Join guest host Aaron Prather and Capt. Barbara Bell, U.S. Navy (Ret.), as she shares her remarkable journey — from entering the U.S. Naval Academy to serving as a Naval Aviator and Flight Test Officer, and now shaping the next generation as a professor of Leadership and Ethics at the Naval Academy. 

Together, they explore the lessons learned in the cockpit and the classroom, and how navigating turbulence — both in flight and in life — can inspire stronger, more resilient leaders.

Join Bill and Nora as they talk with Cmdr. Kilrain about her career and how she got into STEM.

Commander Susan Kilrain is a renowned astronaut, a distinguished navy test pilot, and author. She is the youngest person, and one of only three women, to pilot the space shuttle. She served 20 years in the Navy, paving the way for women. She has flown more than 3,000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft, and she was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal. Susan flew as pilot of STS-83 and STS-94, spending more than 20 days in space. Her first mission was cut short due to a potentially life-threatening shuttle system failure.

When not training for a space flight, she worked in Mission Control during the launches and landings for other space shuttle missions. She has also worked at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC in the offices of Safety and Legislative Affairs. Prior to joining the Navy, Susan was a wind tunnel project officer at Lockheed Corporation and earned her master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Susan is currently a motivational speaker, venture partner, and consultant, specializing in encouraging young women and underprivileged teens to excel in STEM careers. She has been a board member for private companies, universities, and non-profits. She is currently a Partner at New North Ventures. Susan has recently written a children’s book, An Unlikely Astronaut.

Join Nora and Bill as they talk with Lt. Alteri about his amazing experiences in the Navy.

Lieutenant Santino Alteri is a native of Watertown, New York. He earned a BA in Criminal Justice from Alvernia University (PA) and an MBA from Salem International University (WV). He received his commission as a Surface Warfare Officer from OCS (RI) and reported to USS Chafee (DDG 90) in Hawaii as both the Electrical and Key Management Infrastructure Officer. He served on several deployments to the C7F AOR. For his second tour, LT Alteri reported to USS Manchester (LCS 14) and USS Cincinnati (LCS 20) in California as both the First Lieutenant and Assistant Operations Officer. He was primarily tasked with certifying the Navy’s first MCM Mission Package, which directly led to the achievement of its Initial Operational Capability. Ashore, LT Alteri was a primary selectee for the Purdue Military Research Institute (PMRI) through Talent Management and earned his PhD in Technology. He will report to the Department Head School (RI) in January 2025 and his follow-on assignment will be aboard USS Delbert Black (DDG 119) in Florida as the Weapons Officer. His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, and various unit awards.

Dr. Stephen H. Rapp was born in Huntingdon, PA, USA.  He was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Finance.  He became a Marine Officer specializing in armor, amphibious assault and space defense.  He supported combat operations in Beirut and Grenada and participated in combat during Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.  He attended the Naval Postgraduate School graduating with a Master of Science in Operations Research, specializing in Engineering Optimization.  His thesis, a discrete network optimization for rapid mobilization won the MORS - Tisdale Award for “the thesis most likely to improve national defense” and later the INFORMS - Koopman Prize.
He is currently the lead scientist and technical specialist for supporting Army ground vehicle trade studies and applied mathematical research for improving tradespace analytics.  He is also, currently the Director for the MS in Systems Engineering at Wayne State University, teaching in the evenings on the web.

Dr. Alexander Stimpson, Ph.D.
Dr. Stimpson received his Ph.D. and S.M. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a B.S. from the University of Florida in Biological Engineering. His background is in applied artificial intelligence, human-automation interaction, human cognitive modeling, and supervisory control systems. He has worked extensively in autonomous systems, with experience across undersea, surface, ground, rail, and air domains. Today he is Chief Scientist at VTG, a national security provider.

RADM Jim Shannon, USN (Ret)
RADM Shannon was a career surface warfare officer with command experience at sea and at the major command level (Echelon III). He led all tactical warfare training for prospective surface warfare department heads (1994) and was a Major Program Manager for future combat system architecture development under PEO Integrated Warfare Systems (2003-2007). Today he is an executive with VTG, a national security provider.

Join Nora and Bill with their guest, CDR Ian Underwood.  They discuss Ian's journey in STEM where he embraces his wanderlust and leaves college to enlist and then comes back later to finish his degree.  He relates how real-world experience doing hard and dirty jobs helped him find his path where now he leads teams of people to keep the critical infrastructure of Navy bases operating every day.

Biography
Commander Underwood is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and a 2007 graduate of North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering. He holds a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina. He commissioned through the Seaman-to-Admiral 21 program after serving as an Engineering Aide.

CDR Underwood’s operational tours include crew supervisor, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7; platoon commander and Officer-in-Charge of Detail Haiti, Amphibious Construction Battalion 2; and Force Readiness Officer, 1st Naval Construction Division. 

