Mclee F Kerolle

Mclee wearing a blue plaid shirt and smiling

My name is Mclee Kerolle (pronounced ‘Mac-lee Kerolle’) As someone with an active imagination, the concept of space has always intrigued me since childhood. I know the exact moment it went from intrigue to a passion. During my first year of law school at @CUNYSchoolofLaw, @SpaceportAmerica was built. I could have sworn it was the 8th, 9th, and 10th Wonder of the Modern World! Fast forward to today and I’m a graduate of the International Institute of Air and Space Law at @Leidenlaw where I wrote his Masters thesis on the regulation of commercial spaceports worldwide. During his time at Leiden, I worked at the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety (IAASS) where I researched third party liability issues associated with commercial human spaceflight. I also served as the Executive Secretary for the @SpaceGeneration and I’m currently an active member of both their Diversity Action Team and Effective and Adaptive Governance for a Lunar Ecosystem (E.A.G.L.E.) Action Team. I currently serve as the Secretary for the Moon Village Association’s Lunar Commerce and Economics Working Group. As a space law and policy analyst, I wear many hats in the space industry. While those roles may change, one thing that will not change is my hope to see more black people involved in the space industry and getting the chance their talent deserves. To achieve this objective there needs to be an understanding and deconstructing of the hurdles faced by the BIPOC community in accessing resources and career opportunities in the space industry. This is reflected in my role as the Director of International Outreach and Diversity for the @SpacecourtFoundation. Recently a colleague and I launched the Space Court’s ‘Women of Colour in Space’ interview series to highlight the lack of visibility on women of colour doing amazing work in the space industry today! Going beyond the field of space law and policy, the interviewees share their work as well as the difficulties they’ve faced as trailblazers in the field. I enjoy doing work in the field of space law and policy because I’m cognizant of the space industry becoming a version of Colonialism 2.0. As a result, I want to use my voice in the industry to help make sure humanity doesn’t go down that path again. I recently started a petition to change the name of the James Webb Space Telescope ( https://bit.ly/3e5yYoI ). While the invention of the world’s most powerful space telescope to see into the spacetime continuum is nothing short of amazing, its namesake doesn’t hold up. Why? Because its namesake actively purged the LGBTQIA+ community from the government in the 1950s. This isn’t cancel culture, instead it’s “pick a better name for the most powerful space telescope” culture. My dream job in the industry would most likely be doing regulatory work for a commercial spaceport. I’m also a long time fan of comic books and house music (not EDM). I also like to point out that house music and techno are genres that were both started by black and brown communities from the inner city of Chicago and Detroit respectively. Can’t forget that house and techno parties were frequented by black, brown, and lgbtqia communities.