Margaret Lau is the Special Assistant to the Executive Director/Project Coordinator for the California Space Authority, a statewide non-profit dedicated to promoting and advocating for the continued development and growth of California's space enterprise. In this capacity, Margaret assists in the coordination, management and implementation of activities, processes, partnerships and collaborations among the organization’s state offices and Executive Director. With 17 years of experience in administrative support capacities at Allan Hancock College, including four years as coordinator of economic development, Margaret’s scope of knowledge, skills, and talents is both extensive and comprehensive. As coordinator of economic development, she coordinated, managed and monitored grant deliverables – most notably the college’s NASA Curriculum Improvement Partnership Award, the National Science Foundation SpaceTEC grant and Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration WIRED Initiative - in addition to developing and implementing contract education opportunities throughout the college’s service area. Facilitating the development of curricula, as well as associated outreach materials and programs, Margaret successfully engaged the support of numerous students, staff, faculty and administrators, industry partners, and members of the nationwide K-16 educational community. As a representative of Allan Hancock College, local partnerships were enhanced by her enthusiastic participation and support of the Santa Barbara County Workforce Investment Board Youth Council; Constructing Connections Resource Committee; Santa Maria Employer Advisory Council; Santa Maria Manufacturers’ Association; and California Space Center Advisory Committee. Prior to joining Allan Hancock College, Margaret worked in International Regulatory Affairs and in Quality Assurance for a global, multi-specialty pharmaceutical firm.Margaret is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of California, Irvine, with a B.S. in biological sciences. Born and raised in Southern California, she has been a resident of Santa Maria, located on California’s beautiful central coast, for over 20 years. She and her husband, Bowman, are proud parents of a son, Ryan, who is away at college.