Sirisha Bandla currently works as the Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations for Virgin Galactic. In this role, Sirisha oversees legislative, regulatory, and government business priorities for the company, as well as work with research customers to fly science and technology experiments on VG’s SpaceShip class of vehicles.

Previously, Sirisha served as the Associate Director for the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, an industry association of commercial spaceflight companies. At CSF, Sirisha worked on various policies with the aim to promote and enable the then emerging commercial space industry. Before CSF, she worked as an aerospace engineer designing components for advanced aircraft at L-3 Communications in Greenville, Texas.

Sirisha has a Bachelors of Science degree in aeronautical/astronautical engineering from Purdue and holds a Masters of Business Administration from the George Washington University. Sirisha serves on the Board of American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, American Astronautical Society, and the Future Space Leaders Foundation. Sirisha also helps to organize the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship Program, an internship and mentorship program that provides summer opportunities to current college juniors, seniors, and graduate students passionate about commercial spaceflight.