Erica is a major player in the field of commercial space ventures with an infectious enthusiasm for the future of space travel by ordinary people. As you know, an interdisciplinary approach is a core tenet at FDL. Erika’s interdisciplinary background includes a bachelor's in Biomedical Engineering from Vanderbilt University, a master's in Aeronautics & Astronautics from MIT, and a PhD in Bioastronautics from the Harvard/MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology.

At Blue Origin, Erika is in the forefront of the business of space. Erika has been at the forefront for some time having worked with the X PRIZE Foundation as the Senior Director of Exploration Prize Development and founding Executive Director of the X PRIZE Lab@MIT and as the Science Director and Executive Director of the Mars Gravity Biosatellite Program at MIT. She has served as a member of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation's Suborbital Applications Researchers Group, on the Board of the American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, and NASA's Planetary Protection Independent Review Board. She currently serves as a Trustee of the Museum of Flight, as well as a member of the National Academies' Space Studies Board.