ABOUT US

Why was the Keystone Space Collaborative created?

Keystone Space Collaborative, initially formed in Pennsylvania and named after its founding source, has always embodied a tri-state mission.

Acting as the architectural cornerstone, the keystone serves as a vital connector, binding together the three states and providing a centralized function within the region. Space enables global industries, new technologies, science, health and safety, communications, navigation, and more. The global space economy is valued at over $469B today with estimates projecting the space economy to grow to over $1T between 2030 and 2040. The Keystone tri-state region has a long legacy as a home for important space missions, technology development and manufacturing, and space innovation. Recognizing the importance of space to the region and the nation’s future the Keystone Space Collaborative was formed to attract, grow and amplify the tri-state region’s space ecosystem.

Our Mission

The Keystone Space Collaborative is a nonprofit organization with a mission to support and serve the Tri-State Region’s (OH, PA, WV) growing space industry, and to attract and expand the next generation of space industry businesses and talent in the region.

We are the voice of the Tri-State Region’s space industry and community.

CORE Values & Operating Principles

Advocacy

Accelerate and promote space-related activities and strengths of the region to internal and external industry stakeholders including government partners.

Industry

Amplify, grow, and attract space-related business and funding opportunities within the region and to the region.

Research and Development

Develop R&D and educational opportunities for regional academic institutions.

Workforce Development

Develop and keep high-level talent within the region by creating access to space-related job opportunities and supporting overall space-related job growth in the region.

Leadership of the Keystone Space Collaborative is the responsibility of a Program Director that oversees day-to-day operations and growth initiatives, and a Board of Directors, which is a volunteer working group of the founding members of the organization.

Zoë Karabinus

Zoë Karabinus

Program Director

Zoë Karabinus is an Ohio State University alumnus with dual bachelor’s degrees in Aerospace Engineering and Aviation from the College of Engineering. She specializes in strategic planning and program management and development. She’s served on the executive team of multiple organizations including the Ohio State Aerospace Honorary Society (ΣΓΤ) and the Ohio Air Mobility Symposium. She has her private pilot license and remote pilot certification from Ohio State’s flight training program. Her experiences have allowed her with a diversified portfolio spanning both the Aerospace and Aviation industries.

Justine Kasznica, Board Chair, FOUNDER

Justine Kasznica, Board Chair, FOUNDER

Shareholder, Babst Calland

Justine Kasznica is a shareholder at and the Chair of the Emerging Technology Practice Group at Babst Calland LLP. Justine is a technology and corporate attorney who represents the legal and regulatory needs of clients who are customers and vendors of software, SaaS, IoT, AI, robotics and other technology products and services across diverse industries from banking to transportation. She specializes in supporting the regulatory and business services needs of clients in the autonomous mobility (UAS and AVs), and commercial space industries. She serves as outside general counsel to a number of aerospace clients across the U.S., including KSC members Astrobotic Technology, Inc. and  Acoustic Research Systems, Inc.

Justine serves on numerous boards and is involved in many community economic developments initiatives, including the Moonshot Museum (founding Board-member), Ascender PGH, and the Yale Club of Pittsburgh (former President). She serves on the Council of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Aeronautical and Space Law Section, is a member of the Dubai Courts of Space Initiative, and is a member of the Registration Project Working Group, a group of experts working with the Moon Village Association and Global Space Law Center to propose domestic and international laws and policy related to space commercialization, including the registration of space artifacts beyond Lower Earth Orbit. 

Justine received her B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and went on to receive her J.D. from Rutgers Law School.

Priscilla Beal, Board Vice Chair, FOUNDER

Priscilla Beal, Board Vice Chair, FOUNDER

Head of Realization, Roche/Genetech

In her current role leading the realization of Roche’s personalized healthcare strategy, Priscilla architects the next evolution of digital health, defining and leading pioneering programs changing the experiences and lives of patients and care providers. Prior to this, she spent 9 years at Bayer, championing external partnerships and open innovation for farmers, patients and consumers. The decade prior, Priscilla honed her skills managing the digital projects and strategies of global Marketing Agencies’ clients, where her focus was on customer centricity and delighting people with usable, engaging, and beautiful digital experiences. Priscilla drives out-of-the box thinking and solutions to traditional industry channels. Her passion for space and its terrestrial potential began during her time at NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and has carried through all her roles, most recently as the catalyst for Bayer’s first ISS project. 

Priscilla’s appreciation for human centered experience and penchant for the visual stems from her Master of Arts in Art History, earned at Richmond American University in London and Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of California at Santa Barbara. 

 Bernie McShea, Board Treasurer, FOUNDER

Bernie McShea, Board Treasurer, FOUNDER

MANAGING PRINCIPAL, THE McSHEA GROUP LLC

Bernie McShea is Managing Principal of The McShea Group LLC, an economic development and aerospace consulting firm based in Pittsburgh. Bernie’s previous roles include serving for more than a decade as SVP, Business Development for Space Florida, the State of Florida’s aerospace economic development agency, where he was instrumental in recruiting and growing a range of commercial and traditional aerospace companies, including start-up operations of Space X and Blue Origin, and expansion projects for Boeing (Starliner capsule), Northrop Grumman (B-21 testing and development).  

He also founded highly successful tech-based innovation initiatives with the Israel Innovation Authority and the Florida Venture Forum, leveraging state funding and private investment, and managed the entity’s Space Life Sciences Lab.  Additional roles include leading business development for the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (regional economic development), advising companies on location strategies at Deloitte Consulting, and managing a first-of-its-kind additive manufacturing campus at Pittsburgh International Airport.  

Bernie earned a B.A. in Economics from Northwestern University, and his MBA from the University of Michigan Stephen Ross School of Business.

