Phil Lind Initiative: Charity Weeden

Humanity is set to return to the Moon – but much has changed since the last footprints marked the lunar regolith in 1972. With expanding access to space, the inclusion of international and commercial ventures is forcing a rethink of what global leadership looks like from low-Earth orbit and beyond.

A seasoned veteran of civil, commercial, and military space policy, Charity Weeden is a former NASA Associate Administrator for Technology, Policy, and Strategy and 23-year Royal Canadian Air Force veteran. A consistent voice for responsible innovation and long-term space sustainability, she joins the Lind Initiative to discuss how modern space activities are being shaped by geopolitics here on Earth.

Previously vice president for global space policy at Astroscale US, Weeden helped advance international standards for in-space servicing and chaired the US Department of Transportation’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. She is an advisor on technology policy, business, and geostrategic matters to disruptors across emerging technologies. She holds a master’s degree in space studies from the University of North Dakota and currently serves as a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center and as Director of the Board for Arkisys.

Moderated by Michael Byers, Co-Director of the Outer Space Institute and Professor of Global Politics and International Law at UBC.

Presented by UBC’s School of Public Policy and Global Affairs in partnership with the Outer Space Institute and the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.