Mission
Advisors

Mission Advisor

David Adler is the founder and CEO of BizBash, a leading resource for event organizers and professionals in North America. With decades of experience in the events industry, Adler has transformed how businesses approach strategic gatherings and experiential marketing. Before founding BizBash, he served as the owner of Adler's Lighting and Washington Inc. magazine.

As a strategic events visionary, David brings unparalleled expertise in creating impactful, large-scale gatherings that drive business objectives and cultural transformation. His understanding of how to design experiences that facilitate meaningful connections between diverse stakeholders is essential for TSAS, which aims to unite traditional aerospace, emerging space companies, and adjacent industries.

David's insights into event architecture and attendee engagement will ensure TSAS delivers exceptional ROI for participants while establishing itself as the premier global gathering for the space economy.

Mission Advisor

Lee Zeidman is one of America's most accomplished arena executives, serving as President of Crypto.com Arena, Peacock Theater and L.A. LIVE — the sports, residential and entertainment district in Los Angeles. Lee oversees all venue event operations including guest services, booking, box office, event security, event staffing, guest relations, facility presentation, marketing, communications, hospitality and food and beverage services.

Under his leadership, the venues have hosted seven NBA Finals, two Stanley Cup Finals and five WNBA Finals — with the home teams winning seven NBA Championships, two Stanley Cup Championships and three WNBA Championships. His events portfolio spans the Grammy Awards, the Democratic National Convention, and hundreds of major concerts and productions alongside the Los Angeles Kings, Lakers, and Sparks.

Lee has received the Stadium Business Awards Outstanding Achievement Award, the ALSD Bill Dorsey Visionary Award, the IIFX Hall of Fame inaugural induction, and the Green Sports Alliance Environmental Leadership Award — recognition spanning 45 years of operational excellence in the live events industry.

Mission Advisor

Jordan Evans is a distinguished aerospace executive with nearly 35 years of leadership across NASA flagship missions, advanced space science programs, and national and international partnerships. Evans is widely recognized for leadership in high-stakes, complex programs including the $5.2B Europa Clipper Mission, Mars Science Laboratory — Curiosity Rover, and flagship observatories such as Hubble Wide Field Camera-3, GLAST/FERMI, and LISA.

Mr. Evans most recently led the successful development and launch of the Europa Clipper mission, the largest planetary spacecraft in NASA's history, now on its way to explore a distant ocean world. This flagship NASA mission carries a suite of nine cutting-edge scientific instruments to explore Europa, widely regarded as the most likely place in the solar system beyond Earth to have life.

Mr. Evans is currently the Deputy Director for Flight Projects at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He is an internationally recognized speaker and accomplished musician, regularly performing with big bands, small jazz ensembles, and a Rush tribute band. He also serves as a science consultant for major motion pictures and television through the National Academy of Sciences' Science & Entertainment Exchange.

Mission Advisor

Commander Susan Kilrain is a retired U.S. Navy Commander and former NASA astronaut who has flown to space twice aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-83 and STS-94). As one of only three women to ever pilot the Space Shuttle, Kilrain brings exceptional operational space experience and technical knowledge. Before joining NASA, she served as a test pilot in the U.S. Navy and has logged over 3,000 flight hours in more than 30 different aircraft.

Commander Kilrain's background as both a Space Shuttle pilot and Navy test pilot positions her at the unique intersection of military, government, and civilian space operations. Her firsthand experience in space missions provides TSAS with authentic insights into human spaceflight operations and the technical challenges of space exploration.

As an accomplished female leader in aerospace and STEM advocate — including a published children's book inspiring the next generation — Commander Kilrain's dynamic speaking abilities and extensive public outreach experience will significantly enhance TSAS's educational initiatives, particularly those focused on engaging young minds with the excitement and possibilities of space exploration.

Mission Advisor

Captain Christopher J. Cassidy, USN (Ret.) is one of the most decorated figures in American military and space history — a combat-proven Navy SEAL and NASA astronaut who has logged nearly 378 days in space across three missions to the International Space Station, including command of Expedition 63.

Cassidy served 11 years in the SEAL Teams before his selection as a NASA astronaut in 2004. He graduated as Honor Man of BUD/S Class 192 and earned two Bronze Stars — including one with Combat "V" — for commanding a high-profile special operations mission along the Afghanistan–Pakistan border in the aftermath of 9/11. He accumulated several hundred hours piloting a special operations mini-submarine and completed 10 spacewalks totaling over 54 hours outside the ISS.

After retiring from NASA in 2021, Cassidy became President & CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum in Texas. He holds a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.S. in Ocean Engineering from MIT.

Captain Cassidy brings to TSAS the rare perspective of someone who has operated at the absolute edge of human performance — in combat, underwater, and in orbit. His leadership in both national security and space exploration embodies the mission TSAS advances: building a safe, cooperative, and ambitious future beyond Earth.