Want to Become a Space Policy Expert? Liberal Arts Offers a Good Start, Nunn School Graduate Tells Students

When it comes to space, policy is where it’s at, Ivan Allen College alum Kaitlyn Johnson, International Affairs 2014, told a room full of aspiring aerospace sector employees in the first of a new series of presentations on careers in space policy. 

“There’s policy for everything. Every science and technology career field or specialization has someone in D.C. working on the political side to either get you funding, get you support on the Hill, or pass regulations to allow innovative companies to exist and pursue things,” said Johnson, deputy director of the Strategic Initiatives Group at the U.S. Space Force. 

Johnson was on campus Sept. 19 to speak to postdoctoral researcher Thomas González Roberts’ space policy class and to headline a career talk open to students from across campus. 

“It can be difficult to figure out how to make a career out of the intersection between engineering and policy, but events like these are a reminder that there are so many opportunities out there and no one’s career path is exactly the same,” said Althea Noonan, a fourth-year student in the School of Aerospace Engineering. 

Noonan wants to use her engineering background to propel her into a space policy position. But, as Johnson noted, a STEM major isn’t necessary to break into the field. 

Johnson herself is proof of that. She studied international affairs at Georgia Tech, planning to enter the Foreign Service. 

While at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank, she discovered the skills she gained as an Ivan Allen College student had well prepared her for a policy career. 

Liberal arts students at Georgia Tech gain exposure to technology and have the opportunity to work with STEM scholars, giving them the tools to understand technical concepts and collaborate with both experts and non-experts.  

“It taught me how to communicate between different groups of people, to understand complex engineering problems and to communicate them to policymakers,” Johnson said of her Nunn School education. 

Chloe Satterfield is a fourth-year student in the School of Public Policy (SPP) hoping to attend law school for administrative and public interest law. 

“SPP equips students to think critically about complex policy problems,” Satterfield said. “It was very helpful to hear how Kaitlyn, a liberal arts graduate, was able to learn how to ‘speak the language’ of engineers in her field. I’m grateful that Georgia Tech has created a great environment to learn that skill.” 

Gonzalez said that more space policy career talks are planned, and he encouraged students to engage with the growing space policy community at Georgia Tech, including considering applying to the GTDC Pathways to Policy program. 

"I’d like to think that one of our responsibilities as emerging leaders in space policy is to teach people what space policy is and where it happens,” Gonzalez said. 

Gonzalez is part of a growing cadre of space policy experts in the Ivan Allen College. His Nunn School colleague Mariel Borowitz is widely regarded as one of the preeminent experts on space policy issues. Scholars Larry Rubin and Lincoln Hines have studied global space programs. 

And in the School of Literature, Media, and Communication, research scientist Ute Fischer is helping NASA figure out how best to communicate with astronauts during long-duration exploration missions and Regents’ Professor Lisa Yaszek, a science fiction expert, was tapped to join the Georgia Tech Space Research Initiative (SRI) steering committee.