Dr. Jonathan Volk, Board Member, FOUNDER

Dr. Jonathan Volk, Board Member, FOUNDER

Business Development Director, ZIN Technologies – Powered by Voyager Space

Dr. Jonathan Volk is the Business Development Director for ZIN Technologies, an Ohio-based commercial aerospace company. He supports growing new opportunities for the company and the entire Voyager Ecosystem with commercial, civil, and government customers. He has over 10 years of experience in the commercial space industry.

He previously served as the Senior Manager of In-Space Manufacturing and Advanced Materials at Sierra Space where he led programs and initiatives in this sector across all Sierra Space vehicles and platforms. Prior to joining Sierra Space, he served as the Director of Commercialization Strategies for Space Commerce Matters (SCM), where he developed and managed opportunities to drive the commercialization of space through innovation, research, testing, and manufacturing. Previous roles also include Commercial Innovation Manager for Physical and Materials Science at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), which managed the U.S. National Laboratory on the International Space Station (ISS). While there, he developed and managed innovation programs & projects with Fortune 500 companies. Jonathan led the team that recruited the National Science Foundation (NSF) to form a sponsored program with CASIS to conduct research on the ISS. While serving as the program manager of this joint initiative, he integrated additional NSF programs to the partnership, resulting in significantly more funding available to support ISS research.

Jonathan received a B.S. from the University of Notre Dame and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida, both in Chemical Engineering. His Ph.D. research was funded through NASA and focused on thermal transport in life support systems for space vehicles and habitats.

Dr.  John M Horack, Board Member

Dr. John M Horack, Board Member

Professor and Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy, The Ohio State University

Dr. John M. Horack is the inaugural holder of the Neil Armstrong Chair in Aerospace Policy at The Ohio State University, with tenured, full-professor appointments in the College of Engineering’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department and the John Glenn College of Public Affairs. A veteran of the spaceflight industry for more than thirty five years, John is a globally-recognized leader in space-based research, flight hardware development, program management, and space policy.

Prior to joining Ohio State, he served as Vice President of Teledyne Brown Engineering’s Space Systems group in Huntsville, Alabama, with responsibility for overseeing all government and commercial Space programs. John previously served as manager of the Science and Mission Systems Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC), where he was responsible for advanced, complex science and exploration research and nearly 400 civil service personnel and contractors.

Dr. Horack graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A. in physics and astronomy. He earned a M.A. and Ph.D. in physics from UA Huntsville. John is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society (UK), Associate Fellow of the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics, and is also a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and current board member of the American Astronautical Society.

Bryan Muzyka, Board Member

Bryan Muzyka, Board Member

VICE PRESIDENT OF Sales and Marketing, Advanced Cooling Technologies, Inc.

Bryan has 10+ years’ experience in leading business development teams to drive revenue across a variety of industries including defense, space, medical, power and energy and industrial markets. He is experienced in managing and directing marketing channels, internal and external salesforce, including value-add resellers, manufacturer’s representative and distributors. In his career he has developed and executed strategic and tactical elements to sustain profitable growth. 

Bryan is currently leading a highly engaged and effective sales and marketing team with Advanced Cooling Technologies Inc. (ACT) focused on collaboration with customers, engineers and representatives to solve some of the most challenging thermal challenges in various high technology industries.

Bryan received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Penn State University and went on to get his Masters in Business Administration and Engineering from Lehigh University.

Michael Johanson, Board Member

Michael Johanson, Board Member

Senior Vice President, ZIN Technologies, Inc.

Michael Johanson is Senior Vice President of Government Services & Business Development at ZIN Technologies, Inc., an aerospace company with headquarters in Cleveland Ohio.  He has 30 years of experience in engineering, operations, project and program management, strategy and partnership. Michael currently leads the ZIN corporate business development and strategic planning efforts responsible for the development of both government and commercial partnerships, growth opportunities, corporate marketing, capture, and government relations.

His experience includes work at McDonnell Douglas Aerospace, Boeing, Northrop Grumman and with several other small business leaders in support of multiple NASA and DoD customers. He has played important roles in a wide variety of successful spaceflight programs and missions supporting five NASA centers. He is an adjunct member of Ohio’s legislative Ohio Aerospace and Aviation Technology Committee (OAATC) and has served as Chairman of Ohio Aerospace Day 2017-2021. He also serves as an advocate to state and federal representation on topics ranging from microgravity science, space exploration and more.

Michael received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee and a Master of Science in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from the University of Tennessee at the UT Space Institute.

Jeremiah Leiter, Board Member

Jeremiah Leiter, Board Member

CEO and Co-Founder, Acoustic Research Systems (ARS)

Jeremiah is the CEO and Co-Founder of Acoustic Research Systems (ARS), a West Virginia-based company that specializes in providing acoustic environment testing solutions for aerospace applications.

Prior to founding ARS, Jeremiah accrued over a decade of executive management experience at both established production companies, and his own highly successful startup, LiveSoundCo. As CEO and Co-Founder of ARS, Jeremiah helped drive the development of ARS’s proprietary, next-gen solution for providing direct field acoustic testing services, the NEUTRON System. Following rapid adoption by the nation’s leading public & private aerospace companies due to its best-in-class capabilities and detailed datasets, Jeremiah leveraged NEUTRON’s domestic market acceptance to fuel ARS’s swift expansion abroad, addressing growing demand for next-gen acoustic testing services on the European continent.

With ARS as the most recent example of his acumen, Jeremiah seeks to create ventures that generate steady, sustainable growth, backed by his leadership in building a solid foundation of best-in-class product development, incisive marketing, and a true customer-first mentality.

Jeremiah has a B.S & MBA from Shepherd University in Business & Economics.