Willie Costa is an aerospace engineer and Lean Six Sigma Black Belt who has worked predominantly with small aircraft, high-power rockets, and missiles. He is an alumnus of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and Penn State. He has served as a NASA Student Ambassador, Penn State STEM Fellow, and Bunton-Waller Fellow, and has been awarded the NASA Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Award for his aircraft design work. He has worked at Boeing, NAVAIR, NASA Ames Research Center, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center, NASA Langley Research Center, and at several startups and small enterprises. He is also a pilot, logging over 300 hours in seven aircraft. He has received two graduate degrees from Penn State: a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering and a Master of Management and Organizational Leadership, with a concentration in finance. He currently serves as President of Vuong Enterprises, a multinational management consulting and private equity firm.