John B. Herrington

A proud member of the Chickasaw Nation, Commander John B. Herrington has devoted his life to scientific discovery and exploration. Born in 1958, in Wetumka, Oklahoma, he moved often as a child before eventually graduating in 1976 from Plano Senior High School in Texas. He then received his Bachelor of Science in Applied Mathematics from the University of Colorado. He was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Navy in 1984 and was designated as a Naval Aviator the following year. In 1990, he enrolled in the U.S. Navy Test Pilot School. Herrington then earned his Master's from the Naval Post Graduate School in 1995. The following year, NASA selected John B. Herrington to begin training as an astronaut.

By 2004, he was commander of the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO), an underwater laboratory used to simulate life in space in preparation for continued space exploration. During one mission, he lived in the underwater laboratory for 10 days! In 2005, Herrington left NASA and retired from the Navy. He returned to Oklahoma to work for RocketPlane Global before pursuing a full-time career in public speaking in late 2007. A lifelong student and learner, he received his Doctorate of Education from the University of Idaho in 2014. Today, Herrington continues to inspire children to learn about space and pursue careers in the STEM field.