George Thomas Whitesides

George Thomas Whitesides, born March 3, 1974, is the incumbent U.S. Representative for California's 27th congressional district, having assumed office on January 3, 2025. His career before politics was in the space industry, where he served as the CEO of Virgin Galactic and as Chief of Staff for NASA during the Obama administration. He earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a master's degree from the University of Cambridge. Whitesides also co-founded Megafire Action, an organization focused on addressing wildfire crises. In the community, he has been a board member of the Antelope Valley Economic Development and Growth Enterprise (AV EDGE) and co-chaired the Antelope Valley Covid-19 Task Force.