---
alias:
- Sol Foundation
- The Sol Foundation
- Sol Foundation for Advanced Studies
- The Sol Foundation for Advanced Scientific and Policy Research
- Sol Foundation for Advanced Scientific and Policy Research
- The Sol Foundation for Advanced Scientific and Research Policy
- Sol Foundation Initiative for UAP Research and Policy
category: UFO & Anomalous Phenomena
created: 2026-10-03
location: California (Redwood City, Auburn and Stanford addresses of record)
relations:
- fn: 4
  reverse: true
  role: listed chief financial officer in a September 2023 business-registry entry;
    treasurer on the 2024 Form 990
  start: 2023-07-07
  type: director_of
  with: '[[Jonathan Berte]]'
- fn: 7
  reverse: true
  role: Director of Strategy (symposium host, 2024); co-CEO on the 2024 Form 990
  start: 2024
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[Maura Mindrila]]'
- fn: 2
  reverse: true
  role: named as legal counsel to the foundation
  start: 2023-08
  type: represented
  with: '[[I. Charles McCullough III]]'
- fn: 11
  reverse: true
  role: chief operating officer, as listed on the foundation's website (viewed October
    3, 2026; start date not given)
  type: employed_by
  with: '[[Jennifer Preston]]'
- fn: 11
  reverse: true
  role: '''independent board member,'' as listed on the foundation''s website (viewed
    October 3, 2026; start date not given)'
  type: director_of
  with: '[[Aneil Mallavarapu]]'
- fn: 11
  reverse: true
  role: Natural Sciences Advisory Board, as listed on the foundation's website (viewed
    October 3, 2026)
  type: member_of
  with: '[[Avi Loeb]]'
- fn: 11
  reverse: true
  role: emeritus advisor, as listed on the foundation's website (viewed October 3,
    2026)
  type: member_of
  with: '[[Jacques Vallee]]'
summary: California public benefit corporation launched August 15, 2023 by Garry Nolan
  and Peter Skafish to study unidentified anomalous phenomena, with a 2024 Form 990
  showing $937,625 in revenue and one $10,000 white paper grant.
tags:
- Organization
- UFO
- UAP
- ThinkTank
- Nonprofit
- Stanford
- SolFoundation
- Disclosure
updated: 2026-10-03
---

The Sol Foundation for Advanced Scientific and Policy Research is a [California](/places/california/) nonprofit public benefit corporation that described itself on its launch date, August 15, 2023, as established "to research the philosophical, policy, and scientific implications of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena." It was led at launch by [Garry Nolan](/people/garry-nolan/) of the [Stanford University](/organizations/stanford-university/) School of Medicine and the sociocultural anthropologist [Peter Skafish](/people/peter-skafish/).[^1] Its first public sign was a set of documents that surfaced in early August 2023 under the name "Sol Foundation for Advanced Studies," among them the résumé of [David Grusch](/people/david-grusch/) filed with the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.[^2][^3]

### Incorporation and registry entries

A California business-registry entry last updated September 1, 2023 lists the corporation under its present name on the basis of filings dated July 7, 2023, with three contacts: Nolan, Skafish and Jonathan Berte, the last as chief financial officer.[^4] The California Secretary of State record as carried by OpenCorporates shows an entity of type "Nonprofit Corporation, CA, Public Benefit" (entity number 5810665) with an agent address of Stanford University, 269 Campus Drive, Stanford, California 94305, and a further address of 2945 Bell Road, #316, Auburn, California 95603. Four current officers and one inactive officer are recorded but are not displayed without a login, and the incorporation date is likewise withheld in the public view.[^5]

The [Internal Revenue Service](/organizations/internal-revenue-service/) Exempt Organizations Business Master File lists the organization under EIN 93-3649160 as a 501(c)(3) with a ruling date of June 2024, in care of "Attn Nolan" at 5 Hermosa Road, Redwood City, California 94062.[^6] The Form 990 for 2024 gives the Auburn address, a telephone number in the 408 area code, a year of formation of 2023 and California as the state of legal domicile.[^7]

The résumé that Grusch submitted to the House Committee on Oversight for its July 26, 2023 hearing lists, under "May 2023-Present," the position "Chief Operating Officer (COO), The Sol Foundation," and describes the employer as a "501c3 federally recognized non-profit," followed by the text "The premier center for research in the natural and social sciences, engineering, and the humanities, but also extends activities to advisory and policy work for the [U.S. government](/organizations/us-government/)/public outreach."[^3] The IRS ruling date on record for EIN 93-3649160 is June 2024.[^6] Nolan said in September 2023 that Grusch's title had since changed to senior founding advisor, that the earlier title "seemed the right thing at the time," and that Grusch was "a founder of the Sol Foundation."[^2]

