Sherlie's Home
Sherlie's Home
Sherlie's Home
Sherlie's Home
The first event conducted by IgnitedThinkers was in Vizag, India at Sherlie's Home. Using Estes model rockets and motors, the kids learned about the importance of aerodynamic principles and the basics of rocketry. Over 60 kids were able to see the launching of rockets and learn about the basics of physics in model rocketry. It was an amazing experience, and all the kids thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. Gitika Gorthi and Dr. Scribner are planning to conduct another workshop in the future to get these kids into space careers and to further the kids' understanding of rocketry in the future. IgnitedThinkers provided resources for kids to continue in model rocketry and space education, as well as giving awareness to these kids on how to get into the space industry.
Visit the Sherlie's Home website to donate to their home and help support these creative and intelligent kids with basic needs and school supplies: http://childrensfund.net/
This event was a proof of concept of future workshops IgnitedThinkers plans to host, and paves a pathway for future workshops for kids of all ages around the world.
The first event conducted by IgnitedThinkers was in Vizag, India at Sherlie's Home. Using Estes model rockets and motors, the kids learned about the importance of aerodynamic principles and the basics of rocketry. Over 60 kids were able to see the launching of rockets and learn about the basics of physics in model rocketry. It was an amazing experience, and all the kids thoroughly enjoyed the workshop. Gitika Gorthi and Dr. Scribner are planning to conduct another workshop in the future to get these kids into space careers and to further the kids' understanding of rocketry in the future. IgnitedThinkers provided resources for kids to continue in model rocketry and space education, as well as giving awareness to these kids on how to get into the space industry.
Visit the Sherlie's Home website to donate to their home and help support these creative and intelligent kids with basic needs and school supplies: http://childrensfund.net/
This event was a proof of concept of future workshops IgnitedThinkers plans to host, and paves a pathway for future workshops for kids of all ages around the world.
IgnitedThinkers
Let's Make Space Education Accessible to All
IgnitedThinkers' Leadership
Board of Directors
Founder & CEO
Gitika Gorthi
Ms. Gitika Gorthi is a Fulbright Research Scholar and graduate of Columbia University in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences with a B.S. in Biomedical Engineering and minor in Economics. Gitika is an aspiring aerospace physician, astronaut and medical innovator. Researching with NASA Ames Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine Space Medicine Center, Columbia Medical School, Harvard Medical School, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, Ms. Gorthi is working to advance medical technology by utilizing space's unique environment.
Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors
Dr. Jennifer Fogarty
Dr. Jennifer Fogarty is the Chief Scientific Officer at Translational Research Institute for Space Health. Most recently Dr. Fogarty served as the director of applied health and performance in extreme environments for Sophic Synergistics, LLC. She previously spent over 16 years with NASA supporting medical operations and the NASA Human Research Program (HRP), including three years as chief scientist and two years as deputy chief scientist.
Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors
Alan Anderson
Mr. Alan Anderson is a former Rachel Carson Middle School TechEd teacher and member of the National Association of Rocketry. He has a high powered rocketry license and expertise in education curriculum development in K-12 schools.
Mr. Anderson is the teacher, mentor, and friend who has inspired Gitika to build model rockets and pursue space sciences. He supported Gitika’s first event in IgnitedThinkers by completely funding all of the supplies and kits, & helped her attend the NASA Goddard Center SISTERS Program in the 7th-grade.
Board Member
Courtney Stadd
Mr. Stadd was founder and president of Capitol Alliance Solutions, LLC, a Washington, DC, area based management consulting services firm established in 1993 with a diverse range of public and private sector clients in aerospace (space and ground-based), satellite imagery and navigation, and other high technology initiatives.
His senior federal positions include: Chief of Staff/White House Liaison, NASA (2001-03); the White House (1989-92) where he was Senior Director/Commercial Space and chaired an interagency group focused on the drafting of numerous Presidential policy space-related directives; US Department of Transportation (1986-88) — direct report to the Secretary as head of the regulatory and advocacy office for licensing commercial space launch vehicles and spaceports; U.S. Department of Commerce (1984-86) — advised the Office of the Secretary on matters relating to space technology commercialization and helped establish the Office of Space Commerce; NASA HQ (1992-93) – Deputy Associate Administrator for Advanced Concepts and special assistant to the Administrator.
