The Whitfield Family

Trina Britcher dedicated 40 years to teaching students with blindness and low vision before retiring from the public school system. Trina has a deep love for her profession and feels immensely blessed to have been chosen to serve in this role throughout her life. Her extensive career included not only direct teaching but also involvement in various aspects of education, such as teacher training and in-service programs, consulting for state assessments, serving as a teacher representative for a state VI collaborative group, and coordinating with multiple state agencies and eye care professionals. She co-directed summer camps, organized inclusive field trips for students across the county, and much more. Trina remains active in her field by teaching braille literacy courses at Marshall University and serving as a materials coordinator and educational consultant for SCIVIS. She enjoys speaking at conferences and organizing activities for individuals with blindness and low vision through her local Lion’s Club.

Outside of her professional life, Trina loves to travel and hike. She has explored 47 states and plans to visit the Dakotas this summer, with aspirations of hiking the Camino in the future. Always seeking new opportunities for personal growth, she also enjoys reading, walking, and nurturing her faith in God. Trina treasures the time spent with her three children, who fill her with pride. Sarah is the Special Education Director for the Virtual Preparatory Academy of West Virginia and recently became a parent to Michael, her first grandchild. Matt, along with his wife Elisabeth, reside in Wake Forest, North Carolina, where he works as a licensed insurance broker. Gabe lives in Nagoya, Japan, with his wife Sayaka, and is an F-35 Manufacturing Test Engineer for Lockheed Martin. Both Matt and Gabe have attended Space Camp.

Trina has presented at numerous national and international conferences on braille and the education of individuals with blindness. She has also been published in the Journal of Visual Impairments and Blindness. Without a doubt, her students were always the best part of her job; however, three significant highlights stand out in her career. Trina was awarded the 2011 “Teacher of the Year” Award for excellence in braille instruction by the Braille Institute in Los Angeles, she was a Space Academy Team Member during the 2015 International Teacher of the Year Week and enjoyed the opportunity to visit and support teachers and students in St. Lucia.

Homer Hickam is the author of many books including the acclaimed #1 NY Times memoir Rocket Boys that was made into the film October Sky. Born and raised in the coalfields of West Virginia, he is a graduate of Virginia Tech in Industrial Engineering and served in the 4th Infantry Division in Vietnam, earning Bronze Star & Army Commendation Medals. He worked for the Army Missile Command at Redstone Arsenal, AL, and the 7th Army Training Command in Germany before joining Marshall Space Flight Center with the Spacelab Program Office and later the Mission Operations Lab as a Crew Training Manager. He also worked as a diver in the Neutral Buoyancy Simulator for a variety of programs including the Hubble Space Telescope repair missions. He trained the first Japanese astronauts for Spacelab-J and was the first Payload Training Manager for the International Space Station. He is also an active member of the commission that oversees the U.S. Space & Rocket Center and Space Camp. His most recent venture is to become a publisher of an imprint – Homer Hickam Books – for Headline Books, Inc.

Joseph Pelfrey is the director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. He leads Marshall’s almost 7,000 onsite and near-site civil service and contractor employees and oversees an annual budget of approximately $5 billion. He also helps guide Marshall’s broad portfolio of human spaceflight, science, and technology development efforts, which touches nearly every mission NASA pursues. Pelfrey previously served as deputy center director since his appointment to the position in April 2022.

Throughout his NASA career, Pelfrey has served in multiple technical leadership positions at Marshall. He began his career as an industry partner, supporting development of space station payload hardware, and joined Marshall full-time in 2004 as an aerospace engineer in the Science and Mission Systems Office. He went on to serve in various leadership roles within NASA’s International Space Station Program, overseeing the development, integration, and operations of multiple payload facilities and science experiments.

In 2008, Pelfrey joined Marshall’s Engineering Directorate as the design integration lead for the Ares I Upper Stage, the rocket that would inform development of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System). In 2011, he was named engineering task manager for SLS’ Spacecraft/Payload Integration and Evolution Office and, subsequently, manager of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Project at Marshall.

In 2012, Pelfrey was named deputy manager and then manager of the Exploration and Space Transportation Development Office in Marshall’s Flight Programs and Partnerships Office. In 2016, he was appointed to the Senior Executive Service post of associate director for operations in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate. The Senior Executive Service is the personnel system covering most top managerial, supervisory, and policy positions in the executive branch of the federal government.

Pelfrey served as deputy manager of Marshall’s Human Exploration Development and Operations Office from 2018 to 2020 and became manager of that organization from 2020 to 2022. In this role he oversaw management and implementation of Marshall’s work in the areas of human exploration and transportation projects; habitation systems, payload and mission operations and integration; and International Space Station payload, facility, environmental control and life support systems project development and integration.

