Caitlin SullivanDirector, American Rocketry Challenge

Caitlin Sullivan serves as Director for the American Rocketry Challenge at the Aerospace Industries Association. With over 20 years of experience, Sullivan has focused on increasing access to STEM education and experiences for students and championing educators as leaders in their field.

Prior to joining AIA, Sullivan served as Director of Outreach & Equity Programs at the Society for Science, where she built a suite of initiatives to empower educators to mentor students in STEM research projects and competitions. These programs served over 500 educators in person annually and reached more than 55,000 students. She also oversaw philanthropic giving to educators and community-connected nonprofit organizations that uniquely serve their communities’ needs through STEM initiatives.

Prior to this, Sullivan was the Program Manager for the Intel Science Talent Search, the most prestigious STEM research competition for U.S. high school seniors. She led the transition of the then 70-year-old competition to a fully electronic application and selection process and piloted educator outreach efforts during this time.

Sullivan began her teaching career in chemistry and physics at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD and earned National Board Certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. She holds a B.S. in Chemistry and an M.S in Education from Indiana University, Bloomington.