2025 MCEC Global Training Summit Tools of the Trade: Technology’s Impact on Education

Lieutenant General Sean A. Gainey

Lieutenant General Sean A. Gainey assumed command of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command and Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense on Jan. 9, 2024. In this role, he leads 2,600 military and civilian professionals in their no-fail mission of providing the Army and joint force trained and equipped space and global ballistic missile defense forces, and space, missile defense and high altitude capabilities. The command serves as the Army Service Component Command to U.S. Space Command and U.S. Strategic Command and as the ASCC for ground-based midcourse defense to U.S. Northern Command.  

Gainey graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1990 with a Bachelor of Business Administration and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Air Defense Artillery. He also earned a Master of Science in personnel management from Central Michigan University. His professional military education includes the Air Defense Officer Basic and Advanced courses, Command and General Staff College, and Senior Service College at the Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security, where he earned a Master of Science in national security and resource strategy. 

Gainey most recently served as the director, Joint C-UAS Office, and director, Fires in the G3/5/7, Headquarters Department of the Army. Other assignments include: chaparral/stinger platoon leader, Avenger Battery executive officer and assistant operations officer, 5th Battalion, 2nd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Bamberg, Germany; assistant operations officer and commander of Charlie Battery, 3rd Battalion, 43rd Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Fort Bliss, Texas; Air Defense Artillery observer/controller and G3 plans officer, Combat Maneuver Training Center, Hohenfels, Germany; battalion executive officer and later brigade operations officer, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, U.S. Army Europe; lieutenant colonel assignment officer and executive officer to the director of Officer Personnel Management Directorate, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, Alexandria, Virginia; commander, 5th Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery, Kaiserslautern, Germany; chief of Air and Missile Defense Division, U.S. Army Europe; commander, 108th Air Defense Artillery Brigade, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; chief, Global Force Management Division, Joint Staff, J3, Washington, DC; deputy commanding general, U.S. Army Cadet Command, Fort Knox, Kentucky; commanding general, 94th Army Air and Missile Defense Command, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii; and deputy director for Force Protection, J-8, overseeing the Joint Integrated Air and Missile Defense Organization, the Joint Requirements Office for CBRN Defense, and the Force Protection Division.  

He has deployed in support of Operation Southern Watch, Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Joint Task Force-East, and Operation Enduring Freedom.  

Gainey’s awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal (with one oak leaf cluster), Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (with four oak leaf clusters), Army Commendation Medal (with three oak leaf clusters), Joint Service Achievement Medal, Army Achievement Medal.

Fig O’Reilly

Fionnghuala (pronounced Fin-new-la) O’Reilly, known by most as Fig, is an actress, STEM advocate, and TV correspondent on the award-winning series Mission Unstoppable with Miranda Cosgrove, which airs weekly on CBS. Since its debut, the show has made a remarkable impact, reaching over 318 million teen girls digitally and generating more than 3.25 billion impressions across TV and digital platforms. In 2020, it was nominated for a Daytime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Educational or Informational Series.

Fig, who is both Irish and American, made history as the first woman of color to win Miss Universe Ireland. She went on to represent the country at the Miss Universe competition. After earning her bachelor’s degree in systems engineering from George Washington University, she became a NASA Datanaut in the agency’s Open Innovation program, collaborating with engineers and scientists to harness NASA’s open data.

As a science communicator, Fig has worked with NASA and the European Space Agency to cover major space milestones, including the 2019 InSight mission to Mars, the historic all-female spacewalk, and Ireland’s first-ever satellite launch.

She is also the founder of Space to Reach, an organization dedicated to closing the opportunity gap for women in STEM. Space to Reach publishes a monthly lifestyle newsletter designed to empower women in STEM and offers a mentorship program. Most recently, she joined the Oxnard, California School District’s Space Summer School, where she spent two weeks teaching space and Earth science to more than 400 students from kindergarten through eighth grade.

A purpose-driven advocate, Fig champions women and is inspiring the next generation. She lends her time and expertise to advancing education-focused organizations, serving on the board of the African American Irish Diaspora Network and as a Next-Gen Leader with the White House Historical Association.