Paul Contursi was already a seasoned amateur astronomer and space activist when he was chosen, at age twelve, to be one of about 18 students selected from the New York City public school system for a special NASA space science summer program. In the 1970s, he wrote about space issues for such organizations as The Viking Fund and The Planetary Society. He is a lifetime and founding member of the Mars Society and was elected President of the New York Chapter. Two years ago, he and fellow Mars Society member George Smith converted the New York Chapter into a separate non-profit corporation, now known as the Mars Society of New York, Inc., as a tool to facilitate local fund raising activities. He has regularly lectured, written and met with elected officials on behalf of the Mars Society and is also engaged in fund raising activities for the national organization. In addition, Mr. Contursi is President of The Colony Fund LLC, a company he co-founded with fellow Mars Society of New York veteran, Tom Olson. The Colony Fund's goal is to offer a retail venture capital fund priced to enable millions of potential investors to participate in building the commercial space infrastructure of the 21st century. He and Tom are preparing for a major presentation about the Fund at this yea's International Space Development Conference in San Jose, California.