### Officers and board

The Form 990 for the calendar year 2024 lists four people in Part VII: Garry Nolan, director, 0.00 hours a week, no compensation; Peter Skafish, secretary, 1.00 hour a week, reportable compensation $20,000 and other compensation $40,000; Jonathan Berte, treasurer, 0.00 hours, no compensation; and Maura Mindrila, co-CEO, 0.00 hours, other compensation $40,000. Skafish signed the return as secretary on November 16, 2025 and is named as principal officer. The return reports three voting members of the governing body, all independent, no employees and an estimated 25 volunteers.[^7]

Press statements used other titles. Nolan was "Executive Director of the Board" and Skafish "Director of Research" in September 2023, and Skafish was "executive director" in December 2024.[^2][^8] Nolan said in 2023 that his Stanford appointment did not allow him to hold an officer role in an outside company and that he took no salary.[^2] [Diana Walsh Pasulka](/people/diana-walsh-pasulka/) posted on September 11, 2023 that she was joining the board, and the foundation named I. Charles McCullough III, a former Inspector General of the Intelligence Community, as its legal counsel.[^2] McCullough signed the November 12, 2024 letter to Congress on the review-board provisions of the [Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act](/concepts/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena-disclosure-act/) under the heading "Former Inspector General of the Intelligence Community," as did Nolan, Skafish, Pasulka and Gallaudet.[^9] McCullough is also counsel to Grusch, whom he represented in a May 2022 urgent-concern complaint to the Intelligence Community Inspector General.[^10]

Berte founded the machine-vision company Robovision, which was reported in March 2023 to be assisting Stanford with artificial-intelligence applications for the study of complex diseases.[^2] Mindrila hosted the 2024 symposium as Director of Strategy.[^8] Part IV of the 2024 Form 990 answers yes to maintaining an office, employees or agents outside the [United States](/places/united-states/).[^7]

### Website roster

The foundation's website, read on October 3, 2026, lists under "Executive Leadership" Garry Nolan ("Co-Founder & Executive Director of the Board"), Peter Skafish ("Co-Founder & Executive Director"), [Tim Gallaudet](/people/tim-gallaudet/) ("Senior Advisor"), Aneil Mallavarapu ("Independent Board Member"), Jennifer Preston ("Chief Operating Officer"), Matt Mason ("Chief Marketing Officer"), Lou Grossi ("Chief Information Officer") and Christian Peters ("Associate Director of Research"). Its "Advisory Board" lists [Eric Davis](/people/eric-davis/), Jeffrey J. Kripal and Pasulka (social sciences), Loeb and Beatriz Villarroel (natural sciences), Jacob Haqq-Misra, Alexander Wendt, [Jim Semivan](/people/jim-semivan/), Kirk McConnell ("Senior Legislative Affairs Officer") and [Jacques Vallee](/people/jacques-vallee/) ("Emeritus Advisor"). The page does not list Grusch, Berte, Mindrila, McCullough or [Karl Nell](/people/karl-nell/), although Berte, Mindrila and Skafish appear on the 2024 Form 990 and Nell is the author of a Sol paper (see White papers).[^11]

### Money

The 2024 Form 990 (submitted November 22, 2025, prepared by EAJ CPA LLC of Kensington, Connecticut) reports total revenue of $937,625: contributions of $758,538, of which $440,776 is entered on line 1d, "related organizations," and $317,762 on line 1f, plus $179,087 of program service revenue under the heading "Symposium." Expenses were $861,680 and gross receipts are stated as $937,625. Revenue less expenses was $75,945; assets at year end were $65,945 (all cash), liabilities $170,000 (against $180,000 at the start of the year) and net assets minus $104,055 (against minus $180,000). Every prior-year column on the return is zero, which suggests that this was the first return filed.[^7]

The expense lines include $117,000 for management fees, $269,797 for conferences, conventions and meetings, $66,279 for travel, $11,618 for security and event support, $5,000 for refuse removal, and $380,591 labelled "public relations, brand development" in Schedule O, of which $14,815 is program expense and $365,776 management and general. Part IV, line 34, answers no to whether the organization was related to any tax-exempt or taxable entity, and no Schedule R is among the schedules published; the return does not say who the "related organizations" on Part VIII line 1d are. Schedule B, the schedule of contributors, contains two contributor entries, each with the name and the amount shown only as "RESTRICTED" in the public copy. The return gives the organization's name as "The Sol Foundation for Advanced Scientific and Research Policy," with "Research" and "Policy" in the reverse of the order used in the IRS master file and the California record.[^7]

