Send us a text

Join guest host Aaron Prather and Capt. Barbara Bell, U.S. Navy (Ret.), as she shares her remarkable journey — from entering the U.S. Naval Academy to serving as a Naval Aviator and Flight Test Officer, and now shaping the next generation as a professor of Leadership and Ethics at the Naval Academy. 

Together, they explore the lessons learned in the cockpit and the classroom, and how navigating turbulence — both in flight and in life — can inspire stronger, more resilient leaders.

Send us a text

Join Bill and Nora as they talk with Cmdr. Kilrain about her career and how she got into STEM.

Commander Susan Kilrain is a renowned astronaut, a distinguished navy test pilot, and author. She is the youngest person, and one of only three women, to pilot the space shuttle. She served 20 years in the Navy, paving the way for women. She has flown more than 3,000 flight hours in over 30 different aircraft, and she was awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal. Susan flew as pilot of STS-83 and STS-94, spending more than 20 days in space. Her first mission was cut short due to a potentially life-threatening shuttle system failure.

When not training for a space flight, she worked in Mission Control during the launches and landings for other space shuttle missions. She has also worked at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC in the offices of Safety and Legislative Affairs. Prior to joining the Navy, Susan was a wind tunnel project officer at Lockheed Corporation and earned her master’s degree in aerospace engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

Susan is currently a motivational speaker, venture partner, and consultant, specializing in encouraging young women and underprivileged teens to excel in STEM careers. She has been a board member for private companies, universities, and non-profits. She is currently a Partner at New North Ventures. Susan has recently written a children’s book, An Unlikely Astronaut.

Send us a text

Join Nora and Bill as they talk with Lt. Alteri about his amazing experiences in the Navy.

Lieutenant Santino Alteri is a native of Watertown, New York. He earned a BA in Criminal Justice from Alvernia University (PA) and an MBA from Salem International University (WV). He received his commission as a Surface Warfare Officer from OCS (RI) and reported to USS Chafee (DDG 90) in Hawaii as both the Electrical and Key Management Infrastructure Officer. He served on several deployments to the C7F AOR. For his second tour, LT Alteri reported to USS Manchester (LCS 14) and USS Cincinnati (LCS 20) in California as both the First Lieutenant and Assistant Operations Officer. He was primarily tasked with certifying the Navy’s first MCM Mission Package, which directly led to the achievement of its Initial Operational Capability. Ashore, LT Alteri was a primary selectee for the Purdue Military Research Institute (PMRI) through Talent Management and earned his PhD in Technology. He will report to the Department Head School (RI) in January 2025 and his follow-on assignment will be aboard USS Delbert Black (DDG 119) in Florida as the Weapons Officer. His awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal, and various unit awards.

Send us a text

Dr. Stephen H. Rapp was born in Huntingdon, PA, USA.  He was appointed to the U. S. Naval Academy graduating with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering and Finance.  He became a Marine Officer specializing in armor, amphibious assault and space defense.  He supported combat operations in Beirut and Grenada and participated in combat during Operations Desert Storm and Iraqi Freedom.  He attended the Naval Postgraduate School graduating with a Master of Science in Operations Research, specializing in Engineering Optimization.  His thesis, a discrete network optimization for rapid mobilization won the MORS - Tisdale Award for “the thesis most likely to improve national defense” and later the INFORMS - Koopman Prize.
He is currently the lead scientist and technical specialist for supporting Army ground vehicle trade studies and applied mathematical research for improving tradespace analytics.  He is also, currently the Director for the MS in Systems Engineering at Wayne State University, teaching in the evenings on the web.

Send us a text

Dr. Alexander Stimpson, Ph.D.
Dr. Stimpson received his Ph.D. and S.M. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a B.S. from the University of Florida in Biological Engineering. His background is in applied artificial intelligence, human-automation interaction, human cognitive modeling, and supervisory control systems. He has worked extensively in autonomous systems, with experience across undersea, surface, ground, rail, and air domains. Today he is Chief Scientist at VTG, a national security provider.

RADM Jim Shannon, USN (Ret)
RADM Shannon was a career surface warfare officer with command experience at sea and at the major command level (Echelon III). He led all tactical warfare training for prospective surface warfare department heads (1994) and was a Major Program Manager for future combat system architecture development under PEO Integrated Warfare Systems (2003-2007). Today he is an executive with VTG, a national security provider.

Send us a text

Join Nora and Bill with their guest, CDR Ian Underwood.  They discuss Ian's journey in STEM where he embraces his wanderlust and leaves college to enlist and then comes back later to finish his degree.  He relates how real-world experience doing hard and dirty jobs helped him find his path where now he leads teams of people to keep the critical infrastructure of Navy bases operating every day.

