Our Team

Global Expertise in Space Design and Development

RPV draws upon a talented and knowledgeable group of Directors and Advisors who are world-class experts in many fields. Our team includes architects, engineers, scientists, writers, producers, marketers, artists and astronauts. We have it covered!

We also have an extensive worldwide network of companies, government agencies, institutes, foundations and individuals to call upon in service of our clients’ needs. These include:

Themed Entertainment Association (TEA)
Explore Mars, Inc.
The Mars Institute
The Mars Society
Adventure Travel Society

National Space Society
World Future Society
The Planetary Society
Space Tourism Society
Earthwatch Institute

Board of Directors

  • John Spencer

    John Spencer is President, CEO, Founder and Chief Designer for Red Planet Ventures, Inc. He is an outer space architect and founder of the Space Tourism Society (STS). John is the author of Space Tourism – Do You Want to Go? published by Apogee books in 2004.

  • Marc Rosenthal

    Marc Rosenthal is Vice President and COO of Red Planet Ventures, Inc. He is an award winning LA Producer-Designer, owner of Personal Creations, Inc., who is involved with international theatrical, themed entertainment projects, and spectacles. He designed and led the largest school campus Aquaponics garden project in the nation, is COB for LA League of Arts, supports people in transformation, enjoys making interesting things, and loves space.

  • Kent Chiu

    Kent Chiu is a car enthusiast with deep marketing and sales experience in the automotive industry. He drives brand value by focusing on the customer experience and long term value. Kent received his MBA from the University of California, Irvine.

  • Patrick Gallegos

    Patrick Gallegos is Secretary of Red Planet Ventures, inc. Patrick is the Managing Principal of Gallegos Lighting Design, the creators of award winning immersive lighting environments for projects worldwide since 1982.  He is a leader in the larger world of developing immersive environments as a Founding Member of the Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) and a nine year member of the TEA International Board, including two as International President.  He continues his overall support of the industry as a member of the TEA International Past Presidents Advisory Committee.

  • Roger Gilbertson

    Writer • Producer • Product Developer. As the first full-time “media guy” at SpaceX, Roger Gilbertson wrote and directed early Falcon and Dragon videos and webcasts. He’s produced documentaries about EVs and NASA, and created numerous robot, Muscle Wires, and space products.

  • Trace Hadfield

    Trace Hadfield has an extensive background in Mechanical Engineering. After years of CAD/CAM he migrated to IT. He worked on the SSC particle accelerator including a project in Siberia for the US Dept of Energy. He is heavily involved with various leading edge tech companies.

  • Guy Jackson

    Guy has been involved in most aspects of aerospace engineering for over 30 years. He holds a BSEE from the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana, was formerly an employee of NASA and is an investor/co-owner of Legion M.

  • Dr. Alexander Layendecker

    Dr. Alexander Layendecker is a former Air Force space operations officer and holds a PhD in Human Sexuality. Dr. Layendecker’s research focused on human sexuality and reproduction in off-Earth environments, and the future research that will be needed to make the long-term colonization of other worlds a viable possibility.

  • Seena Sharp

    Seena Sharp, is a pioneer in competitive and market intelligence, founding one of the first firms in 1979, Sharp Market Intelligence. She continues to be one of the most strategic and insightful leaders in this field, receiving awards and speaking globally.

  • Jeff Tollefson

    Jeff Tollefson is an internet entrepreneur, having built several ecommerce businesses with strong international presence. His interest in the necessity of deep space exploration, resource mining, and homesteading of compatible planets led him to RPV, Mars World Enterprises, Inc. (MWE) and other space company startups.

  • Dr. Daniel Villani

    Dr. Daniel Villani has supported design, test, and mission operations for 20+ space missions, including probes to Venus and Jupiter, weather and communications satellites, and cargo missions to International Space Station. He now owns and operates DV Astronautics Consulting.

Board of Advisors

  • James Heimler

    Jim Heimler is a co-founder of RPV. He has been an award-winning architect for 32 years, providing design, production, and project management services on over 2,500 projects to a wide variety of clients.

  • Dr. Jun Isobe

    Dr. Jun Isobe, presently an engineer at Honeywell Aerospace, is active in the techology startup landscape. His interests in space exploration got him involved in Red Planet Ventures in 2005.

  • Dr. Larry Kawano

    Larry Kawano is consultant to Astrocamp, a residential science camp. He coordinated the camp’s efforts to align its programs with science standards and brought in researchers to give presentations to Astrocamp’s instructors. Larry had an earlier career as a cosmologist.

  • Jason Klassi

    Jason Klassi is an Emmy-nominated documentary producer and author of the award-winning “Everyday Space Traveler” with a foreword by moonwalker Buzz Aldrin.  NASA, the International Astronautical Federation and notable journals around the world have published Jason’s contributions to space exploration.

  • Dr. Pascal Lee

    Dr. Lee is a planetary scientist at Mars Institute, SETI Institute, and NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, CA. His research is on Mars, its moons, and future human missions to the Red Planet. He works in Mars-like environments on Earth.

  • Dr. Nicola Sarzi-Amade

    Nicola Sarzi-Amade, Ph.D. is a Principal Systems Engineer at Raytheon and an entrepreneur. He was vice president of two aerospace companies in the Los Angeles area and chair of the AIAA Los Angeles-Las Vegas section. He holds a Ph.D. in Astronautics from USC.