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George T. Whitesides

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For his father, a chemist, see George M. Whitesides.
George Whitesides
Official portrait, 2009
Member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's 27th district
Assuming office
January 3, 2025
SucceedingMike Garcia
Personal details
Born
George Thomas Whitesides

(1974-03-03) March 3, 1974 (age 50)
Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseLoretta Hidalgo
Children2
RelativesGeorge M. Whitesides (father)
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
King's College, Cambridge (MPhil)
AwardsNASA Distinguished Service Medal (2010)
WebsiteCampaign website

George Thomas Whitesides (born March 3, 1974)[1] is an American businessman and politician. For over a decade he was CEO of Virgin Galactic,[2] a firm developing commercial space vehicles at the Mojave Air and Space Port. He still serves as a member of the Virgin Galactic Advisory Board.[3] Whitesides was previously Chief of Staff of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration under Administrator Charles Bolden,[4] a position to which he was named after serving on the NASA transition team for the incoming Obama administration.[5]

On February 22, 2023, he announced his candidacy for California's 27th congressional district in the 2024 election. He defeated incumbent Republican representative Mike Garcia in the general election and will be sworn in on January 3, 2025.

Early life and education

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Whitesides graduated from Newton North High School in Newton, Massachusetts in 1992.[6] He attended Princeton University, graduating from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in 1996,[1][7] and serving for four years on Princeton's Board of Trustees upon graduation.[5] He later earned an MPhil in Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing from King's College, Cambridge,[4] and was also a Fulbright Scholar in Tunisia.[1][8]

Early career

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Whitesides speaking at the World Economic Forum in 2017

From 2004 to 2008, Whitesides served as the Executive Director of the National Space Society.[9] He is the co-creator of Yuri's Night, alongside his wife Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides.[10][1] In 2007, Whitesides was named Senior Advisor to Virgin Galactic, Richard Branson's space tourism company.[11]

Whitesides worked on the presidential transition of Barack Obama.[12] After Obama took office, Whitesides was appointed Chief of Staff of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, where he served until May 7, 2010.[1][5] Upon his departure, he was awarded the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the agency's highest award.[8][13]

After leaving NASA, Whitesides returned to Virgin Galactic, where he became the first person in the company to hold the CEO title.[1]

Whitesides was the Chairman of the Reusable Launch Vehicle Working Group of COMSTAC, the advisory committee for the FAA's Commercial Space Transportation Division.[1] He was also a board member of Astronomers Without Borders and the Space Generation Foundation.[5][4]

In March 2021, Whitesides announced he would be leaving Virgin Galactic to pursue public service, but would still be in an advisory position to the publicly traded company.[14]

He has also served as a coach for Zero Gravity Corporation's parabolic flight service. In July 2021, as co-founder and project lead of the SciAccess Initiative's Mission: AstroAccess, Whitesides opened applications for people with disabilities to partake in a ZERO-G parabolic flight; on December 15, 2022, its first formal research parabolic flight was flown, with 14 disability ambassadors from 5 countries in the mission.[15]

U.S. House of Representatives

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2024 election

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See also: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in California § District 27

On February 22, 2023, Whitesides announced he was running for California's 27th congressional district in the 2024 election as a Democrat, challenging incumbent Republican congressman Mike Garcia.[16] He defeated Garcia in the general election on November 5, 2024.[17]

Personal life

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Whitesides is married to Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, and they have two children.[1][4] His father is George M. Whitesides, a professor of chemistry at Harvard University.[1]

Whitesides was described by Equality California as a “regional influencers” in 2020 and 2021 for his donations of undisclosed amounts and touted their endorsement in his 2024 congressional campaign. Equality California campaigned aggressively to eliminate cash bail for many types of crimes, legalize prostitution, shorten probation periods for misdemeanors and some felonies, and end qualified immunity for police.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Walz, Kent (May 18, 2019). "Face to Face with George T. Whitesides: Reaching for the stars". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "Virgin Galactic Snags NASA Chief of Staff as CEO". socalTECH.com. May 17, 2010. Retrieved May 17, 2010.
  3. ^ "Whitesides steps down from Virgin Galactic". Spacenews. Retrieved April 17, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d Dugdale, Addy (May 29, 2010). "Crib Sheet: George T. Whitesides, Top Dog (in Space) at Virgin Galactic". Fast Company. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d "George T. Whitesides, NASA's Chief of Staff". NASA. May 1, 2010. Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  6. ^ Abrams, Meredith (March 25, 2011). "Virgin Galactic CEO presents information on space tourism". The Newtonite. pp. 6–7. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via Issuu.
  7. ^ Daugherty, Elisabeth H. (July 20, 2021). "July 20: George Whitesides '96 Brings People With Disabilities Into Space". Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton University Press. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Kane, Frank (December 27, 2018). "INTERVIEW: 'I have always dreamed of going into space' — George Whitesides, CEO Virgin Galactic". Arab News. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  9. ^ "George Whitesides". National Space Society. May 16, 2006. Archived from the original on May 11, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  10. ^ Hidalgo-Whitesides, Loretta; Whitesides, G. "About : what is yuri's night?". Yuri's Night. Archived from the original on April 13, 2008. Retrieved February 4, 2007.
  11. ^ Galactic, Virgin (June 21, 2007). "Virgin Galactic Appoints George Whitesides as Senior Advisor". NASASpaceflight. Archived from the original on July 13, 2012. Retrieved March 22, 2008.
  12. ^ "George Whitesides". Space For Humanity. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  13. ^ "Historical Awards Recipient List" (PDF). NASA. c. 2015. p. 233. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  14. ^ Foust, Jeff (March 5, 2021). "Whitesides steps down from Virgin Galactic". Space News. Retrieved March 5, 2021.
  15. ^ Howell, Elizabeth (December 20, 2022). "Zero-G flight for disability ambassadors shows space is accessible for all". Space.com. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  16. ^ "Former Virgin Galactic CEO enters US House race north of LA". Associated Press News. February 22, 2023. Retrieved April 17, 2023.
  17. ^ Branson-Potts, Hailey (November 11, 2024). "Whitesides captures L.A. County congressional seat in a major victory for Democrats". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 11, 2024.
  18. ^ "Calif. Dems Tout Ties to Criminal Leniency Group".
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