About

The Spaced Out Doc community is a direct reflection of Michaelyn’s thoughts, experiences, and research through storytelling in efforts to build community with a shared vision of women empowerment in the aerospace industry. As a woman of color and executive leader in a profession with few people who look like her, her perspective is unique, and her goal is to educate, motivate, and inspire as many humans as possible. She believes that women empowerment objectives are not just for women, but rather, these objectives are for everyone to succeed, because inclusive business is good business.  

Professionally, Michaelyn is an accomplished and strategic senior executive leader with almost two decades of space start-up and traditional industry experience in the private and public sectors. She has an extensive success record in systems engineering, technical program management, strategy, acquisitions, financial management, and contracts management of complex space systems. Michaelyn is considered a space systems expert with a strong emphasis on equity, diversity, and inclusion.

Scholastically, Michaelyn is a published author and belongs to two academic honor societies—Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society, and Dobro Slovo, the national Russian language honor society. She holds a doctorate degree in organizational leadership from University of La Verne; a master of science degree in space systems engineering from The Johns Hopkins University; a master of business administration (MBA) degree from University of Redlands; and a bachelor of arts degree in political science, public law with a minor degree in Russian language from California State University, Long Beach.  

Michaelyn has a deep passion for space exploration, space systems innovation, and STEAM education. She is also very passionate about giving back, and she pays it forward by dedicating her spare time to inspire as many underrepresented persons to pursue STEAM education and careers by leading as an executive mentor for the Patti Grace Smith Fellowship program; advisory board member for the Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Foundation; and advisory board member for Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor society