People are the product.

HFF Futures 2035 applies NASA flight-mission discipline to one job: moving learners from first exposure to expert practice, and on into Artemis-era careers and ventures. Ten years, five campaigns, three regional hubs, one accountable channel.

Request an executive briefing See the Year-1 portfolio

Meet the HFF Team

Stage 1
Exposure
First contact through showcases, Space Day and smart-ball labs
Stage 2
Entry
Foundations and safe practice, confirmed by a first badge
Stage 3
Experiment
Hands-on build-and-test missions in teams
Stage 4
Engagement
Sustained projects, research and internships
Stage 5
Expert
Credentials, work placements and student ventures

The ESTEEM ladder (Education, Science, Technology, Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Management) stages every learner the same way at every hub, from PreK to early career.

The case in seven questions

Every HFF project answers the same questions at its first gate before it receives a dollar. Here they are for Futures 2035 as a whole, each with the reasoning that justifies it.

Why

Mission-grade talent is the constraint.

The Artemis-era economy, from space systems to AI, biotechnology and sustainable infrastructure, runs on people who can build, test and deliver. Across Georgia, Alabama and California too much of that talent is underutilized: students meet STEM as one-off events, and pathways break between school, college, training and work.

Justification

Futures 2035 modernizes a model with a 20-year record instead of starting cold: the Endeavour Institute ran a UC a-g approved, mission-based engineering sequence for grades 8–12 from 1993 to 2013. HFF's founder adds nearly four decades of NASA flight-mission experience.

What

One enterprise that turns learners into builders.

HFF Futures 2035 runs from 2026 to 2035 as a single enterprise: five campaigns, three regional hubs and one learner ladder. ESTEEM (Education, Science, Technology, Engineering, Entrepreneurship and Management) carries learners from PreK to early career through five stages: Exposure, Entry, Experiment, Engagement and Expert.

Justification

One ladder makes results comparable. A Stage 3 learner means the same thing in Atlanta, Tuskegee and California, so sponsors can fund, track and compare outcomes as one portfolio.

How

Flight-mission discipline, applied to learning.

Every project clears three gates before funding: a PMO gate, a Feasibility gate built on DARPA's eight questions, and an HFF Approval gate that takes two signatures, never the project owner's. Learners advance on separate stage criteria. Each hub incubates its own portfolio from a shared reference design, and a product ladder (Learn, Dream, Build, Prove, Sell) turns student ideas into tested products.

Justification

Gating programs and learners separately keeps a weak program from hiding behind strong students. A project re-gates automatically if cost or scope moves more than 20%, its lead changes, or a milestone slips a quarter.

Who

Flight-mission leadership, delivered through trusted institutions.

Founder, Executive Director and CTO John W. Hines, retired Center Chief Technologist at NASA Ames, leads an executive staff, hub and program leads, and HFF STEM Fellows under a five-member Board of Directors, with partners including Tuskegee University, Morehouse College, the AUC Data Science Initiative, Santa Clara University, the University of Washington, GaiaVerse, Space Information Labs, Fernbank Science Center, STEAMsport and FIDA USA. Learners are students, teachers and early-career professionals.

Justification

Each partner holds a defined lane: science leadership, education pathways, competition systems or venues. No single organization carries everything, and underutilized talent is reached through institutions it already trusts.

When

Launching October 3, 2026. Built to 2035 in four acts.

Futures 2035 launches publicly at Space Day ATL, Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta. The decade runs in four acts: Incubate (2026–27), Prove (2027–29), Integrate (2029–32) and Sustain (2032–35). An external evaluator sets baselines within the first 60 to 90 days.

Justification

Each act closes with a gate review against stated exit criteria, so a sponsor can commit one act at a time and see evidence before the next.

How much

$717K starts it. $2.93M carries it to steady state.

Year 1 invests $322K in the enterprise backbone and programmatic infrastructure and $395K across seven initial project lines. The three-year path (2027–2029) totals $2.93M and reaches a steady state of $750K–$1.5M in annual revenue with 3–5 full-time staff. Participation starts at $2,500; $80K launches the drone-soccer-to-Artemis competition spine.

Justification

Every line is itemized, priced at full cost and tied to a deliverable. Partners add equipment, venues and expertise in kind, and the Year-1 target is 25 cents leveraged for every dollar invested.

So what

Outcomes measured in people.

Year-1 targets: 120 learners, 12 educators and 4 sites; 80% completion with at least 12 contact hours; 40 student products and 6 reusable modules; 25 pathway referrals and 6 work-based placements; 6 partner agreements. The Sustain act (2032–35) is built for workforce placement and student-to-startup ventures.

