Securing The High Ground – U.S. Priorities in Space

The importance of space has intensified – and so have the number of actors operating in the arenas of space commerce, exploration, and security. No longer an exclusive domain of scientific exploration and discovery, we are now reliant on space for an unprecedented amount of human activity. As space undergoes this transition from a realm of discovery to a crowded realm of security and commerce and even a war-fighting domain, who is defining the rules of the road for operating in space? What should U.S. priorities be in space? Join the World Affairs Council for a discussion on October 12 with Audrey M. Schaffer Director for Space Policy at the National Security Council, and Maj General Sandy Finan, Senior Advisor, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, on the future of U.S. space policy.

About the Speakers:

Audrey M. Schaffer is the Director for Space Policy at the National Security Council.  As the lead for national security space policy matters within the Executive Office of the President, and lead for space policy on the National Security Council staff, she advises the President of the United States and the National Security Advisor on military, intelligence, civil, and commercial space policies and strategies.  She works closely with the National Space Council, Office of Science and Technology Policy, Office of Management and Budget, and a range of U.S. government departments and agencies to develop and oversee implementation of national space policies and strategies.  

Ms. Schaffer previously served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense for over a decade, most recently as the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy.  While serving in the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Ms. Schaffer developed the legislative proposal that established the United States Space Force as the sixth branch of the Armed Forces; led the U.S. team that negotiated the first-ever United Nations space sustainability guidelines; drafted two national security space strategies; and planned and executed several Cabinet-level space tabletop exercises. 

Ms. Schaffer also has served in the Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance at the Department of State, where she established and led the Bureau’s first cyber international security policy team and cross-Bureau cyber security working group.  Ms. Schaffer began her government career as a Presidential Management Fellow with the Department of the Air Force.  

Ms. Schaffer holds a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a M.A. in International Science and Technology Policy from the George Washington University.  She lives with her family in Washington, D.C.  

Maj General Sandy Finan (USAF, Ret) served almost 35 years in the Air Force and is an Advisor at Pacific  Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). At PNNL she leads the DoD sub-sectors for nuclear, space, and  Cyber. She is an accomplished executive with 20+ years of senior leadership experience  organizing/directing technical and diverse operations. In addition to a nuclear and cyber background,  she has operational space experience and has commanded a Space Operations Squadron and deployed  to the combat zone for IRAQI and ENDURING FREEDOM as the Director of Space Forces. She has also  served as the Department of Defense Deputy Chief Information Officer (CIO) for Command, Control,  Communications, Computers and Information Infrastructure where she set strategy and policies for  design, architecture, security, cyber security, interoperability, and sustainment of critical  communications (including space) capabilities.