Board Member
John Hines
Mr. John Hines is the founder of the non-profit organization The Hines Family Foundation, which uses space missions and technologies to help students advance their 21st century career capabilities by learning how to dream, design, and do.
Previously, Mr. Hines was the Chief Technologist for the NASA Ames Research Center.
Prior to assuming the position as ARC Chief Technologist, John was Chief Technologist in the ARC Engineering Directorate.
Board Member
Christina Korp
Ms. Christina Korp is an astronaut manager, space advisor and the president of Purpose Entertainment. For ten years she managed Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin and launched his education foundations – ShareSpace and the Aldrin Family Foundation. She produced the last five galas at Kennedy Space Center celebrating Apollo 11 and the Webby winning and Emmy nominated, “Cycling Pathways to Mars” VR experience.
She is passionate about promoting ways space benefits the planet and people every day and promoting women’s issues. She spearheaded projects in 2020 to celebrate the Women’s Vote Centennial in the USA. She leads SPACE For a Better World producing events and experiences that raise money for partner charities. She currently works with Apollo 16 moon walker Charlie Duke and NASA astronaut and aquanaut Nicole Stott.
Board Member
Brittany Greer
Ms. Brittany Greer is the Founder and CEO of Rosie Riveters. Rosie Riveters is a 501c3 nonprofit whose mission is to equip and empower preschool to middle school girls from diverse backgrounds to be strong, confident, and competent in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) by providing a fun space to imagine, learn, build, and play.
IgnitedThinkers has partnered with the Rosie Riveters in fostering the spread of space education and inspiring girls around the world.
Advisors
Advisor
Shelli Brunswick
Ms. Shelli Brunswick is the COO of Space Foundation, where she brings a broad perspective and deep vision of the global space ecosystem — from a distinguished career as a space acquisition and program management leader and congressional liaison for the U.S. Air Force to her current role, including overseeing Center for Innovation and Education, Symposium 365, and Global Alliance.
As a leading role model for women in space, Ms. Brunswick was selected as the 2020 Diversity and Inclusion Officer and Role Model of the Year by WomenTech Network and a Woman of Influence by the Colorado Springs Business Journal. Ms. Brunswick chairs the Women in Aerospace Foundation, chairs Space Entrepreneurship at Tod’Aers, and hosts the Women’s Global Gathering annually at Space Symposium.
Advisor
Oren E. Whyche-Shaw
Ms. Oren Whyche-Shaw most recently was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2022 as board member of the African Development Bank representing the United States of America. She retired in June 2023. Prior to her role at the AfDB, she was the U.S. Agency for International Development’s Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of sub-Saharan Africa. Concurrently, she held the positions of Interagency Coordinator for President Obama’s Partnership in Growth and then, Coordinator for the Trade Africa Initiative. Before joining USAID in 2011, Ms. Whyche-Shaw was the Director for the Office of African Nations at the U.S. Treasury. Over and above those responsibilities, Oren conceived and Initiated implementation of the U.S. African Mortgage Markets Initiative announced by President Bush. Furthermore, she is a member of the Planetary Society, as well as the Overview Roundtable. She has flown on a Zero-G Flight and was awarded “The Right Stuff” medal at the Advanced Adult Space Camp.
Leadership
Founder & CEO
Gitika Gorthi
Ms. Gitika Gorthi is a sophomore attending Columbia University in the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences as a C. Prescott Davis Scholar studying biomedical engineering and economics. Gitika is an aspiring aerospace physician, astronaut, and medical innovator. Researching with NASA Ames Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine Space Medicine Center, Columbia Medical School, Harvard Medical School, and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mt. Sinai, Ms. Gorthi is working to advance medical technology by utilizing space's unique environment.
Operations Director
Sangu Reshmy
Ms. Sangu Reshmy is a high school student graduating in 2026. She's been a part of Ignited Thinkers for the past 2 years and has been involved with our International programs and our upcoming National program! She hopes her involvement in this organization will help her learn more about the aerospace industry, as well as help make an impact on students around the world and increase their interest in this vast field. She will pursue a career in Astrophysics in the future, and is so excited to continue working with Ignited Thinkers for the years to come!