Justification

Sponsors receive gate decisions and progress reports measured against the evaluator's baselines. The return is people: a pipeline of builders for the industries and communities that invest in them.

Status, September 2026. Governance package complete. The first project entered the three-gate protocol in August 2026. Public launch October 3, 2026.

Where Year-1 dollars go

A backbone that makes every dollar reportable, and seven project lines across three campaigns and two hubs. Fund one line, a hub's lines or the whole year.

Track A, $322K. Backbone and infrastructure

Track B, $395K. Seven initial project lines

Enterprise backbone$217K
Programmatic infrastructure$105K

B1 SP2MP pilot$25K
B2 Ball 2 Motion Physics$30K
B3 FIDA USA–Atlanta challenges$55K
B4 ORISHA STEM-ATL pilot$45K
B5 HFF-West product sprint$95K
B6 DS-Artemis mission content$35K
B7 SB-STEPS instrumentation$110K

$80K

B1 plus B3 is the minimum coherent start for the SS-DOTM drone-soccer-to-Artemis competition spine.

$25K

B1 underwrites the Soccer Pitch to Moon Pitch pilot season, the on-ramp that is currently unfunded.

25¢

Year-1 leverage target for every dollar, from partner equipment, venues and expertise contributed in kind.

See every line in the portfolio What the backbone and infrastructure include

Five campaigns, three hubs, one ladder

Campaigns set the mission. Hubs deliver it with regional partners. The ESTEEM ladder makes every learner's progress legible across all of it.

Enterprise campaign

ESTEEM Odyssey

The learner-journey spine. It owns the five-stage ladder, the stage criteria and the badges every campaign uses, so progress means the same thing everywhere. Led by John W. Hines.

Artemis STEM

Lunar-mission STEM through drones, robotics and exploration.

Flagship: Soccer STEM Drones on the Moon (SS-DOTM), the front door to the whole portfolio.

Year 1: B1, B2, B3, B6

ORISHA STEM

Sustainable living and planetary stewardship with Earth observation, AI and community data.

Flagship: GOPSI, the GaiaVerse–ORISHA Planetary Stewardship Initiative, co-led with GaiaVerse.

Year 1: B4

BioHealth Technologies & Applications

Space biology and health technology for quality of life, mapped to social determinants of health and the UN SDGs.

Flagship: the BHTTE reference architecture, anchored at Tuskegee University, and SB-STEPS.

Year 1: B7

HFF-Endeavour Space Engineering Institute & Academies

Space engineering for grades 8–12 on the GECKO CubeSat learning platform.

Heritage: Space Information Labs' Endeavour Institute, 1993–2013.

Year 2, at CA-STEIN

B5, the HFF-West product-development sprint, serves every campaign.

Active hub

GA-STEIN, Atlanta

Education, outreach and competition for Artemis STEM and ORISHA STEM, with Morehouse College, the AUC Data Science Initiative, Fernbank Science Center, STEAMsport and FIDA USA.

Active hub

CA-STEIN, HFF-West

Technology development for every campaign: the HFF-West Technology Incubator's five product labs and SB-STEPS space biology, with Santa Clara University and Valley Christian Schools Quest Institute.

Anchor partnership

AL-STEIN, Tuskegee University

Home of the BioHealth reference architecture, ready to accelerate from partnership to an active hub with a lead investor.

Meet Futures 2035 at launch

Space Day ATL 2026 at Fernbank Science Center, Atlanta, on Saturday, October 3: drone-soccer-to-Artemis demonstrations, the first learner on-ramps and the partners behind them. Executive walk-throughs can be arranged.

Request an executive briefing Arrange a launch-day walk-through

Fund a line, a campaign or a hub.

Every Year-1 line is itemized, priced at full cost and tied to a deliverable that clears the three-gate protocol. Start with a single line, underwrite a campaign's growth, or carry a hub.

Year-1 total: $717K
Track A: backbone and infrastructure: $322K
Track B: seven project lines: $395K
Three-year path, 2027–2029: $2.93M

Year-1 lines, itemized

Track A builds what makes every other dollar measurable. Track B launches seven initial projects. Amounts are planning figures from HFF's Preliminary Sponsorship and Funding Proposal (Option A, Rev D).

