05/12/2026
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Maur Hill - Mount Academy is pleased to announce that Colonel Edward Black will serve as the 2026 commencement speaker.
Ed Black has spent more than three decades in aviation, military service, and space operations. He currently serves as Integration Lead for Joint Commercial Operations, a U.S. Space Force program that unites twenty-three partner nations on a shared virtual operations floor, strengthening transparency and cooperation in space. He is also a First Officer on the Boeing 787 with United Airlines, flying international routes. He has flown with United commercially since 2008.
A Missouri native, Ed earned a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Technology from Central Missouri State University and later a Master of Science in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University in Washington, D.C. He was commissioned through the Air National Guard Academy of Military Science in 1992 and went on to fly the C-130 as a Command Pilot, accumulating more than 3,000 flight hours, including over 300 in combat.
Over a 30-year Air National Guard career, Ed rose to the rank of Colonel. He served in many roles, from squadron pilot to Commander of the 139th Airlift Wing in St. Joseph, Missouri. He also held strategic positions at the Pentagon, including Executive Assistant to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau and, most recently, Director of Plans and Programs for National Guard Space Operations. His decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, and the Air Medal with two oak leaf clusters.
Ed and his wife, Holly, were married in 1994 and are the proud parents of three Maur Hill - Mount Academy graduates: Ayden (Class of 2019), Eli (Class of 2023), and Isabella (Class of 2026). Ed has been a proud Maur Hill - Mount Academy dad for eleven years, beginning with Ayden’s first day in 2015 and culminating with Isabella’s graduation this year.
