Carissa Bryce Christensen

Carissa is the Founder & CEO of BryceTech LLC, a rapidly growing analytics and engineering firm delivering mission-critical solutions to NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense, and commercial clients. BryceTech grew over 150% in 2022, exceeded 200 employees in 2023, and was awarded a multi-year contract to support FEMA’s emerging threats portfolio in aerospace and defense . A serial founder, Carissa co-founded QxBranch (acquired by Rigetti in 2019), The Tauri Group (acquired by LMI in 2019), and incubated CenTauri Solutions (acquired by CSC in 2010). As an angel investor, she backs early-stage platforms in edge AI, cybersecurity, space, and life sciences . Carissa serves as a Senior Advisor to the U.S. Space Force Schriever Wargame and holds leadership roles with the Aerospace Corporation, the World Economic Forum’s Future Council on Space, and the Space Generation Advisory Council. As an expert sought by agencies and CEOs, she testifies before Congress and is frequently featured in The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, NPR, and Financial Times and appears in space industry documentaries . She was named 2023 Executive of the Year (Up to $75M) at the Greater Washington Government Contractor Awards and has been recognized repeatedly by Washington Technology’s Fast 50 list. Carissa is a Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and of the Royal Aeronautical Society. She holds a Master of Public Policy in Science & Technology from Harvard Kennedy School and studied at Rutgers and LSE in her undergraduate years .