Track A: enterprise backbone and programmatic infrastructure, $322K

Enterprise backbone
What it fundsCapture and program management, grant writing and proposal production, program operations, finance and audit readiness, external evaluation, and insurance, legal and systems.
$217K
Programmatic infrastructure
What it fundsCurriculum and kit standardization, the STEM TRAIN teacher-training system and first educator cohort, a data dashboard and evidence register, and a safety and youth-protection system.
$105K

See every backbone and infrastructure element

Track B: seven initial project lines, $395K

B1
Soccer Pitch to Moon Pitch (SP2MP) pilot
Artemis STEM, GA-STEIN
The on-ramp season: smart-ball, drone-soccer cadet and arena entry points, public demonstrations at Fernbank, and the first Flight Foundations badges.Currently unfunded: priority line
$25K
B2
Ball 2 Motion Physics
Artemis STEM, GA-STEIN
Low-cost smart-ball sensor labs that start every learner's data thread and feed the AUC Data Science Initiative pipeline.
$30K
B3
FIDA USA–Atlanta challenge series
Artemis STEM, GA-STEIN
Sanctioned drone-soccer STEM challenges. FIDA USA supplies competition-legal kit and arenas as its partner contribution; HFF funds delivery.
$55K
B4
ORISHA STEM-ATL module pilot
ORISHA STEM, GA-STEIN
Pilot of a ten-module grades 5–12 sustainable-living curriculum: sensors and IoT, data fusion, AI and vision, embedded systems, communications and integrated design.
$45K
B5
HFF-West product-development sprint
All campaigns, CA-STEIN
One full product cycle through the HFF-West Technology Incubator's five labs: Learn, Dream, Build, Prove and Sell.
$95K
B6
DS-Artemis lunar mission content
Artemis STEM, GA-STEIN
VIPER-style prospecting and MoonFall multi-drone mission content for Stage 2 teams.
$35K
B7
SB-STEPS space-biology instrumentation
BioHealth, CA-STEIN
Biofluidics integration that takes a demonstrated tabletop lab toward a space-payload configuration, plus extension to biospecimens beyond yeast.
$110K

Fastest ways to start

$25K

Underwrite B1, the Soccer Pitch to Moon Pitch pilot season. It is currently unfunded and opens the whole on-ramp.

$80K

B1 plus B3: the minimum coherent start for the SS-DOTM competition spine.

$110K

B7: move a working space-biology lab toward a flight-ready configuration.

$322K

Track A: the backbone that makes every other dollar measurable and reportable.

Campaigns, and what comes after Year 1

Each campaign has a Year-1 foothold and a gated path to scale. Growth figures are planning scenarios, released only when a program clears its feasibility mid-term exams.

ESTEEM Odyssey

Flagship and projectsThe learner-journey spine: stage criteria, badges and pathways for every program. Led by John W. Hines.

Year 1Runs through every Year-1 line

Beyond Year 1Workforce placement and student-to-startup ventures in the Sustain act (2032–35).

Artemis STEM

Flagship and projectsSoccer STEM Drones on the Moon: Soccer Pitch to Moon Pitch, Ball 2 Motion Physics, FIDA USA–Atlanta challenges, DS-Artemis VIPER and MoonFall, and the Space Operations Capstone Tourney (deferred past Year 1).

Year 1$145K
B1, B2, B3, B6

Beyond Year 1Multi-site scale-up across Georgia and the Southeast: $2–5M over three years, a planning scenario.

ORISHA STEM

Flagship and projectsGOPSI flagship, co-led with GaiaVerse, with Map the Gap and Ground Truth, STEM GEMMS, Healthy Neighborhoods, IoT-FARMS, STEM-ponics, the Mobile Agricultural STEM Wagon and CS-SEAS.

Year 1$45K
B4, plus the Map the Gap neighborhoods challenge as first-year demonstrator

Beyond Year 1GOPSI major-growth scenario of about $4.66M over three years, subject to budget validation.

BioHealth Technologies & Applications

Flagship and projectsBHTTE, the BioHealth Technologies–Tuskegee Enterprise reference architecture, and SB-STEPS space-biology STEM and workforce development.

Year 1$110K
B7

Beyond Year 1Accelerate AL-STEIN at Tuskegee University from partnership to an active hub.

HFF-Endeavour Space Engineering Institute & Academies

Flagship and projectsA five-course grades 8–12 space-engineering sequence on GECKO, a stackable 3U CubeSat learning platform, with Space Information Labs as founding and executive partner.

Year 1Held for Year 2 at CA-STEIN

Beyond Year 1A CubeSat-class flight mission in the Integrate act (2029–32).

Three regional hubs

Active hub

GA-STEIN, Atlanta

Education, outreach and competition. Year 1 carries Artemis STEM and ORISHA STEM lines B1–B4 and B6.

Partners: Morehouse College, AUC Data Science Initiative, Fernbank Science Center, STEAMsport, FIDA USA.

Active hub

CA-STEIN, HFF-West

Technology development for every campaign. Year 1 runs one full product cycle through the HFF-West Technology Incubator (B5) and SB-STEPS space biology (B7); the Endeavour Institute and Academies follow in Year 2.

