John Galer

John Galer is the Chief of Government Relations for the Aerospace Corporation where he leads the corporation’s government relations activities, providing strategic vision and execution of a growing portfolio of educational and outreach efforts to Congress, Executive Branch, and state and local government officials. Concurrently, Galer serves as the co-chair of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Space Systems Critical Infrastructure Working group, a public-private partnership that identifies and develops strategies to minimize risks and increase the security and resiliency of America’s space-based assets and critical functions.

Prior to joining Aerospace, Galer served as the Assistant Vice President for National Security Space at the Aerospace Industries Association, providing policy leadership, and representing industry consensus on national security space matters. He is a presently a Stephen M. Kellen Term Member at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and was a 2019 Shawn Brimley National Security Fellow at the Center for a New American Security (CNAS).

John is also a Space Operations Officer in the United States Air Force Reserve, currently serving in the Office of Policy and Strategy at the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO). He spent fourteen years on active duty with a variety of assignments leading dynamic teams in space operations, strategy, communications, and policy. During his career, he has served as a satellite operator and integrator and a trusted advisor and strategic communicator for chief executives in the Department of Defense, Intelligence Community, and U.S. Congress. In his last assignment, he was a Legislative Liaison for U.S. Strategic Command.

Galer is currently pursuing a Doctor of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins SAIS with an expected graduation of May 2025. He holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.B.A. from Florida State University