The people behind the mission

Peter has over 30 years of experience in aerospace, defense, and national security. Prior to founding BlackVe, he was CTO and CSO at BlackSky Global, a leading commercial global intelligence company that builds, launches, and operates a constellation of remote sensing satellites and advanced AI/ML tools for high performance data exploitation. He also served as Director of Advanced Concepts at the Space Dynamics Laboratory, Director of the DoD’s Operationally Responsive Space Office, Technical Advisor to USAF Space Command, and Research Scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory. Peter led the development of the ESPA Ring and several small satellite technologies and systems (including the DoD TacSat series). He has been a part of more than 30 space missions from the concept phase to on-orbit operations. Peter is a Member of the Department of the Air Force Scientific Advisory Board, and also leads its Commercial Technology Trends and Opportunities Subcommittee. He holds a PhD in Engineering from University of Wyoming, an MS in Aerospace Engineering from Stanford, and BS in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Arizona, and has been awarded 3 patents.

Brad has over 30 years of experience in aerospace, defense, andnational security. Prior to his role at BlackVe, he served innumerous leadership roles across industry; most recently as SVP ofWorldwide Engineering at Mercury Systems. Prior to that he was the VP ofEngineering at Leidos and Executive Director at Raytheon serving as the CTO ofthe IIS business unit including managing the Advanced Concepts and Technology(ACT) area while there which had major concentrations in space. Whittington'searly career found him at Lockheed Martin and NASA. Brad has served on numerousboars in industry and academia. He holds a Master's degree in Engineering fromTexas Tech University, a BS in Physics and a BS in Mathematics from HardingUniversity. Further, Brad holds numerous trade secrets and patents.

Steve has 25 years of experience as a Chief Financial Officer. Prior to becoming the CFO at BlackVe, he was a CFO for a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ and a CFO for a publicly traded company on the NYSE. Over his career, Steve has been a CFO and finance lead at over 75 companies, helping those companies raise over $1.3 billion of capital and assisting to facilitate over $1.6 billion of mergers and acquisitions. He has been a CFO, Controller and VP of Finance, serving at all levels of publicly traded companies over his career.  He has worked with innovative technology companies in AI, machine learning, computer vision, manufacturing and national security, among his various roles, and brings deep expertise in governance, risk management, treasury, and scaling growth companies. He graduated from George Mason University, where he later served for 3 years on the Board of Visitors of the University, Chairing the Audit Committee and being the Vice Chairman of the Finance and Land Use Committee.  He has served with several private companies in the role of Chairman and Board member.

Doug was formerly a Vice President and General Manager for Jacobs, and was the CEO of BlackLynx. A recognized federal government leader, he served 33 years with the CIA, his last position being Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Directorate. Earlier, he served as Chief Information Officer (CIO) at the CIA, in charge of Agency Information Technology (IT) vision and strategic direction, along with advising the Intelligence Community (IC). Throughout his career, Doug held multiple CIA positions, among them were Deputy Director for Acquisition, Technology, and Facilities at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI); Deputy Director of the Office of Global Access (OGA), and program manager overseeing the end-to-end system acquisition of an innovative new source and method for the Intelligence Community. Doug holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Southern California, and a Master’s degree in System Engineering from Virginia Tech.

Monty Montgomery proudly serves as BlackVe’s Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel. He leads BlackVe’s legal and compliance functions. Monty has over 30 years of experience in defense and national security. He began his legal career as a U.S. Navy Judge Advocate andhas also served as a DoD program manager. Monty’s educational background includes a Master of Laws in International Law from Georgetown Law, a Juris Doctor from The George Washington University Law School, and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Naval Academy. He is licensed to practice in Virginia and Washington, D.C.

As Chief Human Resources Officer, Melissa believes that the best companies are built by great people who feel connected to the mission and to one another. With a personal and practical approach, she focuses on building strong relationships, helping people and leaders grow, and creating an environment where people can do their best work. As the company grows, Melissa is committed to keeping people and culture at the heart of how the business move forward. In her role as Chief Human Resources Officer, Rhodes is responsible for developing a highly capable workforce in an industry facing a severe talent gap. Sometimes, this means recruiting from outside traditional technical backgrounds, then ensuring that all BlackVe team members have the support and training needed to be successful and always mission-ready for customers. Prior to BlackVe, Rhodes served in several HR leadership roles at Nightwing and Raytheon. Melissa Rhodes is skilled in strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, change management, organizational development, recruitment and staffing, performance management, leadership training and development, retention and succession management, and team building. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communications from Suffolk University. Rhodes volunteers as a youth basketball coach and has been a youth sponsor for dementia center residents’ weekly activity events. She also enjoys going on hikes with her dogs.