Partners: Santa Clara University, with a proposed ASTRID instrument-development center, and Valley Christian Schools Quest Institute.

Anchor partnership

AL-STEIN, Tuskegee University

Home of the BioHealth reference architecture (BHTTE), mapped to social determinants of health and the UN SDGs.

Two giving channels: gifts made directly to Tuskegee University count toward the University's campaign; gifts to HFF fund the enterprise architecture, instruments and backbone.

The decade in four acts

Every act closes with a gate review against stated exit criteria. Sponsors can commit one act at a time.

Act 1, 2026–27
Incubate
Each hub incubates its Year-1 portfolio. Baselines are set; the first badges, student products and placements arrive.
Act 2, 2027–29
Prove
Programs that pass their feasibility mid-term exams scale: SS-DOTM, ORISHA GEMM, Endeavour with GECKO, and AstroBionics workforce development.
Act 3, 2029–32
Integrate
A CubeSat flight mission, and multi-site operation across CA-STEIN, AL-STEIN and GA-STEIN.
Act 4, 2032–35
Sustain
Workforce placement and student-to-startup ventures on a sustainable national network.

The path to steady state

The three-year path (2027–2029) totals $2.93M and builds to the Focused Institute steady state: $750K–$1.5M in annual revenue, 3–5 full-time staff, two active hubs (GA-STEIN and CA-STEIN at HFF-West) and AL-STEIN in partnership.

Full-cost recovery is the rule. Every line carries its share of backbone cost, so growth never outruns the organization that has to deliver it.

Target funding mix

Corporate, 35%
Federal, 30%
Private and community foundations, 25%
Individual, in-kind and events, 10%

Diversified by design, so no single funder carries the enterprise.

Backbone and infrastructure

Track A is the part of the enterprise that does not fund itself, and its absence is the most common reason small STEM organizations plateau. The backbone lets HFF run programs without the founder inside every task. The infrastructure turns activities that run once into assets that can run anywhere.

Enterprise backbone, $217K

Capture and program manager (0.5 FTE)
What it deliversOpportunity pipeline, proposal calendar, compliance matrix, gate register, partner instruments and submission logistics. The single highest-leverage position in the organization.
$65K
Grant writing and proposal production
What it deliversNarratives, budgets and budget justifications, forms and attachments, funder compliance, and post-award reporting for up to four pursuits a year.
$50K
Program operations and administration (0.5 FTE)
What it deliversScheduling, participant data, event and vendor logistics, stipend administration and partner coordination.
$35K
Finance, bookkeeping, CPA review and audit readiness
What it deliversBooks, Form 990, indirect-cost policy, SAM.gov and UEI upkeep, and allowable-cost review: the prerequisites for any direct federal award.
$23K
External evaluation and measurement
What it deliversAn independent evaluator, instrument design, baselines, pre- and post-measures, and funder-ready reporting.
$25K
Insurance, legal, registrations and systems
What it deliversDirectors-and-officers and general liability insurance, youth-protection screening, agreements and templates, relationship-management and file systems, and hosting.
$19K

Programmatic infrastructure, $105K

Curriculum and kit standardization
What it deliversModule templates, facilitator guides, a standards crosswalk, and a bill of materials and build instructions for each kit, turning founder knowledge into transferable assets.
$35K
Teacher training system (STEM TRAIN)
What it deliversCohort design, professional development, coaching, classroom implementation plans, and the first educator cohort.
$40K
Data dashboard and evidence register
What it deliversParticipant data processes and consent, demographic definitions, outcome measures, and a dashboard that answers due-diligence questions without a scramble.
$18K
Safety and youth-protection system
What it deliversScreening, protocols, training, incident procedures and documentation, in place before the first learner arrives.
$12K

Within Track A, the lean operating minimum is $173K–$250K. Sponsors who fund it are not buying overhead: they are funding the transfer of hard-won mission expertise into an institution built to outlast any one person.

Over the decade: HFF’s enterprise infrastructure

These first roles and assets grow into four shared elements that every campaign and hub uses.

CI Backbone

The collective-impact backbone that coordinates partners, programs and measurement across the enterprise. It is not the program; it is what makes the programs work together.

STEM CASE Knowledge Portal

Shared infrastructure for Communication, Alignment, Social and Engagement: one front door where learners, educators, mentors and partners find each other, the work and the next step.

H-SETA

The HFF STEM Education and Training Alliance of schools, universities and partners that share educators, mentors and facilities.

HFF-West Technology Incubator

The technology development engine: five product development labs (Learn, Dream, Build, Prove, Sell) that take ideas to products for space, Earth and humanity.

The CI Backbone’s ten functions

Track A staffs five of them in Year 1, marked below.

