Meet the Steering Committee

Steering Committee members advise on program activities and introduce funding and collaboration connections where possible. They also complete a variety of other roles to help our program best serve West Virginia!

Sophie Saint Georges

Program Director

Green Bank Observatory

Coordinates and leads Steering Committee meetings, Fall Training, and Spring Summit. Advises scheduler, updates SPOT management documentation, compiles a yearly evaluation report, updates social media, develops recruitment posters and emails, programs advertisement to teachers, designs and updates website, updates presentations

Sue Ann Heatherly

Assistant Director

Green Bank Observatory

Seeks funding and grant opportunities

Kelsey Brooks

Fiscal Coordinator 

Green Bank Observatory

Receives and records travel stipends from participating schools and organizations

Mark Barnes

Fiscal Coordinator 

Green Bank Observatory

Pay orders for Ambassadors, invoices to funding members, fiscal reporting

Campus Advisors

These members recruit and certify ambassadors. Develop course work/ academic integration, restock SPOT kits and assist with presentation preparation.

Eugene Shakirov

Marshall University

Deb Hemler

Fairmont State University

Sytil Murphy

Shepherd University

Tobi Odeleye

West Virginia University

Tracey DeLaney

West Virginia Wesleyan College


Jerod Caligiuri

 Davis & Elkins College

Hannah Payne

West Virginia State University

Amanda Francis

West Liberty University

Scott Brothers

Bethany College

Research Members

These members develop or have developed presentations and activities

Weichao Tu

West Virginia University

Sarah Burke-Spoloar

West Virginia University

Piyush Mehta

West Virginia University

Kathryn Williamson

West Virginia University

Melanie Page

NASA WV Space Grant Consortium

Candy Cordwell

NASA WV Space Grant Consortium

Josh Revels

NASA Katherine Johnson IV&V

Jeff Northey 

NASA Katherine Johnson IV&V

Jess White

NASA Katherine Johnson IV&V

Maura McLaughlin

NANOGrav

West Virginia University

Duncan Lorimer

West Virginia University

Eric Meriam

Appalachian Fresh Water Initiative

West Virginia University

Adri Persad

West Virginia University