Space Dynamics Lab Elects Retired Rear Admiral Liz Young to Board of Directors
February 26 2020 - 01:19PM
H. Scott Hinton, president of the Space Dynamics Laboratory,
announced that government leader Liz Young has been appointed to
SDL’s Board of Directors. Young has served as a member of SDL’s
guidance council since 2014 and will continue to serve in that
capacity.
Young is a prominent consultant within the space and
intelligence industry and advises a variety of organizations on
system engineering and program management, including NASA’s
Artemis program. In 2011, Young retired at the rank of Rear
Admiral from the US Navy, where she served with distinction for
twenty years at the National Reconnaissance Office. The NRO is one
of the seventeen US Intelligence agencies and the organization
responsible for designing, building, launching, and maintaining
America’s intelligence-gathering satellites. She led the NRO’s
Systems Engineering Directorate and was credited with helping the
NRO through a historic six satellite launches in less than a
year. Young also served as the Program Executive Officer for
Navy Space Systems.
“In her new role, Liz brings to bear over twenty years’
experience with satellite systems, coupled with leadership
capabilities exemplified by her distinguished career in the
military and other parts of the US government. She has enabled our
women and men in uniform to perform their duties with enhanced
capabilities, and has provided policymakers accurate,
technology-driven information with which to make informed
decisions,” said Hinton. “Liz is a consummate professional in our
industry, has vast technical knowledge, and with whom I’ve had the
privilege of working with as a member SDL’s guidance council. Her
dedication and leadership will continue to benefit SDL in her
position as a member of the Board of Directors.”
A graduate of the US Naval Academy, Young was commissioned in
1984, earning an undergraduate degree in chemistry. Her initial
tour was at the Naval Space Surveillance Systems Command.
Subsequent assignments included the Naval Postgraduate School,
where she earned a graduate degree in physics; the Naval Research
Laboratory; the Naval Space Command Detachment at the Defense
Support System Ground Station; the Aerospace Data Facility; and the
Naval Tactical Unmanned Air Vehicle Program at the Naval Air
Systems Command. In 1999 she reported to the NRO, where she served
as the Deputy Chief Systems Engineer of the Future Imagery
Architecture Program in the Imagery Intelligence Directorate.
In 2001 she was reassigned as the Deputy Program Manager and Chief
Systems Engineer of the Advanced Concepts Staff in the Imagery
Intelligence Directorate. In 2005 she was appointed Program
Manager, Low Earth Orbit System Program Office in the Signal
Intelligence Directorate.
Young is the recipient of numerous awards and decorations,
including the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit,
two Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Meritorious Service
Medal. She is also the recipient of two NRO Gold Medals for
Distinguished Service, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
Medallion, and the Defense Intelligence Agency Director’s
Award.
The Space Dynamics Laboratory has been solving the technical
challenges faced by the military, science community, and industry
for six decades and supports NASA’s vision to reveal the unknown
for the benefit of humankind. As one of fourteen University
Affiliated Research Centers, SDL serves as a subject matter expert
in its core research areas to the US Government and ensures that
essential engineering and technology capabilities of the Department
of Defense are maintained. SDL is a DoD research laboratory
headquartered in North Logan, UT, and has offices in Albuquerque,
NM; Bedford, MA; Dayton, OH; Huntsville, AL; Houston, TX; Los
Angeles, CA; Stafford, VA; and Washington, DC. For more
information, visit http://www.sdl.usu.edu.
Eric Warren
Space Dynamics Laboratory
(435) 881-8439
eric.warren@sdl.usu.edu