MARK
BRENDER
Mr. Brender has more than 35 years of experience in public affairs, broadcast journalism, government relations, business, managing non-profit organizations and the military.
SPACE
Past President and Executive Director, DigitalGlobe Foundation
Mark Brender held this position since he established the Foundation in March 2007. He is currently a consultant in the geospatial and satellite imagery industry. From January 2006 until October 2010, he served as the Vice President of Communications and Marketing for GeoEye, Inc.
Prior to joining GeoEye in January 2006, he was the vice president of Communications and Washington Operations at Space Imaging. In 1999, Space Imaging launched IKONOS, the world's first high-resolution Earth imaging satellite.
Mr. Brender began writing and speaking about the importance high-resolution commercial Earth observation as early as 1985 when he established the Radio and Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) Remote Sensing Task Force. The task force helped clear the way for high-resolution satellite imagery to eventually move from the defense and intelligence sector to the commercial sector.
MEDIA
In 1998, prior to joining Space Imaging, Mr. Brender was a broadcast journalist for ABC News, spending 16 years at the network as an assignment editor, national security editorial producer, Pentagon producer and radio correspondent.
MILITARY
Before his ABC career, he served in the U.S. Navy as a public affairs officer. He is a retired Naval Reserve Commander. As a naval officer, he also served as a White House Military Social Aide to the President of the United States.
Mr. Brender has an undergraduate degree from Miami University in Ohio and a Master's degree in Public Relations from the Kogod School of Business at American University in Washington, D.C. He served on a National Academy of Sciences Board from 2011-2014. Currently he is a consultant to Kivvit, a national public relations and media firm.
He resides with his wife, Sharon Brender, in Arlington, Virginia and Telluride, Colorado.