A native of Cheraw, South Carolina, Pelfrey received a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University in 2000. He resides in Huntsville with his family.

Tim Sheehy is a father, husband, combat veteran, patriot, and an entrepreneur. As a child, Tim attended Space Camp and Aviation Challenge a total of seven times between 1996 and 2002. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy class of 2008 with a B.S. in History, Tim completed several deployments and hundreds of missions as a US Navy SEAL Officer and Team Leader, deploying to Iraq, Afghanistan, South America, and the Pacific region. Additionally, Tim completed a joint tour with Army Special Operations forces where he was privileged to complete US Army Ranger School and serve alongside the 5th Special Forces Group, 75th Ranger Regiment and other units within US Army Special Operations Command. Tim completed his active-duty service as a mini submarine pilot and navigator specializing in sensitive undersea operations. After his active-duty service, Tim fulfilled reserve duty as a recruiter and assessor for future naval officers. Tim was honorably discharged from the Naval Reserve in 2019.

In 2014, Tim founded Belgrade-based Bridger Aerospace with all of his savings and an all-veteran team. Today, Bridger Aerospace is a major Montana employer and one of only a few publicly traded companies in the state. In addition to founding Bridger Aerospace, Sheehy was an active firefighting pilot, completing hundreds of firefighting missions across the American West, protecting communities from devastation as a pilot of the CL415EAF Water Bomber and before that, as an Air Attack pilot in the AC690 Twin Commander. Tim remains a qualified FAA Commercial Pilot and a Certified Flight Instructor. Tim has also been the co-owner of a working cattle ranch and a cattle feeder operation, Little Belt Cattle Company and Yellowstone Cattle Feeders. Tim believes in strengthening America’s food supply chain.

Tim met his wife, Carmen, who served as a U.S. Marine Corps Officer, at the Naval Academy. Together, they share four beautiful and healthy children.  The Sheehy’s live in southwest Montana and feel blessed to teach their kids about Montana’s proud tradition of cattle ranching on their veteran-led working cattle ranch. Tim was elected to serve the people of Montana in the U.S. Senate on November 5, 2024.

Diallo Wallace is a California State Credentialed Teacher in Career Technical Education (CTE) with experience teaching aviation and engineering to youth. Diallo earned a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering and a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics from the University of Illinois. At the graduate level, he has attained a Master of Science in Astronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Project Management from Keller Graduate School. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Purdue University with a dissertation focus on the benefits of interweaving physics first and engineering curriculums for student self-efficacy in engineering. Diallo has presented to The American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) on the gains of incorporating computation and computer programming in K-12 curriculums. He has presented at NASA’s Space Exploration Educators Conference (SEEC) on ways to implement the engineering design process for pre-college students and also how the crew of Apollo 13 was saved through geometry. Diallo developed and wrote a pre-college science and engineering curriculum that spans 6th to 12th grade. The middle school curriculum focuses on developing pre-engineering/science literacy, skills, and knowledge. The high school curriculum was approved by the University of California A-G program, recognizing the courses preparation of high school students for scientific or science-related studies at the university level. His passion is empowering K-12 and undergraduate students to understand science and engineering through the application of mathematics.  Diallo is an Analog Astronaut participating in spacesuit evaluations at the University of North Dakota’sInflatable Lunar and Mars Habitat (ILMAH). He is also a member of NASA’s Airborne Astronomy Ambassador program where he flew aboard the SOFIA 747 flying telescope aircraft during a weeklong data collection effort. Diallo is also a very proud alumnus of Space Camp, actively encouraging teachers and students to attend the program.

In his military capacity, Diallo is a Naval Aviator and Aerospace Engineering Duty Officer in the NAVAIR Reserve Program (NRP). He serves in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the United States Naval Academy, instructing aeronautics, astronautics, and MATLAB Computer programming courses. He is the Officer Representative of the 1000-member Naval Academy Flight Training Squadron (VTNA), where he trains and mentors midshipmen for flight school. Diallo routinely presents to youth and teachers about space and aviation as an active volunteer of the Naval Academy’s STEM Center for Education and Outreach.

His reserve tours include serving as Assistant Officer in Charge ) for Naval Reserve (NR) Flight Test Augmentation Unit, Executive Officer of NR Joint Functional Component Commander for Space, and Administration Officer for NR Rapid Research and Development Unit. Diallo is a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps, earning a Level III in Program Management, and has attained the highest level of AQD for Space Acquisitions and Space Operations. He has served at Johnson Space Center’s Astronaut Office supporting the International Space Station.

Diallo earned Joint Professional Military Education I while serving as an Associate Fellow for The Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group XXIV. He has been awarded the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal for his work teaching aviation to youth in San Diego, California. His other decorations consist of the Global War on Terrorism Service Medals, National Defense Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Naval Unit Commendation, and the Navy Achievement Medal.