In this Making Leaders interview, we hear from Joan Tang Mancuso, Marketing & Business Consultant, now retired, and the 2024 SSPI Mentor of the Year. Joan has provided expert guidance, mentorship and support to young people in the space & satellite industry throughout her more-than-30-year career and long after retiring from full-time work. As a member of the SSPI Mid-Atlantic Chapter Board, she spearheaded the creation, promotion and implementation of a scholarship program to help inner city high school students with STEM education. An inaugural participant in SSPI-WISE’s Mentorship program, Joan mentored four different women across three countries, guiding them through career development, job changes, promotions and professional and personal challenges. Of particular note, she guided one mentee through a successful career transition from a technical role to a managerial position and helped another advance her career while navigating a difficult international relocation. Joan has also provided her insights and expertise to broader groups of women and industry professionals through a number of SSPI-WISE panels and online discussions.

Joan began her career in the space & satellite industry as Director of Global Sales & Marketing at COMSAT in 1983. Over the next three decades she served in a variety of senior marketing and sales positions for other key players in the evolution of the industry, including AT&T, GE and L-3. Throughout her career, Joan was responsible for managing and growing complex sales organizations and played a major role in successfully closing multi-million-dollar contracts in Asia, South America and throughout the United States. Read more about Joan.