businesses in 37 countries. Wilson has worked as a marketing and business intelligence consultant for some of the world's top brands in industries such as financial services, sporting goods and consumer technology. As Director of Development for the X PRIZE Foundation, Wilson focuses on strategic development operations and program design for individual and institutional investors who support the Foundation's ongoing operations and various prize initiatives. Wilson received his BA from Emory University in Atlanta and his MBA from Thunderbird's School of Global Management in Phoenix.

Operations & Administration

Edmond Bina, Associate Producer, Production

bethann_buddenbaumBethann Buddenbaum, Coordinator, Progressive Automotive X PRIZE

Adam Fiallos, Coordinator, Database

Sarah Johnston, Second Executive Assistant to the Chairman & CEO
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Nicole Jordan, Manager, Rocket Operations

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Jean Levasseur, Coordinator, Communications

 

Becky Lewis, Specialist, Communications

Angela Ohren-Kurian, Coordinator, Partnerships & Marketing

Angel Panlasigui, VP, Administration

Panlasigui has over 20 years experience in business management and administration. Beginning her career as an accountant in law offices, she moved on to become Office Manager and eventually Administrator of a prominent Long Beach law firm, a position she held for over 7 years. In 1999, Panlasigui left the legal field to pursue a dream of opening her own restaurant. From 2000 to 2003, she designed, opened, operated and co-owned two successful restaurants in Venice and Santa Monica. Panlasigui first brought her diverse skills to the X PRIZE Foundation as its Office Manager in 2003 and was promoted to Vice President, Administration in 2005.

Asher Spittler, Executive Assistant to the President

Elke Stoll, Coordinator, Accounting

Michael Timmons, Coordinator, Archon X PRIZE for Genomics

Sharon Wang, Senior Staff Accountant

Audrey Weedon, Analyst, New Prize Development