USC Viterbi
Deanna Ryals, the director of international affairs at the U.S. Space Force in Los Angeles, was ecstatic to be selected for the USC SHIELD Executive Program in Global Space and Deterrence. To her, it presented a unique opportunity to gain a fresh perspective on forging global partnerships for space access and defense.
“I had heard about the program from my counterparts who had been in previous cohorts,” she said. “I knew how much they enjoyed it, how much they learned, and was really excited to be considered for it.”
On April 27, Ryals and her 23 classmates, high-level professionals from the Department of Defense, U.S. Army, U.S. Space Force, U.S. Air Force, The National Guard, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon Technologies, concluded USC SHIELD program. This year’s session, jointly run by the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy, in collaboration with the Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance (MDAA), took place between September 2023 and April 2024, culminating with a three-day residency between April 25 and 27 and group presentations at USC.
