A Mentor for Life
On October 21 during the Future Leaders Celebration, SSPI will honor not only the “20 Under 35” cohort of young leaders for 2024 but also the 2024 Mentor of the Year. Mentors of the Year are those who have given their time, attention, support, wisdom and guidance generously to young professionals and colleagues all while still carrying on a successful career in the industry. They are the very reason many of our brightest future leaders are here making a difference today!
This year, SSPI will present its Mentor of the Year award to Joan Tang Mancuso, Marketing & Business Development Consultant. Learn more about Joan below:
Joan Tang Mancuso
Consultant, Marketing & Business Development
Joan Tang Mancuso has provided expert guidance, mentorship and support to young people in the space & satellite industry throughout her more-than-30-year career and long after retiring from full-time work. As a member of the SSPI Mid-Atlantic Chapter Board, she spearheaded the creation, promotion and implementation of a scholarship program to help inner city high school students with STEM education. An inaugural participant in SSPI-WISE’s Mentorship program, Joan mentored four different women across three countries, guiding them through career development, job changes, promotions and professional and personal challenges. Of particular note, she guided one mentee through a successful career transition from a technical role to a managerial position and helped another advance her career while navigating a difficult international relocation. Joan has also provided her insights and expertise to broader groups of women and industry professionals through a number of SSPI-WISE panels and online discussions.
Joan began her career in the space & satellite industry as Director of Global Sales & Marketing at COMSAT in 1983. Over the next three decades she served in a variety of senior marketing and sales positions for other key players in the evolution of the industry, including AT&T, GE and L-3. Throughout her career, Joan was responsible for managing and growing complex sales organizations and played a major role in successfully closing multi-million-dollar contracts in Asia, South America and throughout the United States. She was responsible for the establishment of the pioneering VSAT network at the Staten Island Teleport, as well as the development of specialized network solutions for multiple rural and remote communities worldwide. Following her service as Vice President of Sales & Marketing at L-3, Joan applied her extensive managerial expertise to advising non-profits and small start-ups, first as part of Broadband International LLC and then as an independent consultant.
Joan’s colleagues and mentees consistently describe her as highly competent, dedicated and willing to accept and complete any assignment, no matter how challenging. She has been known throughout her career as a “go-to” person when launching new products, breaking into new markets or revamping existing ones. Even after retiring from full-time work in the industry, Joan continues to dedicate time to helping and guiding others, through her roles with the SSPI Mid-Atlantic Chapter and SSPI-WISE. She has volunteered at George Washington University, the Newseum and, most recently, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she has and continues to mentor students, volunteers and interns.
Want to learn more about past SSPI Mentors of the Year? Visit www.sspi.org/cpages/promise-mentor-awards for more information and profiles.