Kai Staats

Kai Staats has a long and varied work experience. In 1979, they co-founded Jae & Kai's Lemonade Stand with their brother Jae in Columbus, Nebraska. In 1993, they founded Terra Firma Design, a marketing consulting and website development company, in Fort Collins, Colorado. In 1999, they launched Terra Soft Solutions (TSS), a company that grew the Yellow Dog Linux brand name and customer base to one of the most recognized Linux operating systems in the world. In 2009, they became the Principal Manager of Over the Sun, LLC, a platform for research, science outreach and education, and storytelling. In 2017, they were a Visiting Scientist at the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) and a Project Lead at the Interplanetary Initiative at ASU SESE. In 2018, they were appointed Chief Science Officer at CisLunar Industries. In 2020, they became Program Manager at Paragon Space Development Corporation.

Kai Staats began their educational journey in 1990, when they attended Arizona State University and earned a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Design in 1993. In 1991, they also completed a Summer Internship at Stanford University in Biology. From 2014 to 2016, they attended the University of Cape Town and earned a Masters of Science in Machine Learning applied to radio astronomy. In 2017, they attended the International Space University and completed the Space Studies Program 2017 in Aerospace, Aeronautical and Astronautical/Space Engineering. Finally, from 2010 to 2019, Kai Staats attended the NOLS Wilderness Medicine Institute and earned a WFR in Wilderness Medicine.