Jacqueline Cortese

What are you doing now?

I’m on the Government Affairs team at Blue Origin, a commercial spaceflight company with the vision of millions of people living and working in space. I get to spend my days advocating for the incredible and important work our team does toward making space accessible.

How has the Fellowship impacted your career?

The Fellowship literally helped launch my career (pun intended)! I was an intern at the NASA Headquarters History Office when I was determining my topic for the research requirement of the CSPC Fellowship. My passion for space was there, but I didn’t have the network yet. I investigated the History Office primary source archives and decided to tell the story of the big policy impact of the little known 1980s Congressional Space Caucus, co-founded in a bipartisan manner by then Congressmen Newt Gingrich (R-GA) and Daniel Akaka (D-HI). Through my research, I conducted firsthand interviews with the staffers that helped make the Caucus a success, and in turn, developed the network that led to my role at Blue Origin!

What is your favorite memory of the Fellowship?

My favorite memory of the Fellowship was the amazing people I met during the Fall and Spring leadership conferences. Everyone was so passionate about policy and making a difference in DC. I actually still run into fellow Fellows from time to time on the Hill and around town all these years later!

If you could have any job in the world, what would you do?

I can honestly say I have my dream job, but I’d also love to be the proprietor of the first Taco Bell in space. Just kidding, but seriously.

Originally published February 17, 2020.