Executive Leadership and Governance
Program Management OfficeYear 1
Partnership and SponsorshipYear 1
STEM CASE Knowledge Portal
Workforce Development
Communications and Outreach
Resource ManagementYear 1
Monitoring and EvaluationYear 1
Administration and OperationsYear 1
Human Capital

Choose where your support lands

A 30-minute briefing matches your goals to a line, a campaign or a hub, and returns a gate-backed proposal with deliverables, budget and reporting.

Request an executive briefing See ways to support HFF

Support HFF.

Sponsor a tier, underwrite a line, make a leadership commitment, open your institution, or serve. Every path runs through one 501(c)(3) channel, with written acknowledgment and reporting against baselines.

Sponsorship tiers

Seven levels, from classroom participation to founding sponsorship. Each maps to real Year-1 lines, so you always know what your commitment builds.

Founding$250K and above
What it can underwriteThe Track A backbone, or a campaign's full set of Year-1 lines.
Recognition and engagementFounding recognition across Futures 2035; an annual executive review with the Founder; invitations to gate reviews for the lines you fund; an advisory seat by invitation.
Anchor$100K and above
What it can underwriteA hub's Year-1 program, or B7 space-biology instrumentation.
Recognition and engagementHub-level recognition; quarterly executive briefings; site visits; invitations to gate reviews.
Program$50K and above
What it can underwriteA named line, such as the B3 challenge series or the B5 product-development sprint.
Recognition and engagementLine-level recognition; progress reporting on your line; mentoring and judging roles for your employees.
Mission$25K and above
What it can underwriteThe B1 Soccer Pitch to Moon Pitch pilot season, or a Fernbank demonstration series.
Recognition and engagementRecognition at public events and showcases; engagement with teams and cohorts.
Supporting$10K and above
What it can underwriteLearner kits, facilitator stipends and badges.
Recognition and engagementRecognition in the annual impact report; event invitations.
Community$2,500 and above
What it can underwriteClassroom and club participation, and teacher-led microgrants.
Recognition and engagementCommunity recognition; showcase invitations.
In-kindBy agreement
What it can underwriteEquipment, venues, software and expertise.
Recognition and engagementValued and recognized alongside cash, and counted toward the leverage target.

Corporate recognition follows IRS qualified-sponsorship rules: acknowledgment, not advertising. Benefits a donor receives may reduce the deductible portion of a gift.

Leadership commitments

For sponsors who want to carry a larger share of the decade. Each is scoped with you and gated like every other line.

$717K

Underwrite Year 1 in full: both tracks and all seven project lines.

$2.93M

Carry the three-year path (2027–2029) to steady state.

$2M–$5M

Scale SS-DOTM across Georgia and the Southeast over three years. A planning scenario.

About $4.66M

Grow GOPSI, the ORISHA STEM flagship co-led with GaiaVerse, over three years. A planning scenario subject to budget validation.

AL-STEIN

Accelerate the Tuskegee University hub from partnership to active operation, scoped with the University.

Named cohorts

Name a cohort of HFF STEM Fellows: Teacher, Education and Engineering Fellows and Technology Interns.

For institutions and employers

Organizations can support HFF with sites, mentors, placements and equipment. Those that deliver programs join as implementation partners.

Schools and districts
Host a learning node, adopt ESTEEM modules and run the Flight Foundations on-ramp with your own teachers.
Universities and HBCUs
Co-lead a hub or campaign, host Fellows, and bring undergraduate research teams to instruments and CubeSat builds.
Science centers and venues
Host demonstrations and showcases on the Space Day ATL model.
Employers and industry
Offer work-based placements and mentors, set real engineering challenges for the HFF-West product labs, and meet Stage 4 and Stage 5 talent early.
Technology providers
Contribute kit, software and platforms in kind, counted toward leverage and recognized alongside cash.

Serve with us

Board of Directors

Three-year renewable terms, biannual meetings and quarterly status updates. A board member co-signs every HFF Approval Gate.

Advisory roles

Lend expertise in space systems, AI, biotechnology, education or philanthropy to a campaign or a hub.

Executive roles

The executive staff is in place, and further executive roles are defined for the transition team as the enterprise grows. Senior leaders are invited to inquire.

Start a conversation about service

Ways to give

Outright giftsCash, check or wire, with instructions provided on request.
Multi-year pledgesCommit by act or by year, with payments aligned to gate milestones.
Appreciated securitiesStock and other appreciated assets; transfer instructions on request.
Donor-advised fund grantsSubject to your sponsoring organization's policies; HFF provides the documentation it needs.
Corporate sponsorship and matching giftsSponsorship agreements, and employee match programs that multiply individual gifts.
In-kind contributionsEquipment, venues, software, services and expertise.
Planned giftsBequests and beneficiary designations.
GrantsFoundation, corporate and public grants, with HFF as fiscal lead.

