Kelly Brunswick, the Chief Operating Officer of Space Foundation. First of all, I want to thank everyone for joining us today. I wanna thank Anna and uh Women Tech Network for putting on an amazing week of programming that is just phenomenal.There's so many sessions I've enjoyed watching and I look forward to watching others later. So thank you so much for what you're doing programming possible. What we like to do at the Space Foundation is we believe that advocating for innovation is about bettering life here on earth and we have three main areas, three divisions we focus on and it's education, information and collaboration. And our information is our Center for Innovation and Education.

And I'm gonna talk a little bit about that. Our um information is our symposium 365 where we put on our events both virtually and in person. And then our global alliance is our collaboration division and that's how we work both locally, nationally and internationally and partner with wonderful organizations like women tech network. So when I talk about space many times, people think about Elon Musk or launch vehicles or satellites or going to Mars.

That is definitely part of the space ecosystem. But there's so much more and there's so much more opportunity for you. First of all, the global space economy is $424 billion and it is projected to grow according to Bank of America to 1.4 trillion by 2030 then over three trillion by 2040 and more than 80 nations operate in space. But almost every nation is using space, Every individual is using space. Every company is part of the space ecosystem. You just might not know it yet. And here in the US, as well as the European uh the European Union elsewhere, the average salary in the space industry is greater than those other salaries that are comparative. And in the US, our space economy is 80% commercial. And what that means is it's about jobs and entrepreneurism and hiring, it's about workforce. So this is women tech network. So I need to talk to you about the technology we're using in space because again, I talked about some things that relate to space like debris removal or satellite servicing. Sure those are definitely space plays.

But what about data analytics or energy and energy storage solutions or health care or advanced manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence, virtual reality. All of those technologies are part of the space ecosystem. So you're right now sitting there, you're now part of the space ecosystem and you didn't even know it. And for those of you who are wanting to check my math, we'll say on those emerging technologies, you can go to the NASA Technology Transfer Office or the European Space Agency Technology Transfer Office and you will find thousands of patents related that technology that I just shared.

Transportation, agriculture, health care, pharmaceuticals, energy and energy storage solutions. So if you're looking for an idea and you want to be an entrepreneur, a first place to start could be NASA or ESA to look for that pattern. And again, I said all of us are using space technology, whether we know it or not, your cell phone has three different types of tech, space technology, uh athletic shoes, memory foam. Many of you are using memory foam that all came from the space um era. And I mean, the space era of the Apollo era, uh cordless power tools came from the space ecosystem weather prediction. You know, we're all starting to travel. Again, we're gonna get on those planes. We want those pilots to have the best weather prediction to navigate around um bad weather. And again, we're getting that from Earth observation satellites, fire retardant clothing, mammogram detection, cataract surgery. MRI S all came from the space industry and as we look at growing food and um managing our water and other resources, we're gonna use those earth observation satellites even more. So again, I'm sure in that uh pie chart that shows that $424 billion space ecosystem. And again, when you look at it, the red and the blue, that's that 80% that's commercial, that's products and services, that's jobs, that's opportunities for all individuals.

And what I mean by all individuals is, yes, 40 years ago, the space industry was about two countries competing against each other, primarily government organizations and male dominated now that um pendulum has swung. And now we need, yes, we still need stem professionals, but we also need non stem professionals like welders and electricians and trades workers. Like in our manufacturing sector, we need artists to inspire us with music and art and movies and TV shows and we need business entrepreneurs and administrators and program managers. So now the opportunity to be part of space is for all of us. The other thing is with all that technology that's coming online, we're all gonna have to become lifelong learners because we're gonna have to continue to get res skilled and up upskilled as our jobs, learn new things. For instance, we're all learning how to use hubspot today.

And uh I appreciate Anna and women tech network, having some patience with me on getting into this session with you. So we're all being res skilled and upskilled every day and space is now open to groups that it wasn't open to before. Uh And I don't just mean minorities or women, I mean, underrepresented groups that could be inner cities or rural communities or regions of the world space is now open to all. But there are some challenges to help us reach that $3 trillion economy. There's a workforce shortage, a skills deficit and an innovation gap. When I talk about a workforce shortage here in the US, as well as other nations around the world, like the European Union or Japan, we have an aging workforce and we're not seeing that replacement of workers coming in to take the place of those baby boomers that are working in academia or industry or government and we have a skills deficit.

So again, I had plenty of space jobs open last year in 2020. And I had unemployed workers that might have been displaced from COVID perhaps in the travel and tourism industry, but they didn't have this right skill set uh to go into those space jobs. So again, we have to look at that reskilling and upskilling as technology changes and jobs change as well. And we have that innovation gap. We have those thousands of patents at NASA and the European Space Agency that are waiting to be commercialized to create business opportunities for you as an entrepreneur, for you to hire others as well as take that technology to better our life. Here on earth. For that reason, the Space Foundation launched our Center for Innovation and Education, which is a lifelong learning platform for workforce development and economic opportunity so that all individuals, students, teachers, entrepreneurs, professionals can find their way into the space ecosystem.

So we're concerned about the two workforces, the one today where we're gonna see technology change and we want to reskill and upskill our workforce and find those replacement workers and then build that workforce of the future, creating and showing uh Children K through 12. That space is not about the past Apollo or shuttle and it's not about memorizing planets, but space is about various career opportunities that they can pursue and find their way into the space ecosystem. How the Space Foundation does our business is we partner obviously with women tech network, we're a partner, we partner with other organizations around the world. We do sponsorship for our programs or look for grant opportunities uh get donations. So we are a US nonprofit that does business internationally and we have a five step workforce development road map and every one of our programs follows this process, awareness, access training, connecting and mentoring. The first step is awareness, which is why I'm joining you today.

