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Anousheh Ansari brings more than two decades as a successful serial entrepreneur to Prodea Systems, where she serves as Chairman.
Anousheh is capturing headlines around the world as the first female private space explorer. On Sept. 18, she will blast off for an 8 day expedition aboard the International Space Station. She will be a member of the primary crew of the Soyuz TMA-9, which will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Her fellow crew members will include NASA astronaut Michael Lopez-Alegria and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin.
Anousheh will be the fourth private space explorer to visit space, and the first astronaut of Iranian descent. She spent over 6 months preparing for the journey at the Gagarin Cosmonauts Training Centre in Star City, Russia and the Johnson Space Center in Houston/TX, USA.
An active proponent of world-changing technologies, Anousheh has dreamed of space exploration since childhood. Her family provided the title sponsorship for the Ansari X Prize, a $10 million cash award for the first non-governmental organization to launch a reusable manned spacecraft into space twice within two weeks. This feat was accomplished in 2004 by legendary aerospace designer Burt Rutan in 2004.
Prior to founding Prodea Systems, Anousheh served as co-founder, chief executive officer and chairman of the board for telecom technologies, inc. After earning three key U.S. patents, and growing the company to 250 employees with 100% sequential growth year over year since inception, the company successfully merged with Sonus Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONS), a provider of IP-based voice infrastructure products.
A living example of the American dream, Anousheh Ansari immigrated to the United States as a teenager who did not speak English. She immersed herself in education, earning a bachelor's degree in electronics and computer engineering from George Mason University, followed by a master's degree in electrical engineering from George Washington University. She is currently working toward a master's degree in astronomy from Swinburne University.
Anousheh is a member of the X Prize Foundation's Vision Circle, as well as its Board of Trustees. She has received multiple honors, including the Working Woman's National Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, George Mason University's Entrepreneurial Excellence Award, George Washington University's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, and the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award for Southwest Region. While under her leadership, telecom technologies earned recognition as one of Inc. magazine's 500 fastest-growing companies and Deloitte & Touche's Fast 500 technology companies.
In addition to her business achievements, Anousheh actively pursues ways to enable social entrepreneurs to bring about radical change globally. She has served on the boards of directors for Make-a-Wish Foundation of North Texas and Collin County Children's Advocacy Center. She works with a number of other non-profit organizations, including the Ashoka Foundation in its support of social entrepreneurs.
For more information or to arrange an interview, contact Terri Griffin at 214.278.1855. Stay tuned for more information on Anousheh's space flight.
Yeah, it's all very impressive stuff, actually. My favorite bit are the learned English and got an education notes.
I feel kinda bad for my "not religious at all" statement because I meant it as a sort of corollary to the tagline one sees here, "Moderate Islam is for Dilettantes". With my point being: Any way you look at it, she's managed to not let the Koran hold her back.
Also, this crossed my mind, just as there are no atheists in foxholes, I suspect there aren't many atheists at T minus Zero on the tip of a rocket and/or orbiting earth.
I think I'll say a little prayer for her safety now. And, It probably wouldn't hurt for me to say one for myself regarding my continuing struggle to deal with, relate to and tolerate when appropriate, Islam.