How funds move

One channel

All Futures 2035 funding, whether grants, philanthropy or sponsorship, flows through HFF as the 501(c)(3) fiscal lead. Related parties sit outside the management chain, and funds are never commingled.

Two channels at Tuskegee

Gifts made directly to Tuskegee University support students and count toward the University's campaign. Gifts and grants to HFF fund the enterprise architecture, instruments and backbone. HFF does not receive gifts intended for the University's campaign.

Acknowledged and reported

Written acknowledgment for every gift. Restricted gifts are tracked to their line and reported against the evaluator's baselines.

Tax information

HFF is a Georgia-chartered 501(c)(3) private operating foundation, EIN 82-1268652. This classification generally gives donors the same charitable-deduction limits as gifts to public charities. Contributions are deductible to the extent allowed by law; please consult your tax advisor about your situation.

Start with a conversation

Tell us what you want your support to accomplish. We will come back with options scoped to your goals, each with deliverables, budget and reporting.

Request an executive briefing Review the Year-1 portfolio

Stewardship you can audit.

How HFF is governed, how every project earns its funding, how results are measured and reported, and who is accountable for them.

The organization

Legal name: Hines Family Foundation for Education, Innovation & Service, Inc.
Classification: Georgia-chartered 501(c)(3) private operating foundation
EIN: 82-1268652
Headquarters: Atlanta, Georgia
Planning year: January 1 to December 31

Governance

Board of DirectorsSets direction and holds fiduciary oversight, serving three-year renewable terms with biannual meetings and quarterly status updates.
Executive leadershipThe Executive Director reports to the Board; the CEO reports to the Executive Director.
Governing documentsArticles of Incorporation, board adoption resolution, bylaws, corporate records and a governance implementation manual.
Conflicts and related partiesA conflict-of-interest policy modeled on IRS Form 1023, with annual disclosure. Related parties sit outside the management chain and funds are never commingled.
Partner agreementsMemoranda of understanding, nondisclosure and master services agreements under Georgia law.

Three gates before any dollar moves

Every project passes all three in order. The first project entered the protocol in August 2026. Learners are gated separately, by ESTEEM stage criteria.

PMO Gate
Is it defined?
Title, why, what, how, who, when, cost, so what and status, stated on one page and owned by a named lead.
Feasibility Gate
Is it worth doing?
DARPA's eight questions: objectives without jargon; today's practice and its limits; what is new and why it will work; who cares; risks; cost; time; and the mid-term and final exams.
HFF Approval Gate
Is it approved?
Two signatures: the Founder and one board member. No one signs the gate for a pursuit they own.

Automatic re-gating when

Scope or cost moves more than 20%
The project lead changes
A milestone slips more than one quarter
Any safety or compliance finding

Measured against baselines

An external evaluator sets baselines in the first 60 to 90 days. Three measures travel across every hub: stage-to-stage advancement, time in stage and ESTEEM domain coverage.

The portfolio fails its own design test if any stage lacks an on-ramp or any domain lacks an owner.

Year-1 targets

120

learners

educators

sites

80%

completion

12+

contact hours per learner

student products

reusable modules

pathway referrals

work-based placements

partner agreements

25¢

leveraged per dollar

What sponsors receive

Gate decisions for the lines you fund
Quarterly progress updates against baselines
An annual impact report
Written acknowledgment of every gift

Responsibility commitments

Youth safety and safe flight practice, with FAA TRUST and Part 107 credential on-ramps through FIDA USA
Responsible data and AI practice for everything learners create and share
Community health and neighborhood data governed with the communities it describes

Leadership

John W. Hines

Founder, Executive Director and Chief Technology Officer

John W. Hines founded HFF and leads Futures 2035. He retired from NASA Ames Research Center as Center Chief Technologist after nearly four decades of flight-mission leadership.

Missions: COSMOS 1514 and 1667, Bion-11, Neurolab Biotelemetry, Biona-C on Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-93, 1999), and the nanosatellites GeneSat-1, PharmaSat, O/OREOS and BioSentinel.

Programs: Sensors 2000!, Astrobionics, ATD-Biosensors and Biomolecular Systems Research.

Education: B.S. Electrical Engineering, Tuskegee University; M.S. Biomedical and Electrical Engineering, Stanford University. Visiting Scholar, Santa Clara University.

