DeFreece, class of 1993, is the founder of the Berkeley Space Center, located at the NASA Ames Research Park, Moffit Field, California., and regent emeritus of the University of California. With over 20 years as an attorney and capital markets executive, he joined UC Berkeley in 2018 to focus on strategic campus initiatives. He advises early-stage companies and venture capital firms. He has served on numerous educational and non-profit boards, including the UC Board of Regents, the Cal Alumni Association, and the UC Berkeley Foundation and is a Berkeley Fellow. Outside of Berkeley he is active in other nonprofits, including the Pacific Boychoir Academy and the Trevor Project.

BERKELEY SPACE CENTER

The Berkeley Space Center, a 36-acre innovation center at NASA Ames Research Park, is envisioned to be a cutting-edge hub for aerospace, advanced aviation, high-performance computing, and other deep technologies. The project, in collaboration with NASA, private industry, and development partner SKS Partners, is set to revolutionize innovation and research. DeFreece will discuss how this partnership of academia, private industry and government will come together to identify, incubate and launch tomorrow’s technological breakthroughs; and how the project will position UC Berkeley at the forefront of space and technology exploration.