Secretary
Jasmine Singh
Ms. Jasmine Singh is a graduate student at the University of Texas at San Antonio and is in the combined UTSA/SwRI Space Physics graduate program working on NASA’S Europa Clipper mission. She is a recent Purdue graduate and science communicator, having received her Bachelors degree in planetary science with a double major in atmospheric science. Since she was a child, she has been passionate about space, particularly the search for life beyond Earth. She is pursuing a career in planetary science, with the hopes of becoming an astrobiologist at NASA, working on astrobiology-focused missions such as Europa Clipper, JUICE, or exoplanet-based habitability research. She has interned with NASA, alongside working on various planetary science research projects as an undergrad, even presenting her work at the 2022 Division of Planetary Sciences conference. Aside from research, Jasmine is an established online science communicator. Using Twitter as her primary platform, shares the latest NASA news and discoveries, along with general astronomy-oriented content to inform the public and get them excited about the latest frontier of space exploration.
Treasurer
Sophia Jones
Ms. Sophia Jones is a Stanford University graduate student who pursued her B.S. in Physics with an Astrophysics concentration and is pursuing her M.A in Public Policy with a Science and Technology concentration.
Additionally, Ms. Jones is a volunteer for the National Space Society as a Debate Coach and will be a business operations intern at SpaceX this summer. Previously, Ms. Jones was a Space Policy Intern at the Aerospace Corporation and Space for Humanity. She used to Co-Lead the Space Policy team at Stanford Space Initiative and was an intern at NASA Ames Research Center.
National Events Director
Naina Bose
Ms. Naina Bose is a senior at Mclean High School in Northern Virginia. She became interested in Aerospace Engineering after watching Top Gun during her Freshman year of High School. Naina became interested in engineering after she built her first project, a ‘knight light’. Infatuated with the experience of feeling what she was building come to life, she believed everybody else should get a chance to experience the same. Through bits of volunteering, she got closer to this impact; from fixing old laptops from her school community in Singapore to sending them to schools in Cambodia to participating in Ignited Thinkers. She strives to spread the delight of hands-on learning to all.
International Events Director
Ira Sharma
Ms. Ira Sharma is a 19-year-old A-Levels Graduate from Kathmandu, Nepal. With a keen interest in Space and Science, Ira has worked at Antarikchya Pratisthan Nepal (Space Foundation Nepal) as a Satellite Research Fellow over the past year. She has also been involved in training students of Grade 6 and above from all over Nepal through short boot camps and training programs to uplift the interests of youths in Nepal. As a strong advocate for making STEM education accessible for all, she has also represented Nepal in national and international conferences contributing to policy making and collaborating to curate space projects. She hopes to begin her undergraduate studies in Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering this coming year.
Social Media Director
Jessica D'Urbano
Ms. Jessica D'Urbano is an Italian Medical Doctor and Occupational Medicine Resident. She is a Space Medicine Research Fellow of ASRI, Advanced SpaceLife Research Institute.
Jessica is always looking for international collaborations to learn and exchange knowledge and backgrounds from different cultures. She's the Communications Lead of NASA GeneLab ALSDA and Multi-Omics Analysis Working Groups, where researchers can explore GeneLab datasets in the Data Repository and create collaborative projects.
This year Jessica has been selected as one of the members of NASA Space App Collective 2024-2025 Cohort. Together they're learning how to use NASA data to advance its mission priorities and make a difference both locally and globally.
Kenya Coordinator
Bram Nakholi
Mr. Bram Nakholi is an astrophysics and space science graduate with a passion for space exploration and science communication. He is currently an intern at the CEMASTEA (Centre for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education in Africa), where he hosts a Space Science podcast aimed at inspiring young kenyan minds. As the Director of the Kenya Space Society, a membership-driven community dedicated to raising awareness about space sciences and engineering in Kenya, Bramuel is committed to fostering interest in aerospace, astronomy and other space related fields. He aspires to inspire the next generation of Kenyan youth to pursue careers in space, leveraging initiatives like Ignited Thinkers to broaden the reach and impact of his work.