Yuri’s Night, the World Space Party, has officially finalized its global Executive Team responsible for the expansion, promotion and support of Yuri’s Night’s events in 2011. April 12th, 2011 will mark the 50th anniversary of the first human spaceflight (by Yuri Gagarin), and to prepare for this momentous occasion, the Yuri’s Night Board of Directors has brought together a top-flight team of over 25 members from around the world.
“The talent we’ve brought on board to run Yuri’s Night this year is really incredible,” said Yuri’s Night Assistant Director Brice Russ. “This is our largest Executive Team by far in the history of Yuri’s Night, and I’m really looking forward to seeing what our team can accomplish as we celebrate 50 years of humanity in space.”
The Yuri’s Night Executive Team is led by the Yuri’s Night Board of Directors, composed of Executive Director Ryan Kobrick, Assistant Directors Tim Bailey and Brice Russ, and “Master of Electrons” Chris Lewicki, with Yuri’s Night co-founder Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides in an advisory role. Each director will also be chairing one of four committees on the Executive Team.
The Yuri’s Night Operations Committee, led by Ryan Kobrick, consists of Chief Strategist Jim Keravala, Director of Content Development Holly Blessen, “Director of Awesome” Carolyn Belle, Director of Event Expansion Alan Steinberg, and Director of Marketing Gregory Wagner.
The Yuri’s Night Event Relations and Support Committee, led by Tim Bailey, includes Director of Swag Robert Pearlman, Space Community Relations Directors Grant Atkinson, Juergen Schlutz, and Manoj Pai, Outreach Directors Cat Aboudara, Milayla Diesch, and Kerry Sanz, and Regional Representatives Marianne Mader, Dorian Bozicevic, Jesper Jorgensen, Nouf Al-Jalud, Sudeep Nupane, and Marco Pirateque.
The Yuri’s Night Media Relations Committee, led by Brice Russ, includes Director of Social Media Jen Scheer, and Media Team members Jason Rhian, Rob Shannon, Mary Kerrigan, and Talal al-Bahri.
The Yuri’s Night Web Development Committee, led by Chris Lewicki, includes Ben Higginbotham, Jeffrey Alles, Mark Lopa, Robert Osband, Dennis Bonilla, and Jen Scheer.
This year’s Executive Team includes high schoolers and people with decades of experience in NASA and aerospace, participants in the first annual Yuri’s Night in 2001 and Yuri’s Night first-timers, and the founders of the Space Tweep Society, CollectSpace.com, Spacevidcast, and Astronauts4Hire, amongst many other cutting-edge groups and projects. One thing that all members share, however, is an enthusiasm for exploration, science advocacy, and the Yuri’s Night mission of bringing people together to celebrate humanity’s past and future in outer space.
Yuri’s Night is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to celebrating Yuri Gagarin’s first manned space launch (April 12, 1961) and the first launch of the space shuttle (April 12, 1981) by hosting and sponsoring events around the world every April 12. Now in its 11th year of operation, Yuri’s Night held over 200 events in 67 countries in 2010, including the NASA Ames Research Center, the South Pole and the Second Life virtual world.