I want you to know that there's an opportunity for you or someone you know, to be part of the space ecosystem. The next step is you have to have an access point. So participating in women tech network, going to that NASA Technology transfer office or taking one of our space Foundation programs can help you create an access point into the space ecosystem. It's about training, although you may want to come into the space ecosystem. Maybe you have to take a certification training course or do some online training to get the skills to come into those space jobs. It's about connecting with that industry. You want to be part of participating in women tech network, participating in space foundation programs or International Astronomical Con Congress that will be taking place in in uh October or participating in Space generation Advisory Council. So find organizations that you are interested in in the industry, you want to be part of and join them and attend their events. And again, it's about mentoring many times. A good mentor can help you overcome those other four workforce development roadmap or roadblocks. So finding a good mentor, women tech network has a wonderful mentorship program. So does um the United Nations Office of Outer Space Affairs Space for Women Program and both of these programs are open to men and women. So how does the Space Foundation do business?

You know, I kind of shared the big picture. So let's just walk through how we work with other organizations and partner, like I said before, that collaboration piece. So you're on that dot that says Space Foundation and as you look out, you can see uh the different uh audiences you might want to reach out to. So I've been talking about entrepreneurs. So let's continue with small businesses and entrepreneurs. Then the next ring is what is our goal or objective for our program? What do we want to accomplish with entrepreneurs. Is it helping them create uh business connections so that they can grow their business? So if we understand what the goal is, then the next ring would be, what could the program be? The space foundation has or the space foundation partners with other to satisfy that goal? So we do have a space commerce entrepreneurship program for our entrepreneurs that we use.

So we do have a program and on the outer sides are 16 different career um areas and in the 16 different sectors that are part of the space ecosystem. So you certainly see space. And that again is where Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos and satellites are. But it's also agriculture and the internet of things and manufacturing and finance and environment and health care. So those 16 sectors are really part of the space ecosystem. So you may be sitting there going, I didn't even know it was part of the space ecosystem. But now you do today, a couple of the programs I want to highlight again, primarily focused on entrepreneurship. Today is our space commerce entrepreneurship program. And we did this both with webinars that are online that you can go to our website right now Space foundation.org and watch those videos on how to be an entrepreneur or a space entrepreneur. And we also are starting to create a entrepreneurial podcast series so that you can hear from other entrepreneurs in the space industry about their journey and how they got to where they are. So you can see a role model. So if you're an entrepreneur and you'd like to be part of our podcast series again, reach out to us because we'd love to hear your stories and help you be a role model to help the next person find their way into the space ecosystem.

We also do our programs both virtually, we do workshops both virtually and in person. In this program, space Commerce entrepreneurship program followed that workforce development roadmap, creating the awareness, the access, the training, the connecting and the mentorship to help 275 entrepreneurs find their way into the space ecosystem.

We also have a junior space entrepreneurship program and this is primarily for high school students and the goal is to teach them about space inspired curriculum. 21st century skills and working in teams. So at first, they're a team and their mission is to go to Mars and safely return. But once they return, they then have to become a company and commercialize a product that they learned on their journey to or from Mars. So they learn all the stem and the math and the science and application of going to Mars and safely returning. But then they also learn those entrepreneurial skills of what being a business person is. Whether they become an entrepreneur or they go work in another company, those skills will serve them well, learning about finance and marketing and project management. And again, this followed that workforce development, roadmap of awareness, access training, connecting and mentoring.

I shared some of those mentorship um opportunities with you such as uh Women tech Network, the Un Space Generation Advisory Council, Women in Aerospace to Air World Business Angels investment forum. And there are so many more. So for those of you who are following network with those organizations, find a mentor. the other program and the other division I spoke to you about was our symposium 365 division and that division is about information and connecting the global space community. So once you're in the community, there's so much opportunity whether you're military, commercial, civil or international. So one of our events we put on is an in person event that we will be holding August 23rd to the 26th here in Colorado Springs. We are the global premier connector um bringing the Global Space Community together for our annual symposium 2019. We had 15,000 participants. This year, we're gonna have both people in person and a virtual component. So you'll be able to participate no matter what the other thing is.

Space is more than one time a year with an annual symposium. It's now year round. So we have launched a virtual program called symposium 365 so that you can stay connected to the Global Space Community year round. For those of you who are interested in reaching out again, you can find us at Space foundation.org, you can join me on linkedin. And I'm gonna go ahead and stop sharing at this point and close out and come back to you. So that in case there are some questions now in the chat. And again, uh Margot, how are we doing on time? Uh or did you get any other questions? So I'm gonna look in the chat here and I'm happy to answer any questions for anyone. Yeah,

your timing was perfect, Shelley, you're literally right on the dot of the time. So we are going to say thank you so much. The one thing, you know, I was listening so intently and you could see in the chat, people were saying this eye opening, you know, I didn't realize this was all here kind of thing. And so, um I can say Shelly, I wish I had had space curriculum when I was in school because I think, you know, it's just hearing this information and having these kind of talks to let us know that there are these opportunities out there and that all this interesting stuff is happening.

So thank you so much for sharing today, Shelley.

It's my honor to be here. And thank you again for my uh lifelong learning earlier today with hop in and I wish you a successful rest of the day as well as another day tomorrow. Thanks Shelley. Bye bye.