BROOKE OWENS EXECUTIVE UPDATE
PRESS RELEASE: The Brooke Owens Fellowship Welcomes Bandla and Schenewerk; Thanks Calandrelli and Pomerantz
| The Brooke Owens Fellowship – the award-winning, non-profit program that provides paid internships and executive mentorship to exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities in aerospace – is announcing a change to its executive team as Will Pomerantz and Emily Calandrelli will be rotating and replaced by Sirisha Bandla and Caryn Schenewerk.
Co-Founder Will Pomerantz has served on the leadership team since the organization’s inception in 2016. As a friend and colleague of Brooke Owens, he was instrumental in building the Fellowship with Co-Founders Cassie Lee and Lori Garver, who note that “Will’s dedication to the organization has helped us grow and evolve the Fellowship significantly over the past seven years. No one has done more for the organization or as an ally for those in communities that have been traditionally underrepresented in the field.” As an executive at Virgin Orbit, and now AeroVironment, Pometantz’s legacy in the community expands beyond the Brooke Owens Fellowship. In his capacity as a Co-Founder of the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship, a program for Black collegiate students based on the Brooke Owens Fellowship model, Pomerantz continues to serve in a leadership role.
World-renowned science communicator Emily Calandrelli is also stepping down from her day-to-day responsibilities with the Fellowship, having served in a formal leadership role since 2021. Garver notes that “Emily’s dedication and creativity contributed to the meteoric growth of the organization. Her combined background as an MIT engineer, television host, and social media maven has raised the Fellowship to new heights.” Calandrelli’s involvement also dates back to the beginning of the program, serving as a mentor and promoter since its initiation. Both Calendrelli and Pomerantz remain strong supporters of the Fellowship and plan to continue to use their talents to advance the organization.
Pomerantz stated that he “ will forever feel grateful for the privilege of being part of the incredible Brooke Owens Fellowship community. I have been amazed to see the ripples of this program's ideas and ideals spread out throughout the industry, launching hundreds of new careers, seeding similar programs in multiple new countries, and providing proof of concept that well-designed programs can have an immediate effect on the demographics of our industry”. Pomerantz is 'grateful to my co-founders, incredible executive team, Brooke Owens's family, and our Fellows for letting me be part of this journey. I wish our new executive team members luck, and I'm confident that with their leadership, the strength and impact of this organization will only continue to grow."
The Executive Team is thrilled to announce that they will be joined by two well-known and long-time Fellowship supporters - super stars Sirisha Bandla and Caryn Schenewerk.
Sirisha is the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations for Virgin Galactic. She flew on the Virgin Galactic Unity 22 mission, which made her the second India-born woman to go to space. Prior to her employment at Virgin Galactic, Sirisha worked at the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, where she got to know Brooke. Sirisha's meteoric career began with an aerospace engineering degree from Purdue University. She later earned an MBA from George Washington University.
Caryn is the President of CS Consulting LLC and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center. Having met Brooke while working at the White House Office of Management and Budget, Caryn later held senior positions at SpaceX and Relativity Space. Caryn is a member of the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) and a former senior staffer for Congresswoman Gabriel Giffords. She holds a BA from Austin College and a JD from the University of Texas. Caryn is “excited to join the BOF Leadership Team in support of the organization’s incredible work honoring Brooke by facilitating opportunities for exceptional undergraduate women and gender minorities”.
Lori and Fellowship Alumni leaders Kayla Watson (Amazon Prime Air) and Maddie Kothe (SpaceX) are thrilled to welcome these illustrious and dedicated individuals to the Executive Team.
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ABOUT THE BROOKE OWENS FELLOWSHIP
The Brooke Owens Fellowship is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing career opportunities and both personal and professional growth for women and gender-minority college and university students in the aerospace industry. The program offers paid internships at the nation’s leading aerospace institutions; executive-level mentorship from astronauts, CEOs, and more; and a community of supportive peers and industry leaders to an annual class of approximately 40-50 Fellows. Since the program’s founding in 2016 -- shortly after the death of the program’s namesake, beloved aerospace industry professional D. Brooke Owens -- the Brooke Owens Fellowship has been awarded to over 300 deserving students representing thirteen countries. The program is run by a volunteer 5-person Executive Leadership Team and a full-time Operations Director. The Brooke Owens Fellowship is the recipient of the 2017 American Astronautical Society’s Patti Grace Smith Award, the 2018 Space Frontier Foundation’s Stakeholder Expansion Award, and both the Readers’ Choice and the Editors’ Choice for the Unsung Hero of the Year Award from the 2019 SpaceNews Awards for Excellence & Innovation.