charles f. bolden jr.
NASA Administrator, Marine Corps Major General | Alexandria, Virginia
Marine Major General Charles F. Bolden Jr. is a pioneering leader whose life’s work has advanced both aviation and space exploration. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, Bolden graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968 and went on to serve more than three decades in the Marine Corps, flying over 100 combat missions during the Vietnam War as a naval aviator.
Selected by NASA in 1980, Bolden became one of the agency’s most accomplished astronauts. He flew four Space Shuttle missions between 1986 and 1994 overseeing missions that included deploying the Hubble Space Telescope and launching the first joint U.S. - Russian Shuttle flight. On the first two missions he piloted the Columbia and Discovery, and for his last missions he was the mission commander aboard the Atlantis and the Discovery.
In 2009, President Barack Obama appointed Bolden as the 12th administrator of NASA, making him the first African American to hold the position. During his tenure, he guided the agency through a period of transformation, overseeing the retirement of the Space Shuttle program, the development of commercial crew partnerships and landmark achievements such as the Mars Curiosity Rover and the early development of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Bolden has remained an influential advocate for innovation and education. A resident of Alexandria, Virginia, he retired from NASA in 2017 and founded The Bolden Consulting Group, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, the same year. The firm advises organizations on government relations strategies and strategic management in aerospace, defense and STEM development. Bolden serves on several boards promoting leadership and access in science and technology.
A lifelong believer in the power of curiosity and courage, Bolden continues to inspire young people to “reach for the stars” both literally and figuratively through mentorship and work to expand opportunities in STEM for underrepresented communities.
mary beth bruggeman
President of The Mission Continues | Fairfax Station, Virginia
Mary Beth Bruggeman has dedicated her career to service, first in the United States Marine Corps and later as a national leader empowering veterans to strengthen communities across America. A 1999 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy with a degree in management, she served eight years on active duty as a Marine combat engineer, leading a company of Marines during the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. After her deployment, she returned to the Washington, D.C. area and the Naval Academy as a leadership instructor, mentoring the next generation of naval officers.
Following her transition from active duty, Bruggeman earned a master’s in policy management from Georgetown University and brought her operational expertise and values of service to the nonprofit world. She joined The Mission Continues, a nonprofit that deploys veterans to help with service projects in struggling neighborhoods, in 2015, becoming president in 2019. Under her leadership, the organization expanded its mission to engage thousands of veterans in addressing local challenges, from revitalizing neighborhoods to supporting youth programs to translating military experience into lasting community impact.
A graduate of the George W. Bush Institute’s Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program, Bruggeman is a driving voice for women veterans and civic unity. In 2024, she co-founded Angels 10 Advisors, advising high net-worth individuals who strive to heal civic divides, in charitable giving.
From the front lines of Iraq to the boardrooms shaping veteran leadership, Mary Beth Bruggeman continues to prove that service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off, it simply finds a new mission.