About
USTLC Leadership
Dr. Eric Haseltine, PhD – Chairman of the Board
Dr. Eric Haseltine is a neuroscientist and futurist who has applied a brain-centered approach to help organizations in aerospace, entertainment, healthcare, consumer products and national security transform and innovate. He is the author of Long Fuse, Big Bang: Achieving Long-Term Success Through Daily Victories.. For five years, he wrote a monthly column on the brain for Discover magazine and is a frequent contributor to Psychology Today’s web site, where his popular blog on the brain has garnered over 800,000 views. Dr. Haseltine received the Distinguished Psychologist in Management Award from the Society of Psychologists in Management and has published 41 patents and patent applications in optics, media and entertainment technology.
In 1992 he joined Walt Disney Imagineering to help found the Virtual Reality Studio, which he ultimately ran until his departure from Disney in 2002. When he left Disney, Dr. Haseltine was executive vice president of Imagineering and head of R&D for the entire Disney Corporation, including film, television, theme parks, Internet and consumer products. In the aftermath of 9/11, Dr. Haseltine joined the National Security Agency to run its Research Directorate. Three years later, he was promoted to associate director and CTO for national intelligence at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, where he oversaw all science and technology efforts within the United States Intelligence Community as well as fostering development innovative new technologies for countering cyber threats and terrorism. For his work on counter-terrorism technologies, he received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal in 2007.
Dr. Haseltine serves on numerous boards, and is an active consultant, speaker and writer. Over the past three years, he has focused heavily on developing innovation strategies and consumer applications for the Internet of Things, virtual reality and augmented reality. Dr. Haseltine continues to do basic research in neuroscience, with his most recent publications focusing on the mind-body health connection and exploitation of big-data to uncover subtle, but important trends in mental and physical health.
Dr. David Bray. PhD – Distinguished Moderator
Dr. David A. Bray, PhD, holds several positions, including Distinguished Fellow at the non-partisan Henry L. Stimson Center, non-resident Distinguished Fellow with the Business Executives for National Security, and transformation leader for different “under the radar” tech and data ventures seeking to get started in novel situations. David enjoys creative problem-solving linking public and private endeavors. He began working for the U.S. government at age 15 on computer simulations at a high-energy physics facility investigating quarks and neutrinos. In later roles, he designed new telemedicine interfaces and space-based forest fire forecasting prototypes for the Department of Defense.
Dr. Ronald Epstein. PhD – Distinguished Moderator
Dr. Ronald Epstein, PhD is a top ranked sell-side equity research professional covering US and Global Aerospace, Defense and Industrial companies. Strategic thinker with deep industry knowledge, insight and perspective. Number 1 ranked in the Institutional Investor All America Research Team for the last 5 years and top 3 for the last 10 years. Experienced public speaker and media commentator regularly appearing on CNBC, Bloomberg and other news media outlets. Work experience includes investment research, financial analysis, valuation, fundamental aerospace research, aerospace engineering & product development and teaching university level engineering curriculum. Broad base of contacts and relationships across both the private and government sectors.
Dr. Epstein joined Merrill Lynch in July 2001, immediately after receiving an MBA in finance from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from New York’s Skidmore College and a master’s degree and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Duke University in North Carolina. Before he became an equity analyst, Epstein worked as a research scientist at Chicago-based Boeing Co., the world’s largest aerospace company.
Dr. Michael Hsieh, PhD – Distinguished Moderator
Dr. Michael Hsieh is Executive Director of the Transformative Cyber Innovation Lab, a project of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where he is focused on fielding rapid technology transitions to improve the state of cybersecurity at the whole-of-institution and whole-of-society level.
Previously, he was a program manager at DARPA, where he led multiple programs in secure data, secure computation and data analytics at scale. He has held senior technical positions at Science Applications International Corporation and Booz Allen Hamilton, where he supported a variety of projects at DARPA and IARPA.
He received a Ph.D. in chemistry from Princeton University, where he was an NDSEG Fellow. He received a dual B.A. in economics and mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a minor certificate in business administration at the Haas School of Business. He is a recipient of the Office of the Secretary of Defense Award for Outstanding Achievement and a CFR-Hitachi Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations.
