Our Executive Mentors

Kjell Lindgren

Dr. Kjell Lindgren is a physician and NASA astronaut serving as the Deputy Director of the Flight Operations Directorate at Johnson Space Center, where he leads the execution of NASA’s human spaceflight mission. He serves a workforce of 2,400 engineers, flight controllers, instructors, aviators, flight directors, and astronauts.

Born in Taipei, Taiwan into Air Force family, Dr. Lindgren spent most of his childhood in the United Kingdom and returned to the U.S. to complete his education with an undergraduate degree from the US Air Force Academy and a Doctorate of Medicine from the University of Colorado. He is residency trained in both in emergency and aerospace medicine. He joined NASA as a flight surgeon in 2007 and served as the Deputy Crew Surgeon for STS-130 and Expedition 24. He was selected as an astronaut in June 2009 as a member of “the Chumps,” the 20th NASA astronaut class.  Dr. Lindgren is a veteran of 2 long duration space station missions with a cumulative 311 days in space. He has performed two spacewalks and has conducted over 300 different scientific experiments in low earth orbit. Dr. Lindgren has flown both Russian Soyuz and SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft. He commanded the inaugural flight of the Crew Dragon Freedom as a part of NASA’s Crew-4 mission in 2022.

Inspired by the orbital perspective, Kjell pursues opportunities to be a better steward of humanity’s spaceship, Earth. As an assistant scoutmaster for his sons’ scout troop, he teaches outdoor ethics and conservation. He is a Leave No Trace trainer, a nature center volunteer, and a Texas Master Naturalist.

Kjell is an accomplished public speaker, sharing inspiring messages of resilience, teamwork, faith, and stewardship with audiences spanning entertainment, industry, and academia. He is also an “out of this world” performer, as the first (and last) astronaut to play the Great Highland Bagpipes in space.

Kjell enjoys being in the mountains, making gear, reading science fiction and spending time with his wife, Kristi and their 3 kids.