AFCEA/USNI WEST 2022

Stephanie Hutch
President & CEO, Makai Defense
Founder and Chair of the Board, Kekoa Foundation


Stephanie Malia Hutch is the Founder and President of Makai, LLC a Native Hawaiian Owned 8(a) firm headquartered in Massachusetts. Makai specializes in DoD weapon systems integration and wireless and wired network modernization. Makai is the owner and operator of the Gemini 5G Lab, a vendor-agnostic 5G test and evaluation facility located next to Hanscom AFB at the UMass Lowell Research Institute’s Northstar Campus. Gemini Lab utilizes 5G open-spectrum Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS), a 150 MHz wide broadcast band of the 3.5 GHz band and specializes in practical 5G technology applications through testbed analysis and business innovation. The Gemini Lab team is working collaboratively with US Air Force, Army, and Special Forces customers to develop 5G architectures to address various national security communication and data transmission challenges including: • Spectrum management deconfliction with multiple flight line devices • Sensor exploitation deployment of ATAK from UAVs, robotic dogs, and other mobile assets • Transmission of full motion video (FMV) on forward deployed configurations in austere environments • Establishment of deployable CBRS environment • Development and deployment of multicast capability over a 5G network • Establishment and maintenance of mobile SATCOM network • Network hardening and cyber penetration testing Stephanie holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Pennsylvania. Stephanie is also the Founder and Chairwoman of the Board for the Kekoa Foundation, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support and advance the overall welfare and economic condition of Native Hawaiians in the State of Hawaii through educational, business, and community programs.

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