Dr. Robert Hummel, PhD – Distinguished Moderator
Dr. Robert Hummel received his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Minnesota in the field of Partial Differential Equations, and served as a faculty member at NYU’s Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences from 1980 to 1997, where he became a tenured professor of Computer Science. His research spanned areas of computer vision and image processing, parallel computing, and uncertainty reasoning. His sponsored research centered on topics of automatic target recognition and imagery analysis. In 1997, he joined DARPA as a program manager in the Information Systems Office, and spent nearly nine years managing and initiating DARPA projects in information exploitation, to include development and applications of automatic target recognition, ladar sensors and ladar data processing, object recognition, and computer science research projects, as well as serving as technical coordinator and communications specialist of four successive DARPATech symposium. He also initiated and led from the DARPA side a group that established an MOU between DARPA and NGA. In 2005, he received the DARPA Director’s Award. In 2006, he joined the consulting firm of Booz Allen Hamilton as a Principal, where he worked with groups serving the Intelligence Community (IARPA), and worked with the commercial arm of the firm (which became Booz and Co.). In 2009 he joined the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, where he is Vice President of Research and Chief Scientist. His current work is principally in the areas of policies and strategies for members of the office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering.
Dr. Jerry Krassner, PhD – Distinguished Moderator
Dr. Krassner has almost 40 years of experience in the aerospace community, focused on R&D in support of aerospace and national security applications. He received his PhD in Physics and Astronomy from the University of Rochester, where his research investigated star formation regions using a range of ground and airborne radio and infrared telescopes. Following that, he held successive program management, business development, and Vice President positions at several well-known companies. He was Chief Scientist of a space office in the intelligence community, where he investigated and assessed new approaches to situational awareness in response to the changing strategic space environment.
Dr. Krassner is a co-founder, and past national chairman, of the MASINT Association (now ATIA). He is a former member of the USAF Scientific Advisory Board and currently a member of a Strategic Independent Review Team within the intelligence community. He has participated in (and directed) a number of studies with the JASONs. Currently he supports DARPA and other agencies, as well as consulting to industry on new technology applications. Dr. Krassner is well-known within the national security space community, including as the organizer of an annual classified conference that addresses technology development for space situational awareness.
Lieutenant General Raymond P. Palumbo, (Ret.) – Distinguished Moderator
LTG “Ray” Palumbo, (Ret.) is founder and senior partner at Venturi Solutions LLC., a consultancy that delivers winning solutions in the aerospace, defense, and intelligence sectors. LTG Palumbo serves as the Co-Chairman of Defence Unlimited International Corp. He also serves as a Director of The Boulder Crest Retreat for Wounded Warriors. He currently serves as director or advisor on the boards of several aerospace, defense, and software companies. His philanthropic endeavors include service as a director a privately-funded wellness center dedicated to improving the physical, emotional, spiritual, and economic wellbeing of nations’ combat veterans and their families.
LTG Palumbo, (Ret.) served as Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Intelligence) for Warfighter Support, while simultaneously serving as Director, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Task Force. He spent most of his 34-year military career leading both special operations and conventional military forces during peacetime and in combat. Over his career he participated in military operations in the Persian Gulf during the Iran-Iraq War, the US invasion of Panama, peace operations in the Balkans, and counter-terrorist operations in the Middle East, Africa, South America, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
LTG Palumbo achieved a Bachelor of Science Degree from the United States Military Academy, a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the United States Army War College. Among other military, academic course work, he also graduated from the British Higher Command and Staff Course in England.
The Honorable Alan R. Shaffer – Distinguished Moderator
The Honorable Alan R. Shaffer previously served as the Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (A&S) from January 2019 to January 20, 2021. He was responsible to the Under Secretary of Defense (A&S) for all matters pertaining to acquisition; contract administration; logistics and materiel readiness; installations and environment; operational energy; chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons; the acquisition workforce; and the defense industrial base. During this period, he concurrently served as Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense. Shaffer earned a BS degree in mathematics from the University of Vermont in 1976, a second BS degree in meteorology from the University of Utah, an MS degree in meteorology from the Naval Postgraduate School, and an MS degree in National Resource Strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces.
Ms. Guinevere Meyer – Director of Operations
With a strong background in communications and administration encompassing print media, radio and video production, Guinevere Meyer, a native Washingtonian, has a reputation for action. She is a team player who is committed — from conception to completion — to getting the job done. Since 2009 Gwen has worked with the Yellow Ribbon Fund to welcome wounded warriors home and in keeping the family unit together during the critical recuperation and recovery phase. Gwen supports USTLC managing the day-to-day administrative and financial operations of USTLC.