HUNTSVILLE, AL – Robert La Branche has been named as Vice President of External Affairs at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center (USSRC). His responsibilities include engaging with local, state, and federal leaders to build awareness of the Rocket Center and its programs and to build partnerships to support them.

Before assuming his new fulltime role, La Branche served as Special Assistant to the CEO in a part-time capacity.

“We are so excited to have Robert join the Rocket Center team full time,” said USSRC CEO and Executive Director Dr. Kimberly Robinson. “He has already proven to be a valuable asset in engaging government and industry leaders with our mission of education and inspiration.”

La Branche has served as an aerospace and defense consultant as the head of Real Strategies, LLC, which he founded in 2014. Among other clients, La Branche worked with the strategic communications team of the Space Launch System Program Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center from 2014 until late 2021.

He has also served as Executive Director of the Alabama Military Stability Foundation since April 2018, and he will remain on an interim basis as its volunteer executive director to assist with the transition to a new director.

“It is a high honor to have the privilege to take this leadership position at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, an icon for the State of Alabama and a beacon for STEM education,” La Branche said. “I am passionate about the Rocket Center’s mission and look forward to serving in this capacity.”

Prior to moving to Huntsville, La Branche worked in Washington D.C. for eight years as a congressional staffer for Alabama congressmen Sen. Jeff Sessions and Rep. Parker Griffith, Rep. Bill Posey of Florida, and Rep. John Culberson of Texas.

La Branche is a 2006 graduate of Huntingdon College. He completed Air Command and Staff College in 2008 and earned a Masters in National Security and Strategic Studies from the United States Naval War College in 2012. LaBranche is a member of the Greater Huntsville Rotary Club and the Huntsville Committee of 100.

He and his wife, Mindy, have two children, Henry and Clara.