Amy Kaminski

Amy Kaminski is the Program Executive for NASA’s Prizes, Challenges, and Crowdsourcing opportunities. She is a catalyst and champion for expanding public engagement with science and technology, having more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. federal government in policy and program development roles, working closely with the academic, nonprofit, and corporate sectors. Dr. Kaminski previously served as Senior Policy Advisor to NASA’s Chief Scientist. In her current and previous role, she has developed strategies to expand the space agency’s use of open innovation methods in its research, technology, and exploration activities. Before joining NASA, Dr. Kaminski contributed to the development of national space and science policies and oversaw NASA science and education program budgets and performance at the White House Office of Management and Budget.

Dr. Kaminski enjoys speaking with a variety of audiences about space policy, public engagement, and open innovation at NASA. She has written and co-authored numerous articles and book chapters on space policy and public engagement with space exploration. She is the editor of Space Science and Public Engagement: 21st Century Perspectives and Opportunities (Elsevier, 2021), a book showcasing the experiences and insights of some of the world’s leading practitioners and scholars in this arena. Dr. Kaminski’s second book, The People’s Spaceship: NASA, the Shuttle Era, and Public Engagement after Apollo, will be published by the University of Pittsburgh Press in 2024. The manuscript won the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ 2018 History Manuscript Award.