Andrew allen
Retired NASA Astronaut; CEO, Aerodyne | Cape Canaveral, Florida
Andrew Allen has nearly five decades of experience in the aerospace industry with an exceptional career and the distinction of having flown on three space shuttle missions. But his first experience with space flight came after he received his commission in the U.S. Marine Corps upon graduating from Villanova University in 1977.
Following graduation from flight school, Allen flew F-4 Phantoms from 1980 to 1983 at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, South Carolina. He was then selected by Marine Corps HQ for fleet introduction of the F/A-18 Hornet and assigned to Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro, California for three years.
Allen has since credited the Marine Corps, and in particular flight school, with shaping his approach to his aerospace career.
“They make it hard on purpose. They draw a stress performance curve for us on the first day of flight school, which shows the higher your stress goes, the higher your performance goes,” Allen said. “They say, ‘we’re going to stress you up to this level, and we hope that’s near your peak. If you peak before that, we’re going to be real quick about getting rid of you.’”
During his stay in California, he was the squadron operations officer while also attending and graduating from the Marine Weapons & Tactics Instructor Course, and the United States Navy Fighter Weapons School (Top Gun). A 1987 graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at Naval Air Station in Maryland, he was a test pilot under instruction when he learned he would be selected into the astronaut program.
Allen became an astronaut in 1988 and held a variety of leadership positions, including Director of Space Station Requirements at NASA Headquarters, where he was responsible for the International Space Station policies and served as liaison with Congress and international partners.
Allen was the pilot of two space flights – STS-46 in 1992 and STS-62 in 1994 – and was the mission commander on STS-75 in 1996. In total, he logged more than 900 hours in space through these missions.
Allen spent seven years at the Kennedy Space Center and subsequently took senior positions with Honeywell before joining Aerodyne. In 2007, Allen became CEO of Aerodyne, a position he still holds today. As with his military and astronaut careers, his business career has brought honors such as being recognized in 2022 by Ernst & Young as Florida’s Entrepreneur of the Year for the growth and success of Aerodyne Industries.
norris henderson
Heart of Florida United Way, Manager | Orlando, Florida
For two decades, Norris Henderson proudly served his country as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps.
Since his retirement from service in 2013, Henderson has utilized the skills and traits instilled in him during his Marine career to help thousands of veterans through government agencies and nonprofit organizations.
“My father served in the military and my brother followed his example,” explained Henderson. “This prompted me to join the Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps in high school. In addition to my family, I had friends who wanted to serve our country. I was surrounded by inspiration to serve.”
That inspiration didn’t immediately transfer to his employment after his Marine Corps service. Henderson admitted he found it difficult to enter the civilian workforce and took his first job with a restaurant “out of boredom.” Though he found that work unfulfilling, he eventually took a position with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services as a veterans service representative. In this role, he rediscovered his passion for helping others.
After relocating to Florida in 2019, Henderson became the Mission United manager of Heart of Florida United Way, one of Central Florida’s largest nonprofits. The timing proved to be a challenge, as the COVID-19 pandemic arrived shortly after Henderson started in his new role.
At that moment, Henderson and the organization faced a difficult challenge – assuring veterans that the organization was still there to provide them much-needed support and assistance, particularly for legal assistance, employment, and education.
"Our team is used to going where the veterans are to introduce ourselves and talk about how we can help," Henderson told the Orlando Business Journal. "The pandemic forced us to depend on social media, texting, and word-of-mouth to share information on the programs and services offered by Mission United."
The exemplary work by Henderson during the pandemic led to the Orlando Business Journal naming him as one of their Veterans of Influence, recognizing veterans who had significant business success.
“The military works to serve our country and keep us safe,” said Henderson. “This means we don’t take our responsibilities lightly and will fight to complete our mission. Veterans leave the military with a variety of skillsets, especially leadership.”