Mary Ellen Weber

Dr. Mary Ellen Weber is an accomplished American executive, scientist, aviator, keynote speaker, and former NASA astronaut with a distinguished career spanning space exploration, strategic leadership, and innovation.

She founded Stellar Strategies, LLC, to provide expert consulting in strategic communications and high-stakes operational strategies. She served on the NASA Advisory Council Committee on Technology and Innovation, guiding the agency’s future technological advancements, and wass a board member for Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Weber holds board positions with Stellar Generation, Inc., a startup developing ultraclean, affordable fuel, and serves as Vice President and board member of the Association of Space Explorers, the professional society for flown astronauts.

Additionally, she advises Uplift Education, a high-performing charter school network. A sought-after keynote speaker, Dr. Weber brings over two decades of experience inspiring audiences worldwide.

A veteran of two NASA spaceflights, Dr. Weber flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery in 1995 to deploy a communications satellite and aboard Atlantis in 2000 to construct the International Space Station, logging over 450 hours in space. Among the youngest astronauts to fly, she held critical roles at NASA in commercialization, communications, and program oversight, earning the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. She served NASA for a decade before resigning in 2002.

Most recently, Dr. Weber spent nine years as Vice President at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, a $1.6 billion globally recognized research, hospital, and medical education institution. There, she spearheaded strategies that boosted annual state and federal appropriations from $100 million to $170 million.

Dr. Weber holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from UC Berkeley, an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University, and a B.S. in chemical engineering from Purdue University. An avid aviator, she is an instrument-rated pilot and a world-class skydiver with over 5,000 jumps, 17 national championship medals, and a world record.