Everett Hamilton
Class of 1989
Graduating 11th in the High School Class of 1989, Everett demonstrated academic excellence, leadership, and athletic passion from an early age. Awarded the American Legion Scholarship, he was selected to attend the State Police Youth Academy at Pennsylvania State Police headquarters in State College. During high school, Everett worked as a dishwasher at Lake Shore Country Club and a lane attendant at Lake City Lanes, where he organized and ran the Girard High School bowling league. An exceptional bowler, he threw an 800 series at just 17 years old and represented his region in bowling at the Keystone State Games during the summers of 1988 and 1989.
Everett continued his education at West Virginia University, graduating in 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering (BSAE). During his undergraduate years, he competed all four years on the WVU traveling bowling team, leading them in his senior year to the Intercollegiate Bowling Championship in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as one of only 12 qualifying teams nationwide. That same year, Everett won the All-Events title at the 1993 West Virginia State Bowling Tournament, earning an invitation to the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Masters Tournament. He went on to earn a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering (MSAE) from WVU in 1995. While pursuing his master's degree, Everett conducted research at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, analyzing data on the NASA F-18 High Alpha Research Vehicle (HARV) and authoring his thesis on estimating the longitudinal stability parameter for research aircraft. Later, while working for Lockheed Martin, he earned a Master of Science in Systems Engineering (MSSE) from George Washington University in 2003.
Everett launched his career in 1996 in the Washington, D.C. area at Coleman Research Corporation, conducting wargaming scenarios for the Pentagon's Deputy Under Secretary of Defense. He then joined Lockheed Martin as a satellite controller, advancing to trainer and orbit analyst. In 2008, he transitioned to Northrop Grumman, working on aircraft radar components before returning to satellite operations for NASA and NOAA. As a contractor with ASRC, Everett played a vital role in pre- and post-launch operations for two major U.S. weather and climate satellites: the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP), launched in October 2011, and the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS-1), launched in November 2017. For SNPP, he served as the lead operations engineer for power and thermal subsystems and instrument operations engineer for the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS). In 2014, he became the lead spacecraft engineer for JPSS-1, and in 2017 served as Mission Director for its launch, overseeing more than 30 spacecraft and ground engineers during vehicle commissioning. In 2018, Everett moved to Colorado to join Ball Aerospace (now BAE Systems Space & Mission Systems) as lead spacecraft operations engineer. Today, he serves as Program Manager, leading 13 programs overseeing all unclassified on-orbit sustainment missions for agencies including NASA, NOAA, JPL, Space Systems Command, and the USGS.
Beyond his professional achievements, Everett has a rich history of public service and patient advocacy. While living in the D.C. area, he served as a mentor through Big Brothers Big Sisters of the National Capital Area. A passionate advocate for families impacted by ectodermal dysplasia—a genetic condition shared by Everett, his mother, and his two daughters—he actively supports the National Foundation for Ectodermal Dysplasias (NFED). Alongside his wife and family, Everett has traveled to Capitol Hill numerous times to lobby Congress for the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA), advocating for federal legislation to guarantee health insurance coverage for medically necessary treatments for individuals born with congenital facial anomalies.
Everett currently lives in Colorado with his wife Sarah and his two daughters, Addison (14) and Hazel (13). Everett still enjoys bowling, but loves mountain biking the front range of the Rockies, camps and hikes with his family regularly, and when winter comes around, hits the slopes snowboarding while the rest of the family skis!
