The Space Foundation announced today that Col James “Jay” DeFrank, Ph.D., USAF (Retired), will assume the position of executive director, Research & Analysis, effective July 18. DeFrank will lead the Space Foundation’s new Research & Analysis enterprise, operating from the Foundation’s Washington, D.C., offices.
Culminating a more than two-year internal development process, the Space Foundation’s Board of Directors voted in April to launch the new Research & Analysis enterprise. As executive director, Research & Analysis, DeFrank will lead the growth of the Foundation’s new space-focused research and analysis capability – aimed at providing balanced and objective data and information for and about the civil, commercial and national security space community.
“The formalization of a research and analysis function within the Space Foundation is a key strategic step forward in serving the space community,” said Foundation President and Chief Executive Officer Elliot G. Pulham. “We’re delighted to have a seasoned professional of Dr. DeFrank’s caliber join our team to chart the way forward.”
Since 2003, DeFrank was deputy director of Public Affairs for the United States Air Force, directly supporting Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. John Jumper and working very closely with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. In this capacity he served as chief communication officer for the Air Force, providing direction for 2,400 public affairs people worldwide and direct supervision of a 71-member Pentagon staff. DeFrank was a key architect of the Pentagon’s embedded journalists program for both the Afghanistan and Iraq campaigns.
DeFrank obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism from Southern Connecticut University, a Master of Science degree in managing communication from the Annenberg School of Communication, University of Southern California, and a doctorate in communications and media studies from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
About the Space Foundation
Founded in 1983 and headquartered in Colorado Springs, the Space Foundation is a national nonprofit organization that vigorously advances civil, commercial, and national security space endeavors and educational excellence. The Space Foundation has offices in Washington, D.C., and Cape Canaveral, Fla. The Space Foundation annually conducts, along with its partnering organizations, Strategic Space 2005, Oct. 4-6, in Omaha, Neb.; Florida Space 2005, Nov. 15-17 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitors Complex, Fla.; and the Foundation’s signature event, the National Space Symposium, April 3-6, 2006, at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo. For more information, visit www.spacefoundation.org.
