Staff

Jerrad Alexander is an objects conservator specializing in aerospace objects and other large technology. He served in the U.S. Air Force as an Aircraft Armament Systems Specialist and Flight Engineer.

Dr. Colleen Anderson is a historian of technology, with an emphasis on popular perceptions of Cold War space technologies. She is curator of the post-1945 Rockets and Missiles collection.

Dr. John D. Anderson, Jr. graduated from the University of Florida with High Honors and a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering Degree in 1959, and from The Ohio State University with a PhD in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering in 1966.

Dr. Mariah Baker joined the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies as a post-doctoral fellow in 2019, after receiving her Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University.

Agustin Baldioli serves as an Explainers Program Coordinators, who manage and supervise about 100 Explainers at both Museum locations. Explainers are part-time interpretive staff made up of high school and college students who engage visitors through various interactive programs. 

Shannon Baldioli coordinates the Education Department’s teacher professional development efforts, including both local and national programs. She also spent nearly four years working with the Museum’s Explainers Program at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center.

Maria Banks received a PhD in geology and planetary science from the University of Arizona. Her graduate studies primarily involved the study of glaciers and ice sheets, climate change, and ice-related erosional and depositional landforms on Earth and Mars.

Maggie Bearden joined the Museum as an objects conservator in 2019. She holds a B.A. with majors in Art Conservation and Art History from the University of Delaware, and a M.S.

Elizabeth Beesley is an objects conservator and began working at the Museum in 2017. She holds an MEng in Materials Science from the University of Oxford, an MA in Principles of Conservation, and an MSc in Conservation for Archaeology and Museums, both from University College London.

Laura Blanton serves as the Holt Scholars Coordinator at the National Air & Space Museum Mall Building. In this capacity, she develops and implements educational programming for middle school students and teachers in the Washington D.C. area.