Erin Weber; Clayton Mowry, Arianespace, Inc. President; Paloma Field; Ed Giovannini, Ericsson Vice President; Adriel Carreno; Dianne Vanbeber, SSPI Chairman of the Board and Intelsat Vice President of Investor Relations and Corporate Communications; Dr. David Whalen

[SatNews] The Society for Satellite Professionals International and guests gathered Tuesday night to recognize the next generation of satellite industry professionals.

On the eve of SATCON 2014, SSPI’s ninth annual Future Leaders Dinner honored three exceptional professionals under the age of 35. Those presented include: the Promise Award to Adriel Carreno, Missions and Programs Business Development Lead for Civil Programs at Boeing Network and Space Systems; Paloma Field, Engineer at GCI Communications Corp.; and Erin Weber, Lawyer at Hogan Lovells.

The Promise Award recognizes outstanding achievement and leadership potential in young individuals who “demonstrate initiative, innovation, creativity and problem-solving skills that positively impact their company’s financial performance, marketing effectiveness, technical advancement or research capabilities,” according to SSPI guidelines.

Dr. David Whalen (Left); Lou Zacharilla, SSPI Director of Development (Right)

Dr. David Whalen of the Department of Space Studies at the University of North Dakota was presented with the 2014 Mentor of the Year Award, having been nominated by his students. The former naval flight officer and U.S. Naval Observatory astronomer left such positions as VP of Engineering at Asiasat and Director at Lockheed Martin in order to fully devote himself to mentoring in 2007 when he joined the University of North Dakota.

"The Future Leaders Dinner is more than an award program," stated SSPI Executive Director Robert Bell. "The mission is to focus attention on attracting and retaining the next generation of satellite professionals."

"There are few people who know what we know," said SSPI Executive Director Robert Bell. "Here at SSPI, we've decided to do something about it."

The four award recipients were joined for dinner and drinks by over one hundred guests.

Robert Bell, SSPI Executive Director (Left); Silvano Payne, SatNews Publisher (Right)

Silvano Payne, SatNews Publisher, presented a Vinter’s Own Magnum from his winery to a winning raffle recipient, while spaceship centerpieces were also presented at random to a guest at each table. The event proceeds will fund SSPI’s educational, professional development, and industry growth initiatives. Sponsors for the event included Arianespace, Ericsson, Intelsat, Boeing, KPMG, and Artel.

(Left to Right) Vern Fotheringham, Bob Shuman, Susan Irwin, Penelope Longbottom

Companies and students interested in nominating a candidate can do so on the SatFuture infosite when SSPI announces the nomination period for 2015. For full biographies of the Promise and Mentor Award recipients, please visit the SSPI infosite.