Hines spaceflight mission portfolio

1983COSMOS 1514Bion 6 biosatellite
1985COSMOS 1667Bion 7 biosatellite
1996–97Bion-11Bion biosatellite
1998Neurolab BiotelemetrySpace Shuttle Columbia, STS-90
1999Biona-CSpace Shuttle Columbia, STS-93
2006GeneSat-1Nanosatellite biology
2009PharmaSatNanosatellite biology
2010O/OREOSNanosatellite astrobiology
2022BioSentinelDeep-space biology, launched on Artemis I

Heritage

Space Information Labs created and ran the Endeavour Institute from 1993 to 2013, including a UC a-g approved grades 8–12 STEM sequence on California's Central Coast. The Institute's materials came to HFF to be modernized, and Space Information Labs continues as founding and executive partner of the HFF-Endeavour Space Engineering Institute, with engineering review at design and test gates.

The team

A five-member Board of Directors governs HFF. The executive staff (John W. Hines; Cheryl Monroe, HFF Interim CEO; and Katharine L. Bradford, Executive Assistant) runs the enterprise. Dr. H. Justin Ballenger of Morehouse College is HFF's Executive Partner for STEM Education, Outreach, and Academic Teacher Training, Karen C. Bradford serves on the HFF Advisory Panel, and HFF STEM Fellows work inside the programs they help build.

See the full team

Partners and their lanes

Each organization collaborates on specific programs, in a defined role. The full list, with roles, sits with the HFF Team.

See strategic partners and their roles

Review the documents behind the case

Governance, gate and evaluation documents are available to prospective sponsors and board candidates on request.

Request the briefing library Request an executive briefing

HFF Team

The people behind Futures 2035

Engineers, educators, researchers, and program leaders across Atlanta, Silicon Valley, and partner institutions.

Founder and leadership

John W. Hines

John W. Hines Founder, Executive Director, and Chief Technology Officer

Retired Center Chief Technologist, NASA Ames Research Center (about 37 years)
Spaceflight missions: COSMOS 1514 and 1667, Bion-11, Neurolab Biotelemetry, Biona-C, GeneSat-1, PharmaSat, O/OREOS, and BioSentinel
Research programs: Sensors 2000!, Astrobionics, ATD-Biosensors, and the Biomolecular Systems Research Program
B.S., Electrical Engineering, Tuskegee University; M.S., Biomedical/Electrical Engineering, Stanford University
Visiting Scholar, Santa Clara University

John W. Hines leads HFF and its Futures 2035 enterprise, and serves as hub lead for CA-STEIN, HFF’s STEM Training, Education, and Innovation Network (STEIN) hub at HFF-West. He co-leads the GOPSI planetary stewardship initiative with Dr. Moriba K. Jah.

His NASA career spanned technology leadership and small-satellite biology missions, and that mission discipline shapes every HFF program: real instruments, real hardware, and real engineering reviews.

Hines spaceflight mission portfolio More about HFF’s founder

Board of Directors

Governance and oversight

HFF is governed by its Board of Directors, which oversees the Foundation’s mission, strategy, and stewardship. The Executive Director reports to the Board.

Dr. Greg KovacsBoard member
Chair, HFF Science and Technology Advisory, Review, and Translation (START) Team
Ingrid EllerbeBoard member
Harold Boone Jr.Board member
Laura McArthur-HinesBoard member
Donald JamesBoard member

Executive Staff

The executive team

The executive team runs HFF’s day-to-day operations and the Futures 2035 enterprise, reporting to the Board of Directors.

John W. HinesFounder and Executive Director
Chief Technology Officer
Cheryl MonroeHFF Interim CEO
CKMACG (CK Management & Consultant Group), HFF CI Operations and Administrative Executive Partner
Katharine L. BradfordExecutive Assistant

Executive Partners

Leading through partner institutions

Executive partners lead a core HFF function through their home institution, working alongside the executive staff.

Dr. H. Justin BallengerMorehouse College
HFF Executive Partner for STEM Education, Outreach, and Academic Teacher Training

HFF Advisory Panel

Counsel and perspective

Advisory Panel members bring experience and perspective to HFF’s leadership. The panel advises; governance rests with the Board of Directors.

Karen C. BradfordMember, HFF Advisory Panel

Strategic Partners

Strategic partners and their roles

Partners share facilities, mentors, equipment, and real projects, and help align programs with workforce demand.

