Stephen Lee Morgan - Background

Background

Morgan joined NACLS in March 2003 as Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and was promoted to President and appointed a member of the Board of Directors in October 2003. In late 2003, he spearheaded the establishment of not-for-profit corporation in Florida to support the wider use of MSS technologies throughout the world. This led to the incorporation of the Argos Foundation in March 2004, to which Morgan was appointed as President and CEO, as well as Vice Chairman of the Board of Trustees; in 2006, he became Chairman of the Board. In 2010, the Foundation's name was changed to the Aquaterra Foundation, Inc. Morgan had previously worked for the CLS organization as Director, Business Development from 1992 through 1996. Prior to his return to the CLS Group of Companies, Morgan was involved in numerous start-up ventures in the satellite industry, including Kitcomm Satellite Communications and Miraxis (the latter a spin-off venture of the well-established EMS Technologies of Norcross, Georgia). Following his departure from the CLS Group, he became Executive Director of the Universities Space Network for Research (USNR), which is an affiliated sub-division of the Aquaterra Foundation.

In 1986, Morgan proposed the establishment of a (state-sponsored) space technology industry development initiative to Governor Bob Martinez, and was appointed to the newly-established Florida Governor's Commission on Space in 1987. The Commission, sometimes referred to as the Young Commission after Chairman A. Thomas Young, then President of Martin Marietta Florida Operations, was vice-chaired by then-Secretary of Commerce Jeb Bush, who later became Governor of Florida. While a member of the Commission, Morgan led the task group which developed the concept of a state-operated space launch facility. This initiative led to the establishment of Florida Space Authority, which operates a number of space launch complexes for commercial use at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Following this experience, Morgan was appointed as Virginia's Director of Space Industry Development, at the Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) in 1989. While with CIT, he established a number of programs the Virginia Space Business Incubator, the first small business organization of its kind in the US. He also provided funding to and managed the effort at Old Dominion University to establish the Center for Space Transportation Research, which later became the Virginia Space Flight Center (or the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport), a commercial space launch facility at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.

Prior to becoming involved in the management of space initiatives, Morgan was an engineer with a number of firms involved in space and telecommunications in Florida, including Harris Corporation, and McDonnell Douglas Technical Services Company at Kennedy Space Center, Florida.

Morgan started his career in the aerospace field when he joined the U.S. Air Force in 1976. He was stationed at Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota, and while there, earned a B.S. degree in computer science from the University of North Dakota. Returning to his native state of Florida in 1980, he later earned M.S. and Ed.S. degrees in engineering management and science education, from the Florida Institute of Technology. He received a commission in the U.S. Naval Reserve in May 1981, and served in a number of capacities as a reserve officer until his retirement from the Naval Reserve in 1998, with the rank of Lt. Commander. His military decorations and awards include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, two Meritorious Unit Commendations, two Air Force Outstanding Unit Awards, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with mobilization device and bronze hourglass denoting 10 years of Reserve service, the Navy Overseas Service Ribbon, and Expert Marksmanship Medals for both rifle and pistol. He was recalled to active duty during Operation Desert Storm in 1991, and served with the Naval Space Command in Dahlgren, Virginia, and the U.S. Space Command in Colorado Springs, Colorado, during that conflict. He earned a further B.A. degree in history and political science from the University of the State of New York; he continued graduate studies in the Liberal Arts at this school, renamed Excelsior College.

Morgan served on the Board of the National Safe Waterways and Seaports Alliance, and was a Contributing Editor for Innovation at Cargo Security International magazine. He holds the Certified in Homeland Security (CHS) designation from the American Board for Certification in Homeland Security. Morgan is a member of the American Legion, Post 177, Fairfax, Virginia.

In July 2008, Morgan was commissioned as a Major in the Virginia Defense Force"Virginia Defense Force". The Virginia Defense Force.. http://www.vdf.virginia.gov/. Retrieved 2008-07-14., pursuant to Virginia Law 44-75. While with the VDF, Morgan earned the Basic and Senior Military Emergency Management Specialist badges. By the end of 2009, he had transitioned to the VDF Auxiliary. Major Morgan is a Life Member of the State Guard Association of the United States, and is a Provisional Staff Instructor of the SGAUS MEMS Academy, for Virginia. He has also received the "Certified in Homeland Security, Level-V" (CHS-V) designation from the ABCHS. An Emergency Medical Technician licensed by the State of Virginia, he was a member of the Fairfax County/Dunn-Loring Volunteer Fire & Rescue Dept until 2010. Other public service positions held by Morgan include service as a Chief Election Officer, for the Fairfax (County) Electoral Board (for whom he has served in one-dozen elections), and as a member of the Fairfax (County) Community Emergency Response Team. Since 2006, he has also been a member of the Most Venerable Order of St. John of Jerusalem, a British order of Chivalry; in 2009, he became a member of the Muristan Society within that organization; he was promoted to the grade of Officer of St John in 2010. He continued to pursue his goal of expanded medical-related qualifications by receiving the CPhT certification (pharmacy technician) from the Pharmacy Technician Certification Board, with subsequent licensing as such by the Virginia Board of Pharmacy in 2010. He has taken additional emergency management and medical-related courses from the American Red Cross National Capital Region.

Morgan is a member of the Orthodox Church in America, affiliated with the parish of St Mark Orthodox Church in Bethesda, Maryland, where he serves as a grade-school-level Church School teacher. He has also studied in the Antiochian Orthodox Church's program in theology, associated with the University of Balamand, Lebanon.