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Charles Camarda

Charles Camarda

Keynote Speaker: Retired NASA Astronaut, Author, Inventor & CEO of the Epic Education Foundation

Charles Camarda Biography

Dr. Charles Camarda retired from NASA in May 2019, after 46 years of continuous service as a research engineer and technical manager at Langley Research Center (LaRC), an Astronaut and Senior Executive (Director of Engineering) at Johnson Space Center (JSC), and as the Senior Advisor for Innovation and Engineering Development at NASA LaRC. He was selected as an Astronaut Candidate in 1996 and flew as a Mission Specialist on STS-114, NASA’s Return-to-Flight (RTF) mission immediately following the Columbia disaster. He invented the on-orbit, wing leading edge repair capability which he flew and tested on his mission.

Dr. Camarda is an inventor, author, professor, and internationally recognized invited speaker on subjects related to engineering, engineering design, innovation, safety, organizational behavior, and education. Dr. Camarda is the Founder/CEO of the Epic Education Foundation and he is the President of an aerospace engineering and education consultancy, Leading Edge Enterprises LLC.

Contact a speaker booking agent to check availability on Charles Camarda and other top speakers and celebrities.

Charles Camarda Speaking Topics

How to Prevent & Fix a Toxic Organizational Culture

High-Performing Teams – How to Create, Nurture, and Lead Teams in a Complex World

NASA is a premier organization that can solve almost any technical challenge that it faces. Or at least that’s the general public consensus. However, NASA today is very different from the Agency that, 50 years ago, successfully landed humans on the Moon and returned them safely home. More recently, NASA teams have had major problems leading to the Challenger and Columbia disasters. Work in complex companies is done in teams. Everything that happens, success and failure, is the result of how these teams function, how they conduct work, and how the individual members support one another. The extraordinarily successful culture of NASA of yesteryear today struggles to fix the root causes of problems related to underperforming, even dysfunctional, teams. The challenges confronting NASA are not primarily technological or related to its engineering capability. Rather, the difficulties exist in the culture and mindsets now pervading NASA and most High-Reliability Organizations (HROs) around the world today.

NASA’s Return-to-Flight Following Columbia – The Role of Research and Innovative Engineering Design)

Contributions provided by the three NASA Researchers Centers were pivotal in understanding the proximate technical cause of the Columbia accident, mitigating the cause of the problem, and developing the necessary technologies to ensure a continued safe and expeditious return to flight. We enhanced our knowledge and understanding by reaching out to the research communities to utilize the latest advances in analysis, testing, inspection, monitoring and fabrication. We were able to make significant advances in understanding the complex aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic environments; debris transport; impact dynamics and failure of thermal protection system (TPS) (tile and reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC)); ablation of damaged RCC; etc. In addition, we developed innovative technologies for non-destructive evaluation (NDE), damage monitoring, and TPS repair. Throughout this process we gained a tremendous amount of insight into how to develop innovative concepts and utilize innovative solution strategies in a timely and cost-effective manner which satisfied the stringent demands of a very public, high-profile program!

Dr. Charles Camarda will present his personal account of this process as a research engineer involved with the Columbia Accident Investigation, an innovator of several of the technical concepts utilized for repair, and as an Astronaut who demonstrated and flew several of these technologies in space on STS-114, the return-to-flight mission of the Space Shuttle.

Houston….YOU Have a Problem | Psychological Safety, Leadership & Critical Thinking

Does NASA still have what it takes to send humans back to the Moon and eventually Mars and risk another space race, this time with China? Astronaut and 46-Year NASA veteran researcher, Dr. Camarda, describes how the gradual cultural decay and slide from technical excellence could result in a reverse “Apollo Effect” which could threaten our technical dominance and challenge our position as world leader. The same systemic problems which caused the Challenger and Columbia accidents persist today and can be witnessed in other large corporations around the world. Houston…You Have a Problem is an insider’s story of an Agency which suffered the loss of a crew and how it wrestled with its own dysfunctional culture as told by Dr. Charles Camarda, an experienced research engineer and thermal structures expert, who flew as a Mission Specialist on STS-114, NASA’s Return-to-Flight mission following the Columbia accident! The story heralds the triumph of the indomitable human spirit and creative genius of some of NASA’s best and brightest minds to overcome a psychologically unsafe environment, bureaucratic inertia, cultural decay and technical subordination of a once great organization and develop the technology and procedures to ensure the space program’s successful return to flight. It lays out a prescriptive plan which NASA and other struggling corporations can follow to identify “weak signals” of technical and behavioral dysfunction and put in place measures to heal and transform organizations so they can regain the core ideologies which made them great.

