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BeetleSat Appoints Industry Space Expert Dawn Harms, to its Board of Directors

May 04, 2023

BeetleSat, formerly NSLComm announced the appointment of Dawn Harms to the BeetleSat Board of Directors.

An accomplished satellite and launch executive with more than 30 years of experience at leading space technology companies, Harms is distinguished by her track record of driving growth and creating value through her work in both front-end and technical functions.

“Dawn is an exceptional talent who brings a wealth of valuable experience and perspective to BeetleSat and we are thrilled she is joining our Board,” said Patricio Northland, CEO of BeetleSat. “From management, marketing and business development, to capital-raising, financing and navigating regulatory issues, Dawn knows what it takes to grow and scale a space tech business. But equally important, she understands that building diverse and inclusive teams is fundamental to business success. Dawn’s collaborative and inclusive leadership style and dedication to mentoring aligns perfectly with the culture we are creating at BeetleSat.”

Harms recently retired from her role as Chief Revenue Officer for Momentus Inc., an American in-space infrastructure company that offers last mile on-orbit transportation to precision orbits and hosted payload services for small satellites. Harms also served as interim CEO from January to August 2021, prior to Momentus becoming a publicly traded company.

Before joining Momentus, Harms served as Vice President of Global Sales and Marketing for Boeing Satellites Systems International in El Segundo, California, where she led the team that captured significant market share for Boeing’s commercial space business line. She also spent 22 years with Space System Loral – now Maxar – rising from engineer to Vice President of Business Development, where her contributions helped to establish Space Systems Loral as the industry leader in high-power, geostationary satellites. 

A devoted mentor to women at all stages of their careers, Dawn is a passionate and vocal advocate for enhancing diversity across the industry. She currently serves on the advisory board for the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is a member of the board of the California State University – Los Angeles College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology (CST). In 2020, the Space and Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) named her Mentor of the Year.

“I am excited to join BeetleSat’s Board of Directors and to play a role in building a company that is poised to transform the industry,” said Harms. “Not only will BeetleSat’s LEO constellation fill a significant gap in the market, bringing cost-effective premium service to broadband carriers and providers via a flexible and open network, but it will also become the cornerstone of a healthy, competitive and vibrant marketplace for satellite communications services.”

Harms holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.