TAAAO x Virginia Tech Launch Pad

Josh Ingersoll is the Director of Spectrum and Regulatory Affairs at CesiumAstro, where he is building the company's regulatory function from the ground up as it scales from a component supplier into an end-to-end space mission provider. He owns CesiumAstro's domestic and international spectrum and licensing strategy across FCC and ITU pathways and serves as the company's regulatory, spectrum, and policy voice in Washington and at international forums, including WRC-27. Reporting to the General Counsel, he partners with corporate development and finance to bring regulatory and spectrum expertise into the company's most significant strategic decisions. Josh previously served as Senior Manager of Government Lasercom Products for Amazon Leo for Government, where his work straddled technical product design and space services architecting for Amazon's constellation of LEO satellites. Earlier roles include Senior Manager of Regulatory Affairs at Astranis Space Technologies, Manager of Constellation Policy for Amazon Kuiper, and Spacecraft Systems Engineer at The Aerospace Corporation. Beyond his day job, Josh holds a political advisory position with the UN, serving as the representative for the Americas on the International Telecommunication Union Secretary-General's Youth Advisory Board. He collaborates with experts in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy to advise UN leadership on the connectivity issues facing humanity on a global scale, with a focus on applying space assets to bridge the digital divide and bring the final 2.9 billion members of humanity into the internet age. During his time at Georgia Tech, Josh took part in the BS/MS Honors Program, receiving his Bachelor of Science and subsequent Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering. He also holds an MA in Space Policy and an MBA in STEM Management from The George Washington University, where his research focused on mega-constellation regulation and the promotion of public-private partnerships in the aerospace industry. Outside of his professional and academic pursuits, Josh is active in the Matthew Isakowitz Foundation Programs, serving as the Foundation's Scholarship Executive Director, placing exceptional students into internships in the commercial space industry. He is a diehard Buffalo Bills fan and a purveyor of Scotch whiskey.

Amy Uyen Truong is a Digital Transformation Architect, Lead at Booz Allen Hamilton, where she leads NASA-facing technology and strategy work spanning artificial intelligence governance, open science, digital transformation, and Earth observation data systems. Over four years supporting NASA, she has managed more than $7 million in technical task orders, scaled a 20- plus person cross-functional team across data science, engineering, analytics, and product development, and served as Chief of Staff to the NASA Market Vice President, shaping a $168 million-plus portfolio strategy. Her aerospace work spans the full lifecycle of mission data and technology: directing IT modernization for NASA’s Chief Science Data Officer, leading enterprise geospatial strategy across the 123 petabytes of NASA Earth Science Data Systems, and informing technology investments for NASA’s Planetary Science Division using data drawn from more than 140 NASA missions. She has shaped 10-plus RFIs and RFPs across $150 million-plus in NASA IT and AI contract vehicles. Amy also brings a federal policy lens to her aerospace work. She served as executive secretariat for the interagency open-science effort under the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, partnering with 26-plus federal agencies on the governance of federally funded science. Before federal consulting, she spent more than a decade in public-sector water management, leading EPA-funded watershed restoration, standing up a 501(c)(3) focused on equitable water access, and publishing on federal environmental rulemaking and transboundary water governance. She holds an MS in Water Management and Hydrological Sciences from Texas A&M University, a BA in Environmental Studies, concentration in Engineering, from Trinity University, and the AWS Cloud Practitioner certification. She is a 2025 recipient of Booz Allen’s Values in Practice Award, given annually to less than one percent of the firm. As an advisor to TAAAO, Amy brings aerospace mission delivery experience, federal partnership mapping, and program development depth to support the organization’s professional development, mentorship, and Asian American aerospace leadership efforts.

Mahhad Nayyer is a third-year Ph.D. candidate in the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. He holds a Master of Engineering in Space Systems and Business Engineering from the Technical University of Graz in Austria and a dual Bachelor of Science in Astronautical Engineering and Humanities from the United States Air Force Academy. His research is broadly in the area of astrodynamics and space sustainability. He focuses on enhancing Space Situational Awareness (SSA) capabilities and Space Traffic Management (STM) protocols through his research on analytical orbital capacity and shellslotting architectures in Low Earth Orbit. Mahhad is deeply cognizant of the international, national, and industry policy landscape of space exploration and is passionate about promoting the sustainable use of space as a common-pool resource. Apart from his research, Mahhad recently completed his term as Co-Lead of the Space Safety and Sustainability Project Group at the Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), where he helped lead a 200-member global volunteer team supporting research papers, webinars, workshops, scholarships, and capacity-building initiatives for young space professionals worldwide. He also serves as Vice Chair of the Asia-Pacific Emerging Space Ecosystems Subcommittee of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). In 2025, he helped lead Pakistan's first experimental and cultural payload to the International Space Station, sending wheat seeds aboard SpaceX Crew-11. In recognition of his global thought leadership and service, Mahhad was named a 2025 IAF Young Space Leader and received the 2025 American Astronautical Society Patti Grace Smith Award. In his free time, he enjoys exploring architecture, especially Art Deco, visiting art galleries, listening to live music, and practicing photography. Mahhad is currently working at the National Academy of Sciences as a 2026 Mirzayan Fellow and a Rosenblith Fellow, in the area of space policy.

Venkat Daita is a Vehicle Engineering Intern at Astrolab working on developing the FLIP & FLEX rover for the NASA Artemis missions. He earned a Bachelor’s in Bioengineering from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master’s in Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering from George Washington University, and is passionate about human factors design for crewed space exploration missions.