Alumni Merit Awardee, 2024

Cassie Kloberdanz Lee has built a career at the intersection of technology and impact. She is co-founder and CEO of Sound Future, a nonprofit that leverages the power of live events to catalyze climate innovation. Lee built and led Climate Intelligence at Lockheed Martin, served as the head of Space Programs for Paul G. Allen’s Vulcan Inc., and was the COO of Earthrise Alliance. She brings over 20 years of engineering experience to Sound Future from roles at NASA, SpaceX, and Sierra Nevada Corporation, in addition to having served as an assistant professor for the University of Colorado at Boulder. Lee is a strategic advisor to Arts for Action, PLACE, and Bye Aerospace, as well as a founding member of the United Nations Space4Women network and co-founder of the Brooke Owens Fellowship.

Lee received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Iowa in 2003.