His shore assignments include construction manager, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Public Works Officer, Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.; Professor of Contracting and Facilities Engineering at the Defense Acquisition University; and Resident Officer in Charge of Construction at Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Maryland; and Assistant Operations Officer for NAVFAC EURAFCENT in Naples, Italy. He assumed his current role of Public Works Officer, Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island in July 2023.

CDR Underwood is a registered professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps, a qualified Seabee Combat Warfare Officer, and a certified Project Management Professional.

Join Bill and Nora with their guest, Grant Vermeer.  They discuss Grant's journey in the cyber world of the Navy through the Naval Academy and beyond.  Plus, hear how Grant was successful in college basketball while doing a rigorous STEM degree.

Biography
Grant is a graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory and the great class of 2017 from the United States Naval Academy.  During his time at the Naval Academy, Grant was a cyber operations major and a four-year member of the basketball team.  He was then commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community and served in support of Submarine Operations.

After separating from the Navy, he entered the world of self employment.  He currently works in the Residential Real Estate business as a partner in The Vermeer Group, which services California and Texas. He is also the founder of Academy Insider.  Academy Insider is a recognized 501(c)(3) that guides, serves, and supports Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families. 

Join Nora and Bill as they talk with their guest, Dr. John Cordle, about his path from an interest in dinosaurs to nuclear propulsion and being the Captain of a ship.

Dr. Cordle is the senior Human Factors Engineer at Commander Naval Surface Forces. He is a retired Navy Captain (nuclear trained) who had Command of USS SAN JACINTO and USS OSCAR AUSTIN. He is the principal advisor to the Commander Naval Surface Force Atlantic for Human Factors and Human Systems Integration (HFE/HSI) matters. He establishes and implements human factors measures, analysis and team/individual performance improvement. He is the Navy's lead with Dr. Shattuck in Human Performance Shaping and Crew Endurance for ship operations.

Join Bill and Nora as they talk with their guest, Dan Skane, about how he was influenced by his Father and Grandfather.

Dan Skane is an executive level manager with proven expertise leading multi-disciplined engineering teams in developing innovative solutions and rapidly delivering cost effective operational capability for the Department of Defense and Naval Aviation. He started his career as an Aerospace Engineer, and later became a program manager working on a variety of Navy aircraft and weapon systems. As an engineer, he held positions in aerodynamics,  test & evaluation, logistics, and systems engineering. As a program manager, he led the development and production of a variety of Naval Aviation systems such as, Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Aerial Targets and Decoys, Combat Electronics, and Nuclear Command, Control & Communications Aircraft. Later in his career, he served as the Director of Acquisition Management for the Naval Air Warfare Center (Aircraft Division), and Deputy Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Systems Integration and Autonomy.  In 2023 he retired from civil service and is now a Senior Manager for Navy & Marine Corps Programs for Torch Technologies, an engineering services company providing research, development, and engineering services to the Federal Government and Department of Defense.

Join Bill and Nora as they talk with their guest, Deklan Hoff, about how the Marines work with the Army and Navy.

Deklan Hoff spent 4 years on Active duty in the Marine Corps as a Chemical Biological Radioactive Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Specialist. He is now pursuing a career as a Contractor for the Navy as a Program Analyst in the civilian sector. Throughout his career he has led multiple teams in hazardous environments, including time spent training with Pentagon Force protection Agency (PFPA), the Secret Service, and FDNY. In his free time, he plays hockey actively and is pursuing his college degree to further his education.

Join Nora and Bill as they talk with their guest, Ana Borja, about how she got into a human factors career.

Ana Borja has over 25 years of experience as a Human Factors Engineer and works at the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command as the Human Systems Integration (HSI) Technical Warrant Holder. She has served as a Senior Research Scientist at the Space & Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, conducting analysis to develop warfighter-centric and innovative Naval systems. She has worked as a Senior Systems Engineer / Human Factors Engineer for Raytheon, Intel, Xerox, Epson, GE Information Services, and contractor for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Join Nora and Bill with their guest, Tyler Truslow.  Tyler works at Naval Surface Warfare Center Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) where he leads all K-12 and college programs for STEM engagement. Tyler started at NSWCDD as USNA/ROTC STEM intern. He is very involved with the local community, which includes leading a STEM Cohort for Dahlgren Heritage Museum.  

Join Bill and Nora with their guest Alan Dean.  

Alan was employed at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Dahlgren Division (NSWCDD) of the Naval Sea Systems Command from 1974 through 2017. His final assignment was to serve as the Head, Workforce Directorate for the NAVSEA Warfare Centers. Prior to that appointment, he served as the Deputy NAVSEA Warfare Center Workforce Executive and Branch Head for the Surface Anti-Submarine Warfare Program from 2003 to 2007 and for the SLBM Engineering and Facilities Branch from 1992 to 2000. He also served as the Chief Learning Officer of NSWCDD from 2000 through 2003.  Alan earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Lowell Technological Institute in Lowell MA. 

