Meet the Team
Alissa J. Haddaji
Founder/Director
Sally O’Keeffe
Head Graphic and Web Designer
Etienne J. Haddaji
Assistant Director
Erin Olivieri
Communications, Outreach, and Fundraising Officer
Alissa J. Haddaji
Founder/Director
Alissa J. Haddaji is an Adjunct Professor of Space Law, Policy, and Ethics, specializing in International Space Threat Management (Planetary Protection & Defense). She is the founder and director of The Space Consortium and Massachusetts Space Week (formerly Space Week at Harvard, now expanded statewide). She serves as the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA) coordinator for the United Nations-mandated Space Mission Planning Advisory Group (SMPAG) Legal Working Group on Planetary Defense. She is also the Chair of the International Astronautical Federation’s (IAF) Near Earth Object & Planetary Defense Committee. Additionally, she represents the International Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) to SMPAG. Dr. Haddaji developed and taught the first Space Law, Policy, and Ethics curriculum at Harvard University, Harvard Law School and Boston College Law School, which she now continues to teach statewide through The Space Consortium. She previously served as COSPAR’s Planetary Protection Project Officer (2015–2019), was a senior researcher in space economics at Harvard Business School (2020), a space policy research fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, and a visiting scholar at the GWU Space Policy Institute. She holds a Ph.D. in Science and Technology Policy and five Master’s degrees in Planetary Science, History/International Relations, Political Science, Law, and Socio-Anthropology, from Brown University, La Sorbonne University, and Bordeaux 1 University.
Sally O’Keeffe
Head Graphic and Web Designer
Sally O’Keeffe is a Canadian artist and recent graduate of Harvard College. She graduated magna cum laude in English & Art, Film, and Visual Studies. On a visit to the Kennedy Space Center as a child, Sally met an astronaut who told her she could go on a mission to Mars when she grew up. This inspired her dream of becoming an astronaut and pursuing an education in math and science— that dream changed in high school when she realized how much she loved art and writing. She has since studied the mediums of drawing, photography, painting, sculpture, and 16 mm film. During her time at Harvard, Sally began exploring graphic and UX design and worked on prototypes for iPhone apps. Outside of the Space Consortium, Sally works as an artist and freelance graphic designer.
Etienne J. Haddaji
Assistant Director
Etienne J. Haddaji is the Assistant Director of The Space Consortium. With a lifelong passion for space, nurtured since childhood through his older brother’s astrophotography pursuits, his journey led him to join the Consortium, and assisted in the development and planning of MA Space Week. Beyond his Consortium work, he is a trained physical therapist and an avid baseball player and enthusiast. Join Etienne and the Space Consortium on their mission to bring the wonders of space closer to the public, or simply connect with him to discuss space, sports, or gaming – he’s always ready for a cosmic conversation.
Erin Olivieri
Communications, Outreach, and Fundraising Officer
Erin joins the Space Consortium as the Communications, Outreach, and Fundraising Officer with over a decade of event planning experience, which she is excited to bring to the space industry! She graduated from Harvard College in 2020 where she studied Government and Astrophysics as a first-generation college student. Erin now works in Constituent Services at the Massachusetts State Senate and TAs for Prof. Haddaji’s Space Law, Policy, and Ethics course at the Harvard Summer School. Her particular areas of interest are space debris mitigation and the international relations implications of space mining. Outside of the Consortium, Erin enjoys watching hockey, baking, and reading 1980s crime dramas.