Mission2Mars is a nationwide engagement program catalyzing community partnerships across the country around NASA's space exploration agenda, connecting the public with its Moon-to-Mars missions and learning resources.
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Meet Our Team
Darryl N. Williams, Ph. D.
Principal Investigator; Senior Vice President of Science and Education
Dr. Williams is the Senior Vice President of Science and Education at The Franklin Institute and Principal Investigator (PI) of Mission2Mars. He oversees the M2M project at the leadership level, advancing the project as an institutional priority.
Derrick Pitts
Co-Principal Investigator; Planetarium Programs Director & Chief Astronomer
Derrick Pitts is Planetarium Program Director/Chief Astronomer at The Franklin Institute and Co-PI/Content Director for Mission2Mars. Dr. Pitts provides overall strategic and operational oversight with an emphasis on the program's astronomy and space exploration content.
Chris Lauf
Director of Education Programs
Chris is the Director of Education Programs at The Franklin Institute and guides the Mission2Mars team in project operations, including overseeing the evaluation efforts and team management.
Andrea Foster
Assistant Director of National and Network Education Programs
Andrea is the Assistant Director of National and Network Education Programs at the Franklin Institute and Project Manager for Mission to Mars. She oversees program development, processes, and overall project management and logistics.
Hollie Barattolo
Assistant Director of Professional Development
As Assistant Director of Professional Development at The Franklin Institute, Hollie leads the Mission2Mars team in the creation and facilitation of content trainings and professional development.
Rachel Castro-Diephouse
Senior Manager of Learning Experiences
Rachel is the Senior Manager of Learning Experiences at The Franklin Institute and for the Mission2Mars project. Rachel leads content selection and curation, and guides the development of trainings to support participating sites in program delivery.
Michael "Cabbie" Cabán
Programs Coordinator
As Programs Coordinator at The Franklin Institute, Cabbie works with Out-of-School Time organizations in the Philadelphia community to implement local Mission2Mars programming.
Alison Hassman
Education Programs Coordinator
As Education Programs Coordinator at The Franklin Institute, Alison supports the budgetary, materials, and network management of the local and national programs.
Acknowlegments
Mission2Mars is made possible by NASA under grant number 80NSSC21M0083. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the view of NASA.