Jeremy has over 20 years of experience in national security aerospace & defense, with extensive technology development and transition expertise. He has directed multiple successful space initiatives within the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).At the NRO, as Deputy Director of a Program Office, he drove strategies to deliver emerging commercial remote sensing data, thousands of images each day, into the hands of intelligence and defense users. Prior to the NRO, Jeremy served as the Chief Engineer for the DARPA Blackjack Program, developing commercial proliferated low-earth-orbit constellations for defense use. While at AFRL, he developed and transitioned multiple space technologies to operational use. He holds a PhD in Engineering from the University of New Mexico, and an M.S. and B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, and has been awarded 6 US patents.

Founder of CyberSageAI a software company focused on “Turning Data into Defensible Decisions.” She recently served as a Senior Vice President within Amentum Intelligence and Cyber Business, where she led the charge in expanding the company's digital and cybersecurity capabilities. With a mission to deliver mission-critical solutions across the Defense and Intelligence communities, Gwen was instrumental in positioning Amentum as a global leader in secure digital solutions. Her strategic vision and leadership were pivotal in driving the company's growth and innovation in this highly specialized field. Before joining Amentum, Gwen played a significant role at Jacobs, following the acquisition of BlackLynx, where she served as Chief Operations Officer. With over three decades of experience in technology focused roles from United States Air Force to Intelligence Community; Gwen has a deep understanding of the complexities and demands of the Defense and Intelligence sectors. Her technical expertise spans multiple layers of the technology stack, including roles as a Certified Network Engineer, Java Developer, Systems and Software Architect. Gwen's extensive background enables her to manage both small and large operations effectively, ensuring the delivery of critical mission support to her clients. Outside of her professional achievements, Gwen is deeply committed to community engagement. She actively participates in several STEAM and faith-based outreach organizations and is a strong supporter of venture capital efforts related to emerging technologies. Gwen's dedication to fostering innovation and supporting the next generation of technology leaders underscores her commitment to both her industry and her community.

Mitch Elson leads a small team of creative thinkers that supports not just the company but our customers find solutions for the toughest problems we all face. Mitch brings 26 years of experience that spans from space launch, satellites, lunar missions and a period of time working in a leading innovation company. Mitch started his career as a US Air Force officer, spent some time as a Air Force civilian and then moved to working in the commercial world and started and sold a successful engineering and design company.

Kendra has over 15 years of experience in Aerospace & Defense, with extensive spacecraft autonomy experience. She brings a commitment to developing and deploying advanced technology, in particular artificial intelligence and autonomy, to the space domain. This has been her objective throughout her career, where she has built out highly technical teams to advance state of the art for mission-level autonomy. Prior to joining BlackVe she held a director-level position at Verus Research, founding and then running their space program. She was also a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Oxford, designing advanced control and verification algorithms. She holds a PhD in Engineering and an M.S. in Mathematics from the University of New Mexico, and a B.S. in Mathematics from McGill University.

Stan has over 25 years of experience in government service. He was an US Air Force officer, active duty for 10 of those years, and retired out of the USAF Reserves in 2019. From 2007 to 2024, he was a USAF government civilian as an Aerospace and General Engineer. Over this career, he has been a Range Operations Commander (launch), a spacecraft systems engineer, Chief Engineer, Program Manager, Branch Chief, Division Chief, and Technical Director in 5 different laboratory and acquisition units across the USAF and USSF. He holds a M.S. in Astronautical Engineering with a graduate certificate in Systems Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology and a B.S. in Aerospace Engineering Sciences from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Kari Dolski serves as Vice President of Finance at BlackVe, where she oversees the company’s finance organization and partners with executive leadership to drive financial strategy, operational performance, long-range planning, pricing strategy, and government contract compliance in support of the company’s continued growth. With more than 17 years of experience in government contracting finance, Kari has held executive leadership roles supporting intelligence, defense, space, and national security organizations. Prior to joining BlackVe, she served as Vice President of Finance at Blue Halo, now part of AeroVironment, where she most recently led the Finance organization for the Space, Cyber, and Directed Energy Segment. During her tenure, she held multiple executive finance leadership positions supporting business portfolios with more than $1 billion in annual revenue. Kari holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the College of William & Mary and a Master of Business Administrationfrom the University of Maryland.