Nelly Montes's educational background includes a B. S. in Engineering Physics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, a M. A. S. in Space Operations Management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and a M. S. in Homeland Security from San Diego State University. Her experience ranges industries of both technical and non-technical, engineering in the private sector of oil and gas to government areas of threat and risk assessment, and emergency management. She spent the last two decades immersed in a special warfare community and has witnessed first-hand the loss of talent, skills, and knowledge of valuable DoD workforce to irrelevant industries. Nelly is the founder of NME Space, a human-tended service for product testing in micro-gravity and other extreme environments.