Lisa May is currently Chief Technologist for Lockheed Martin’s Commercial and Civil Space Advanced Programs. Lisa is responsible for leading technology strategy development in support of all market segments and is the principal advisor on CCS technology investments and partnerships. Prior to assuming the Chief Technologist role, Lisa served as the Deputy Space Exploration Architect. She supported Lockheed Martin’s technical response to NASA’s call to take humans safely to the surface of the Moon by 2024. Before joining Lockheed Martin in 2019, Lisa was CEO and principal consultant for Murphian Consulting. She provided systems engineering and management consulting services to technology entrepreneurs in such diverse fields as nuclear, forensics, space, and transportation technology.

From 2002 to 2015, Lisa was at NASA Headquarters, where she managed NASA’s diverse portfolio of Mars missions, led advanced studies, contingency planning, risk analyses, and conducted Program-level planning including Mars communications. Lisa chaired the International Mars Exploration Working Group, leading spacefaring nations in cooperation for Mars sample return and initiated Mars-related challenges and student competitions. Concurrently, Lisa was the Program Executive for the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) mission, the Mars Technology Program, and Mars Sample Return. Prior to joining NASA Headquarters, Lisa worked at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, founded Jackson-May Associates, and was Director of Business Development at Aurora Flight Sciences.

Lisa holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in speech communication, both from the University of Virginia. In addition to her being an AIAA Associate Fellow, Lisa is an IEEE Senior Member, and an INCOSE Expert Systems Engineering Professional.