GURPARTAP 'GP' SANDHOO, D.SC., ACTING DIRECTOR
Dr. Gurpartap “GP” Sandhoo is the Acting Director of the Space Development Agency. Before his selection as the Acting Director, Dr. Sandhoo served as the Deputy Director, where he supported the daily management of the organization and the execution of the development, fielding, and operation of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, delivering essential space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter in support of terrestrial missions.
Prior to joining SDA, Dr. Sandhoo served as Vice President and Chief Architect at Quantum Space and as Director for Emerging Technologies at Northrop Grumman. His previous government experience
includes serving as Deputy Director at the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency (known as IARPA) and holding the Heinlein Chair in Astronautics at the U.S. Naval Academy. Earlier in his career, he led the Spacecraft Engineering Division at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory and served as Acting Director of the Naval Center of Space Technology, where he provided executive direction and technical leadership in conducting research, development, and deployment of space systems with advanced technologies. He was also a flight controller at NASA's Johnson Space Center and was a research and development engineer at Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory.
A veteran of more than 36 years of military service in the active and reserve components of the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, Dr. Sandhoo last served as the National Reconnaissance Office liaison to the Security Assistance Group-Ukraine and as a senior scientist at the Defense Innovation Unit.
Dr. Sandhoo holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Maryland, an M.S. in Space Systems, a D.Sc. in Aeronautics, Astronautics, and Propulsion from George Washington University, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from the Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is a 2016-2017 Fellow of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Seminar XXI.
ABOUT SDA
Leadership
MICHAEL EPPOLITO, ACTING DEPUTY DIRECTOR
Mr. Mike Eppolito is the acting deputy director and chief program officer for the Space Development Agency (SDA). SDA is recognized as the Department of Defense's constructive disruptor for space acquisition. SDA will quickly deliver much needed space-based capabilities to the joint warfighter to support terrestrial missions through development, fielding, and operation of the PWSA.
As chief program officer, Mr. Eppolito oversees planning, development, and fielding of all programs within the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PWSA). Before his selection as the chief program officer, Mr. Eppolito served as the Battle Management Cell chief and the Tranche 0 program director at SDA.
Mr. Eppolito began his career with over a decade of experience supporting the defense and intelligence communities as a contractor specializing in sensor technology, processing techniques, tasking, and collection mechanisms, for both airborne and spaceborne imaging systems. In those roles, he provided direct support to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and National
Reconnaissance Office, and spent seven and a half months in Afghanistan as an airborne mission commander during Operation Enduring Freedom. Mr. Eppolito went on to serve in a variety of project management roles for Exelis, Inc., Harris Corporation, and L3Harris Technologies, where he directed mission operations and innovation tasks at a government facility and monitored technical and financial execution of internal research and development projects. Prior to joining SDA, he managed the planning and daily execution of over 50 projects in an $80 million research and development portfolio focused on space and intelligence systems.
Mr. Eppolito has a Bachelor of Science degree in Imaging Science from the Rochester Institute of Technology.
HEATHER CAMPBELL, CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER AND DIRECTOR OF STAFF
Heather Campbell is the Chief Operations Officer and Director of Staff of the Space Development Agency (SDA). Established in March 2019, SDA is responsible for unifying and integrating the Department's space development efforts, monitoring the Department's threat-driven future space architecture, and accelerating fielding of new military space capabilities necessary to ensure U.S. technological and military advantages in space.
Ms. Campbell has a distinguished track record of providing strategic oversight of technology applications for U.S. Department of Defense investments. Currently, as the Chief Operations Officer, Ms. Campbell is responsible for ensuring SDA's staff is aligned with SDA's mission and vision for capability delivery, with a focus on corporate strategic planning and organizational effectiveness.
Prior to joining SDA, Ms. Campbell held long-term consulting assignments with both the Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Research and Engineering, where her responsibilities included development of new tools and processes that strengthened DOD's ability to identify and leverage innovative independent research and development projects across the defense industrial base. During her tenure in the Director's Office at DARPA, Ms. Campbell focused on the use of prize competitions to accelerate technology and product development and worked on high-profile projects to include the DARPA Grand and Urban Challenges that accelerated autonomous vehicle technology development worldwide.
Ms. Campbell holds a Master's of International Management from Thunderbird School of Global Management at Arizona State University and a Bachelor's in sociology from Washington University in St. Louis.