November Speaker: Kent Dutrieux

Holy Crap! Did that just happen?

Kent, as most of you know, is a SIR member of this very same branch, if you haven’t heard him yelling from either the check-in table or from the podium you might want to wake up for the November Luncheon. Kent has been involved in air traffic control for 28 years out of his 32 years working for the government. Yes, that’s right, your hard-earned tax dollars are paying for his butt to stay away from the radar screens and to stop endangering public safety. Several years ago, he was before this branch giving his talk on how air traffic control works around the Bay Area, now he’s back to enrich your lives with tales and stories of his experiences during his career. You’ll hear about the blood curdling near misses and close calls that happened on a daily basis while he was busy at work trying to get the coffee machine to spit out a good cup of coffee. Most of the stories will be humorous, some not so, but all informative. Kent doesn’t have a book but if you want, bring any comic book and he’ll be happy to sign it.

January Speaker: Danica Remy

How The Asteroid Institute and the B612 Foundation are Working to Protect us from Asteroid Impact

Danica is President of B612 Foundation and leads the organization’s global efforts to protect Earth from asteroid impacts. She co-founded Asteroid Day, a United Nations Day of education and awareness. She is a well-respected Silicon Valley strategist and operations executive. She has successfully led numerous startups, companies, and non-profits at the forefront of pioneering technology, internet services, education, scenario planning and philanthropy. She is a recognized expert in information technology, facilities, human resources, finance, and government relations.

Fun Marin Fact
Danica, a resident of Mill Valley, grew up in San Anselmo as a fourth-generation native of Marin County, a College of Marin alumni and spent her youth, in part, shooting off homemade rockets with her father and brother from what is now the Bon Air Center, and then chasing happily across the marshlands to retrieve them.

The mission of the B612 Foundation is to develop tools and technologies to understand, map, and navigate our solar system, and protect our home planet from asteroid impacts.

Asteroid Institute® brings together scientists, researchers, and engineers to develop tools and technologies to understand, map, and navigate our solar system. A program of B612 Foundation®, the Asteroid Institute leverages advances in computer science, instrumentation, and astronomy to find and track asteroids. Since 2002, the Foundation has supported research and technologies to enable the economic development of space and enhance our understanding of the evolution of our solar system in addition to supporting educational programs, including Asteroid Day and the Schweickart Prize. Founding Circle and Asteroid Circle members, and individual donors from 46 countries provide financial support for the work.