Our Honorary Board

Under Barbara J. Ryan’s leadership, millions of satellite images and other Earth observation data have been made available to the general public at no charge, allowing scientists, planners and policymakers to make better-informed decisions on problems that transcend political boundaries. Her work addresses critical issues in agriculture, biodiversity, climate change, disaster planning, energy, health and water.

Barbara’s career began in 1974, when she joined the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the nation’s largest natural resource science and civilian mapping agency. She advanced steadily within the USGS, earning master’s degrees in geography from the University of Denver and in civil engineering from Stanford University. As Associate Director for Geography, she was responsible for the agency’s remote sensing, geography and civilian mapping programmes, including the Landsat satellites. From 2008 to 2012 she was Director of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Space Programme, and from 2012 to 2018 she was Secretariat Director of the intergovernmental Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in Geneva, Switzerland. In January 2021, Barbara became the second Executive Director of the World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC), a not-for-profit trade association of private-sector companies working in the geospatial and Earth observation ecosystem.

She has served as chair of the international Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS). She has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree by her alma mater, SUNY Cortland, and named an Honorary Fellow of the American Geographical Society. In 2017 she was one of ten global leaders named to the Geospatial World Forum’s Hall of Fame, and in 2019 she received the Pecora Award from the US Department of the Interior and NASA.

She serves on several boards and advisory committees, including those of two start-ups, Azimuth1 and Data for Development Insights (D4DInsights), as well as the Ecological Sequestration Trust, the International Centre for Earth Simulation (ICES), the International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment (ISRSE) and the Jane Goodall Institute.

Emerita Professor Tan Sri Dr Mazlan binti Othman is a Malaysian astrophysicist whose work pioneered Malaysia’s participation in space exploration. She was her country’s first astrophysicist, and helped to create an astrophysics curriculum at the national university as well as to build public awareness and understanding of astronomy and space issues.

She was appointed Director General of Angkasa, the Malaysian National Space Agency, and served as Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs in Vienna from 2007 to 2014.

She even has her own Wikipedia page. How awesome is that?

Jeanne Holm works at the intersection of civic innovation, open data and education. She is the Deputy Mayor for Budget and Innovation at the City of Los Angeles, working on issues ranging from homelessness to digital equity, technology innovation, data and analytics, fiscal transparency and public-private partnerships.

As a senior consultant with the World Bank, she worked with governments around the world to build robust open data ecosystems and ensure transparency.

She was the Evangelist for open data for the US White House, leading collaboration and building communities on Data.gov with the public, educators, developers, and international and state governments in using open government data. She was Chief Knowledge Architect at NASA, driving innovation through social media, virtual worlds, gaming and collaborative systems, including the award-winning NASA public portal (www.nasa.gov). She is a Fellow of the International Academy of Astronautics, a Distinguished Instructor at UCLA and a Trustee of Claremont Graduate University, and she leads a start-up on education and social justice.

Her research (over 130 publications) and courses focus on data science, knowledge management and civic innovation. Her honours include the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for leadership (twice), a place among the top 50 Women in Tech, a NASA Achievement Award for her work on the Galileo and Voyager spacecraft, and three Webby Awards from the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. She also led NASA to an unprecedented three global Most Admired Knowledge Enterprise (MAKE) awards.

Lisa Vitaris is Founder and CEO of Indo-Pacific Space, an advisory and consulting practice focused on accelerating the growth of the Indo-Pacific’s emerging space industry. She is also Strategic Advisor, Indo-Pacific, and Bid Director for IAC 2029 Houston for the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA).

Previously, Lisa served as Interim CEO of the Space Industry Association of Australia (SIAA) and as Director of IAC 2025 Sydney, which attracted over 7,400 delegates and 19,500 public attendees, delivering approximately AUD 42 million in economic impact to New South Wales.

Lisa is a globally recognised voice in the space sector, having presented at the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space in Vienna, at COP30 in Brazil, and at leading international forums across space, health, mining and technology.

Her executive career spans high-growth and listed organisations across space, technology, telecommunications, financial services, automotive and tourism. She has held senior leadership roles including Chief Marketing Officer, working with brands such as amaysim (Optus), Tyro, CMC Markets, Hyundai, Tourism Tasmania, Volvo and LG.

Lisa also serves on the Board of Engineers Australia, the national body representing over 140,000 engineers, supporting the profession through standards, capability development and advocacy. In addition to her work in space, she is Founder of 10 Pieces, a sustainability initiative focused on environmental action and behaviour change, reflecting her commitment to climate and responsible innovation.

Lisa is an Engineering Executive (EngExec) and a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD). She holds a Master of Business (International Marketing) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA), and is passionate about the role of space-enabled technologies in addressing global challenges, including climate resilience and sustainable development.