Since retiring and joining the Volunteer Emeritus Corp, Alan have given several Dahlgren History talks to new employees, was a technical advisor for the Dahlgren Centennial Film, provided mentoring to many Dahlgren employees in the early or mid-career, developed and presented a Succession Planning for Supervisors briefing at NAVSEA and one on Creativity in an Engineering Environment. In addition, Alan teaches at UMW in an adjunct capacity since 1996 for Computer Science and Math department. He is currently teaching Computer Ethics (CPSC302) at the University of Mary Washington 

Join Bill with his guest, Dr. Tan Deleon, as they take things underwater.

Dr. Tanimu "Tan" Deleon has a Master of Science in Computer Engineering and a Philosophy Doctoral degree in Biomedical Engineering.  Dr. Deleon has almost two decades of experience in research and development, information technology, submarine design & manufacturing, and human factors.  Dr. Deleon has presented at conferences, symposiums, invited talks, and published in peer reviewed journals.  Additionally, Dr. Deleon is a member of the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering (https://www.ctcase.org/), the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (https://www.hfes.org/home), the Biomedical Engineering Society (https://www.bmes.org/), and the American Society of Testing and Material (https://www.astm.org/). Under the auspices of the Connecticut Academy of Sciences and Engineering, Dr. Deleon serves on the Governance Council and starting in July of 2024, Dr. Deleon will be the newly elected Secretary for the academy.  Furthermore, Dr. Deleon serves as host for the academy's podcast.  With respect to ASTM, Dr. Deleon has served as lead of the ergonomics subcommittee for F48.02.  Lastly, as lead, Dr. Deleon has written and/or overseen the publishing of several standards for F48.02. 

Join Nora and Bill as they learn how turning trash into treasure leads to designing technology that fits people.  Today we talk to our guest, Daniel Wallace.

Daniel Wallace is recently semi-retired from the Navy and was the Technical Warrant Holder for Displays and Human Factors Engineering for the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) for 12 years.  In his role as a Technical Warrant holder, he was responsible to assist acquisition programs in balancing operational, technical, and programmatic requirements against human performance demands.  His PhD is in Cognitive Experimental Psychology from the University of Maryland, with a focus on Human Factors engineering.  He has worked for IBM and a Navy defense contractor before joining the Navy in 1996.  He has been instrumental in developing a number of the critical specifications, standards, processes, policy, tools, and practices for DoD human factors, but he is quick to acknowledge that this business is a team sport, and these products are community effort.  When not doing human factors, he is active in community STEM outreach, serving on his local county school board, and doing volunteer disaster relief.  Oh, and he has been known to make a balloon animal or two.  While Daniel may have retired from government service, he continues to work part-time with Basic Commerce and Industries.

Join Bill as he talks with his guest, Jose Vazquez, about his career in the military and civilian side of the Navy.

Biography:
Jose Vazquez’s public sector career includes nearly 15 years leading technology development programs that advance capabilities for U.S. soldiers and first responders. The commercialization of more than a dozen defense and security products reflects Jose Vazquez ’s ability to combine product innovation and usability. 

As a director at both the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), Jose Vazquez drove rapid spiral technology development and worked closely with users to optimize new products for their operational requirements. 

During his two decades of U.S. Navy service, Jose Vazquez held engineering and weapons systems responsibilities that culminated as second in command of an AEGIS cruiser. Jose also operated, maintained, and fielded engineering, communications, and advanced computer systems during his U.S. Navy career. 

 Jose holds a B.S. degree in physical science from the U.S. Naval Academy, and an M.S. degree from the Naval Postgraduate School in applied science (underwater physics). 

 His professional recognition includes receiving the secretary of Homeland Security Excellence Award for fielding technologies.

Join Bill and Nora as they talk with their guest, John J. Pennella, about the exciting things he did for the Navy during his 45-year career. 

Biography:
John Pennella retired from a 45-year career with the Federal Government and the private sector.   Graduating with degrees in engineering from both George Washington University and the University of Connecticut, he pursued a career in engineering inspired by his love of mathematics and science along with his desire to apply those disciplines to solving problems.  Throughout his career he has led both small teams and large groups in providing innovative technical solutions to a diverse set of complex operational problems, including bomb and drug detection, remote vehicle development and deployment, operational equipment evaluation, and many others.  In his free time, he enjoys volunteering in the community, relaxing reading a book, and playing with his grandsons.

'The Following Seas,' powered by ASTM International, setting sail with your co-hosts Bill and Nora. Take time to get to know your hosts and what to expect in future episodes.