Transforming Education – Killing Three Birds

We are approaching a point in time where the rapid acceleration of technology related to education, course development and learning has produced large amounts of content and knowledge concepts within fingertip reach of learners of all ages providing they have access to the Internet and a computer or mobile device. Learning to learn and acquire the skills necessary to search and, more importantly, curate the numerous sources to select just the right information and/or to interact with just the right subject-matter-expert (SME) at just the right time is critical. What if we could ignite, excite, and align learners’ passion for solving problems with a customized roadmap which guides and facilitates the process for acquiring the knowledge and mastering the necessary skills in a collaborative environment using a problem-based learning methodology?

Charles Camarda Videos

Charles Camarda on becoming an astronaut
Professor George Siemens interviews Dr Charles Camarda
Dr. Charles Camarda SEAS 2013 R&D Showcase

How to book Charles Camarda?

Our booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure talent like Charles Camarda for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment for over 15 years. The team at All American Entertainment represents and listens to the needs of organizations and corporations seeking to hire keynote speakers, celebrities or entertainers. Fill out a booking request form for Charles Camarda, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get pricing information and check availability for Charles Camarda or any other celebrity of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Charles Camarda?

Booking fees for Charles Camarda, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. Pricing often varies according to the circumstances, including the talent's schedule, market conditions, length of presentation, and the location of the event. Speaker fees listed on this website are intended to serve as a guideline only. In some cases, the actual quote may be above or below the stated range. For the most current fee to hire Charles Camarda, please fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak with an experienced booking agent.

Who is the agent for Charles Camarda?

All American Entertainment has successfully secured celebrity talent like Charles Camarda for clients worldwide for more than 15 years. As a full-service talent booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Charles Camarda for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service talent booking agency?

All American Speakers is a "buyers agent" and exclusively represents talent buyers, meeting planners and event professionals, who are looking to secure celebrities and speakers for personal appearances, speaking engagements, corporate entertainment, public relations campaigns, commercials, or endorsements. We do not exclusively represent Charles Camarda or claim ourselves as the exclusive booking agency, business manager, publicist, speakers bureau or management for Charles Camarda or any other speaker or celebrity on this website. For more information on how we work and what makes us unique, please read the AAE Advantage.


Charles Camarda is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including International Business, Space and Teamwork & Teambuilding. The estimated speaking fee range to book Charles Camarda for live events is $10,000 - $20,000, and for virtual events Below $10,000. Charles Camarda generally travels from Norfolk, VA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Thomas D. Jones, PhD, Leland Melvin and Ron Garan. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Charles Camarda for an upcoming event.

Charles Camarda Speaking Topics

  • How to Prevent & Fix a Toxic Organizational Culture

  • High-Performing Teams – How to Create, Nurture, and Lead Teams in a Complex World

    NASA is a premier organization that can solve almost any technical challenge that it faces. Or at least that’s the general public consensus. However, NASA today is very different from the Agency that, 50 years ago, successfully landed humans on the Moon and returned them safely home. More recently, NASA teams have had major problems leading to the Challenger and Columbia disasters. Work in complex companies is done in teams. Everything that happens, success and failure, is the result of how these teams function, how they conduct work, and how the individual members support one another. The extraordinarily successful culture of NASA of yesteryear today struggles to fix the root causes of problems related to underperforming, even dysfunctional, teams. The challenges confronting NASA are not primarily technological or related to its engineering capability. Rather, the difficulties exist in the culture and mindsets now pervading NASA and most High-Reliability Organizations (HROs) around the world today.

  • NASA’s Return-to-Flight Following Columbia – The Role of Research and Innovative Engineering Design)

    Contributions provided by the three NASA Researchers Centers were pivotal in understanding the proximate technical cause of the Columbia accident, mitigating the cause of the problem, and developing the necessary technologies to ensure a continued safe and expeditious return to flight. We enhanced our knowledge and understanding by reaching out to the research communities to utilize the latest advances in analysis, testing, inspection, monitoring and fabrication. We were able to make significant advances in understanding the complex aerodynamic and aerothermodynamic environments; debris transport; impact dynamics and failure of thermal protection system (TPS) (tile and reinforced carbon-carbon (RCC)); ablation of damaged RCC; etc. In addition, we developed innovative technologies for non-destructive evaluation (NDE), damage monitoring, and TPS repair. Throughout this process we gained a tremendous amount of insight into how to develop innovative concepts and utilize innovative solution strategies in a timely and cost-effective manner which satisfied the stringent demands of a very public, high-profile program!

    Dr. Charles Camarda will present his personal account of this process as a research engineer involved with the Columbia Accident Investigation, an innovator of several of the technical concepts utilized for repair, and as an Astronaut who demonstrated and flew several of these technologies in space on STS-114, the return-to-flight mission of the Space Shuttle.

