Dr. Cady Coleman is a former NASA Astronaut and a retired US Air Force Colonel with more than 180 days in space, accumulated during two space shuttle missions and a six-month expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) as the Lead Robotics and Lead Science officer.

Cady served in a variety of roles within the Astronaut Office, including Chief of Robotics, and lead astronaut for the integration of supply ships from NASA’s commercial partners. Before retiring from NASA, she led open-innovation and public-private partnership efforts for NASA’s Chief Technologist.

A popular public speaker and media consultant, Cady also serves as a research affiliate to MIT’s Media Lab. She is a regular contributor to ABC News and co-hosted Arizona State University’s Mission: Interplanetary podcast. She is an amateur flute player, known for her “Space Duet” with Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull and her work from space with the acclaimed Irish band, The Chieftains. She coached actress Sandra Bullock from the ISS in preparation for Bullock’s astronaut role in Gravity. She is the author of Sharing Space: An Astronaut’s Guide to Mission, Wonder, and Making Change.

Cady serves on several boards, including the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Greenfield Community College and the ISS National Lab Education Advisory Group.