Education and community

Fernbank Science CenterSpace Day Atlanta host and co-sponsor
Morehouse CollegeExecutive partner for STEM education, outreach, and academic teacher training; Space Day co-sponsor; AI and data science; GA-STEIN
AUC Data Science InitiativeData science pathway
Valley Christian Schools Quest InstituteStudent space missions; AttoLab-8 ISS demonstration
Tuskegee UniversityPlanned AL-STEIN anchor (in development)

Research and technology

Santa Clara UniversityCA-STEIN partner; proposed ASTRID Center
University of Washington, Dunham LabYeast space biology research
GaiaVerseGOPSI co-lead; planetary stewardship
Space Information LabsEndeavour Institute founding and executive partner
JH Technology Associates (JHTA)In-kind technical guidance, donated IP, and services

Competition and operations

FIDA USADrone-soccer kit, arenas, and competition framework
STEAMsportDrone-soccer STEM programs
Sperry Labs (Ball 2)Smart-ball STEM platform
CKMACG (CK Management & Consultant Group) (opens in a new tab)HFF CI Operations and Administrative Executive Partner

STEM Fellows and Interns

HFF STEM Fellows and Interns

Educators, emerging engineers, and student interns who carry HFF programs into classrooms and labs.

Wanda J. HardingHFF STEM Teacher Fellow
Brings HFF programs into the classroom.
Jaden CauseyHFF STEM Fellow
Mechatronics intern.
Brian SawayaHFF STEM Engineering Fellow
Chelsea RobinsonHFF STEM Education Fellow
Sean SawayaHFF STEM Technology Intern

Program leads and co-investigators

Artemis STEM and SS-DOTM

The co-investigator team for Soccer STEM-Drones on the Moon, with program management.

Dr. H. Justin BallengerMorehouse College
Co-investigator, AI and data science; GA-STEIN co-lead
William OliverSTEAMsport
Co-investigator, STEAMsport integration
Tim IngramFIDA USA
Co-investigator, competition framework, arenas, and standards
Dr. Moriba K. JahGaiaVerse
Co-investigator, NASA science and mission relevance, AI integration; GOPSI co-lead
Cheryl MonroeHFF Interim CEO; CKMACG
Co-investigator, program operations and administration
Dr. Shawn M. NicholsonStrategic partner
Co-investigator
Karen C. BradfordHines Family Foundation
Capture and program management

Hub leadership

Leading the regional hubs

Each STEIN hub pairs HFF leadership with regional partners.

GA-STEIN

Atlanta, Georgia

Dr. H. Justin Ballenger, Morehouse College, co-lead.

CA-STEIN

HFF-West, Silicon Valley

John W. Hines, hub lead; Dr. Greg Kovacs, hub co-lead; Dr. Chris Kitts, Santa Clara University, lead for the proposed ASTRID Center.

AL-STEIN

Tuskegee University, Alabama

Hub leadership is being formed with Tuskegee University.

In development

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People are the product.

The case in seven questions

Why

What

How

Who

When

How much

So what

Where Year-1 dollars go

Five campaigns, three hubs, one ladder

ESTEEM Odyssey

Artemis STEM

ORISHA STEM

BioHealth Technologies & Applications

HFF-Endeavour Space Engineering Institute & Academies

GA-STEIN, Atlanta

CA-STEIN, HFF-West

AL-STEIN, Tuskegee University

Meet Futures 2035 at launch

Fund a line, a campaign or a hub.

Year-1 lines, itemized

Track A: enterprise backbone and programmatic infrastructure, $322K

Enterprise backbone

Programmatic infrastructure

Track B: seven initial project lines, $395K

Soccer Pitch to Moon Pitch (SP2MP) pilot

Ball 2 Motion Physics

FIDA USA–Atlanta challenge series

ORISHA STEM-ATL module pilot

HFF-West product-development sprint

DS-Artemis lunar mission content

SB-STEPS space-biology instrumentation

Fastest ways to start

Campaigns, and what comes after Year 1

ESTEEM Odyssey

Artemis STEM

ORISHA STEM

BioHealth Technologies & Applications

HFF-Endeavour Space Engineering Institute & Academies

Three regional hubs

GA-STEIN, Atlanta

CA-STEIN, HFF-West

AL-STEIN, Tuskegee University

The decade in four acts

Incubate

Prove

Integrate

Sustain

The path to steady state

Target funding mix

Backbone and infrastructure

Enterprise backbone, $217K

Capture and program manager (0.5 FTE)

Grant writing and proposal production

Program operations and administration (0.5 FTE)

Finance, bookkeeping, CPA review and audit readiness

External evaluation and measurement

Insurance, legal, registrations and systems

Programmatic infrastructure, $105K

Curriculum and kit standardization

Teacher training system (STEM TRAIN)

Data dashboard and evidence register

Safety and youth-protection system

Over the decade: HFF’s enterprise infrastructure

CI Backbone

STEM CASE Knowledge Portal

H-SETA

HFF-West Technology Incubator

The CI Backbone’s ten functions

Choose where your support lands

Support HFF.

Sponsorship tiers

Leadership commitments

For institutions and employers

Schools and districts

Universities and HBCUs