Biography
Commander Underwood is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina, and a 2007 graduate of North Carolina State University with a Bachelor of Science in Industrial and Systems Engineering. He holds a Master of Engineering in Civil Engineering from the University of Florida and a Master of Business Administration from the University of North Carolina. He commissioned through the Seaman-to-Admiral 21 program after serving as an Engineering Aide.

CDR Underwood’s operational tours include crew supervisor, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 7; platoon commander and Officer-in-Charge of Detail Haiti, Amphibious Construction Battalion 2; and Force Readiness Officer, 1st Naval Construction Division. 

His shore assignments include construction manager, Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba; Public Works Officer, Marine Barracks Washington, D.C.; Professor of Contracting and Facilities Engineering at the Defense Acquisition University; and Resident Officer in Charge of Construction at Naval Support Activity Bethesda, Maryland; and Assistant Operations Officer for NAVFAC EURAFCENT in Naples, Italy. He assumed his current role of Public Works Officer, Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island in July 2023.

CDR Underwood is a registered professional engineer in the Commonwealth of Virginia, a member of the Defense Acquisition Corps, a qualified Seabee Combat Warfare Officer, and a certified Project Management Professional.

Send us a text

Join Bill and Nora with their guest, Grant Vermeer.  They discuss Grant's journey in the cyber world of the Navy through the Naval Academy and beyond.  Plus, hear how Grant was successful in college basketball while doing a rigorous STEM degree.

Biography
Grant is a graduate of Bellarmine College Preparatory and the great class of 2017 from the United States Naval Academy.  During his time at the Naval Academy, Grant was a cyber operations major and a four-year member of the basketball team.  He was then commissioned into the Cryptologic Warfare Community and served in support of Submarine Operations.

After separating from the Navy, he entered the world of self employment.  He currently works in the Residential Real Estate business as a partner in The Vermeer Group, which services California and Texas. He is also the founder of Academy Insider.  Academy Insider is a recognized 501(c)(3) that guides, serves, and supports Midshipmen, future Midshipmen, and their families. 

Send us a text

Join Nora and Bill as they talk with their guest, Dr. John Cordle, about his path from an interest in dinosaurs to nuclear propulsion and being the Captain of a ship.

Dr. Cordle is the senior Human Factors Engineer at Commander Naval Surface Forces. He is a retired Navy Captain (nuclear trained) who had Command of USS SAN JACINTO and USS OSCAR AUSTIN. He is the principal advisor to the Commander Naval Surface Force Atlantic for Human Factors and Human Systems Integration (HFE/HSI) matters. He establishes and implements human factors measures, analysis and team/individual performance improvement. He is the Navy's lead with Dr. Shattuck in Human Performance Shaping and Crew Endurance for ship operations.

Send us a text

Join Bill and Nora as they talk with their guest, Dan Skane, about how he was influenced by his Father and Grandfather.

Dan Skane is an executive level manager with proven expertise leading multi-disciplined engineering teams in developing innovative solutions and rapidly delivering cost effective operational capability for the Department of Defense and Naval Aviation. He started his career as an Aerospace Engineer, and later became a program manager working on a variety of Navy aircraft and weapon systems. As an engineer, he held positions in aerodynamics,  test & evaluation, logistics, and systems engineering. As a program manager, he led the development and production of a variety of Naval Aviation systems such as, Tactical Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Aerial Targets and Decoys, Combat Electronics, and Nuclear Command, Control & Communications Aircraft. Later in his career, he served as the Director of Acquisition Management for the Naval Air Warfare Center (Aircraft Division), and Deputy Program Executive Officer for Unmanned Systems Integration and Autonomy.  In 2023 he retired from civil service and is now a Senior Manager for Navy & Marine Corps Programs for Torch Technologies, an engineering services company providing research, development, and engineering services to the Federal Government and Department of Defense.

Send us a text

Join Bill and Nora as they talk with their guest, Deklan Hoff, about how the Marines work with the Army and Navy.

Deklan Hoff spent 4 years on Active duty in the Marine Corps as a Chemical Biological Radioactive Nuclear (CBRN) Defense Specialist. He is now pursuing a career as a Contractor for the Navy as a Program Analyst in the civilian sector. Throughout his career he has led multiple teams in hazardous environments, including time spent training with Pentagon Force protection Agency (PFPA), the Secret Service, and FDNY. In his free time, he plays hockey actively and is pursuing his college degree to further his education.