  • Houston….YOU Have a Problem | Psychological Safety, Leadership & Critical Thinking

    Does NASA still have what it takes to send humans back to the Moon and eventually Mars and risk another space race, this time with China? Astronaut and 46-Year NASA veteran researcher, Dr. Camarda, describes how the gradual cultural decay and slide from technical excellence could result in a reverse “Apollo Effect” which could threaten our technical dominance and challenge our position as world leader. The same systemic problems which caused the Challenger and Columbia accidents persist today and can be witnessed in other large corporations around the world. Houston…You Have a Problem is an insider’s story of an Agency which suffered the loss of a crew and how it wrestled with its own dysfunctional culture as told by Dr. Charles Camarda, an experienced research engineer and thermal structures expert, who flew as a Mission Specialist on STS-114, NASA’s Return-to-Flight mission following the Columbia accident! The story heralds the triumph of the indomitable human spirit and creative genius of some of NASA’s best and brightest minds to overcome a psychologically unsafe environment, bureaucratic inertia, cultural decay and technical subordination of a once great organization and develop the technology and procedures to ensure the space program’s successful return to flight. It lays out a prescriptive plan which NASA and other struggling corporations can follow to identify “weak signals” of technical and behavioral dysfunction and put in place measures to heal and transform organizations so they can regain the core ideologies which made them great.

  • Transforming Education – Killing Three Birds

    We are approaching a point in time where the rapid acceleration of technology related to education, course development and learning has produced large amounts of content and knowledge concepts within fingertip reach of learners of all ages providing they have access to the Internet and a computer or mobile device. Learning to learn and acquire the skills necessary to search and, more importantly, curate the numerous sources to select just the right information and/or to interact with just the right subject-matter-expert (SME) at just the right time is critical. What if we could ignite, excite, and align learners’ passion for solving problems with a customized roadmap which guides and facilitates the process for acquiring the knowledge and mastering the necessary skills in a collaborative environment using a problem-based learning methodology?

Charles Camarda Videos

Charles Camarda on becoming an astronaut
Professor George Siemens interviews Dr Charles Camarda
Dr. Charles Camarda SEAS 2013 R&D Showcase

Charles Camarda News

How to book Charles Camarda?

Our booking agents have successfully helped clients around the world secure talent like Charles Camarda for speaking engagements, personal appearances, product endorsements, or corporate entertainment for over 15 years. The team at All American Entertainment represents and listens to the needs of organizations and corporations seeking to hire keynote speakers, celebrities or entertainers. Fill out a booking request form for Charles Camarda, or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to discuss your upcoming event. One of our experienced agents will be happy to help you get pricing information and check availability for Charles Camarda or any other celebrity of your choice.

How much does it cost to book Charles Camarda?

Booking fees for Charles Camarda, or any other speakers and celebrities, are determined based on a number of factors and may change without notice. Pricing often varies according to the circumstances, including the talent's schedule, market conditions, length of presentation, and the location of the event. Speaker fees listed on this website are intended to serve as a guideline only. In some cases, the actual quote may be above or below the stated range. For the most current fee to hire Charles Camarda, please fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536 to speak with an experienced booking agent.

Who is the agent for Charles Camarda?

All American Entertainment has successfully secured celebrity talent like Charles Camarda for clients worldwide for more than 15 years. As a full-service talent booking agency, we have access to virtually any speaker or celebrity in the world. Our agents are happy and able to submit an offer to the speaker or celebrity of your choice, letting you benefit from our reputation and long-standing relationships in the industry. Fill out the booking request form or call our office at 1.800.698.2536, and one of our agents will assist you to book Charles Camarda for your next private or corporate function.

What is a full-service talent booking agency?

All American Speakers is a "buyers agent" and exclusively represents talent buyers, meeting planners and event professionals, who are looking to secure celebrities and speakers for personal appearances, speaking engagements, corporate entertainment, public relations campaigns, commercials, or endorsements. We do not exclusively represent Charles Camarda or claim ourselves as the exclusive booking agency, business manager, publicist, speakers bureau or management for Charles Camarda or any other speaker or celebrity on this website. For more information on how we work and what makes us unique, please read the AAE Advantage.


Charles Camarda is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics including International Business, Space and Teamwork & Teambuilding. The estimated speaking fee range to book Charles Camarda for live events is $10,000 - $20,000, and for virtual events Below $10,000. Charles Camarda generally travels from Norfolk, VA, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Thomas D. Jones, PhD, Leland Melvin and Ron Garan. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Charles Camarda for an upcoming event.

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CHARLES CAMARDA

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This website is a resource for event professionals and strives to provide the most comprehensive catalog of thought leaders and industry experts to consider for speaking engagements. A listing or profile on this website does not imply an agency affiliation or endorsement by the talent.

All American Entertainment (AAE) exclusively represents the interests of talent buyers, and does not claim to be the agency or management for any speaker or artist on this site. AAE is a talent booking agency for paid events only. We do not handle requests for donation of time or media requests for interviews, and cannot provide celebrity contact information.