Schedule I lists one grant to an individual: $10,000 as a "research grant for white paper on geopolitical implications of unidentified anomalous phenomena." Its supplemental statement says the organization grants funds to experts "in exchange for white papers," that grantees are selected by the board of directors and that the papers are published on its website. Schedule O describes the November 22 to 23, 2024 symposium at the Fort Mason Center in [San Francisco](/places/san-francisco/).[^7]

The UAP Disclosure Fund, a San Francisco 501(c)(4) in care of Yuan Fung (EIN 99-2834592, IRS ruling date July 2025), has Fung as its executive director on the November 12, 2024 scientists' letter to Congress that Nolan, Skafish, Pasulka, Gallaudet and others signed, and Gallaudet's House biography lists him as an advisory board member of both the Fund and the Sol Foundation.[^12][^9] The Sol Foundation Inc of Carmel, Indiana (EIN 99-3863647; 1051 Oswego Road, in care of Lawrence Baker; IRS ruling date August 2024; private non-operating foundation) is a separate entity. Its Form 990-PF for the period December 24 to December 31, 2024 (submitted November 14, 2025; prepared by L M Henderson & Company LLP of Indianapolis) reports $25,000,000 in contributions received, $17,976 in interest and dividends, $89,482 in expenses, $24,928,494 in assets, no grants paid, and three directors, Lawrence Baker, Patricia Baker and Charles Hertlein, each at one hour a week and unpaid. It lists no website and a telephone number in the 513 area code. Nothing in that filing refers to unidentified anomalous phenomena, to the California corporation or to any of its officers, and no document opened for this entry links the two organizations.[^13]

No filing under the client name Sol Foundation appears in the United States Senate lobbying disclosure database, and no contribution record under the names of Skafish, Berte or Mindrila appears in the [Federal Election Commission](/organizations/federal-election-commission/) database.[^14]

### Symposia

The first symposium, the "Sol Foundation Initiative for UAP Research and Policy," was held November 17 to 18, 2023 in Palo Alto, California, hosted by the Nolan Laboratory and the Stanford School of Medicine, by invitation only. Nolan opened it with the words "The objective here is to legitimize and professionalize." Speakers included [Avi Loeb](/people/avi-loeb/), Jacques Vallee, Pasulka, the Canadian member of Parliament Larry Maguire, Tim Gallaudet, Karl Nell and [Christopher Mellon](/people/christopher-mellon/). Grusch joined on the second day by video from Washington and said, "We need to basically create a parallel track of research and independent discovery that aren't necessarily dependent on the U.S. government."[^15] Nell's talk is catalogued as "The Schumer Amendment & Controlled Disclosure," a reference to the Senate UAP amendment sponsored by [Chuck Schumer](/people/chuck-schumer/).[^16] Skafish said of the audience, "That audience was as important to me in organizing as the lineup of speakers was," and that the organizers were "very deliberately careful in evaluating the requests for invitations."[^15]

The second symposium, November 22 to 23, 2024 at Fort Mason Center, was opened by Mindrila. Speakers named in coverage were Nell, Eric Davis, the religious-studies scholar Stephen Finley, Gallaudet, the journalist [Leslie Kean](/people/leslie-kean/) with [Ryan Graves](/people/ryan-graves/) of [Americans for Safe Aerospace](/organizations/americans-for-safe-aerospace/), the former Senate staff member Kirk McConnell and the venture investor Rizwan Virk. Virk presented four funding models for "frontier science" (research grants, awards-based prizes, an incubator and venture funds) and said he was writing a Sol white paper on the subject. Skafish said that year's meeting was convened in light of "a divisive election season and the likely failure of the UAP Disclosure Act."[^8]

### White papers

The foundation's website lists twelve papers (read October 3, 2026). Volume 1: No. 1, Gallaudet, "Beneath the Surface: We May Learn More about UAP by Looking in the Ocean" (March 2024); No. 2, "UAP in Crowded Skies: Atmospheric and Orbital Threat Reduction in an Age of Geopolitical Uncertainty," credited to "The Sol Foundation" (March 2024); No. 3, Helen McCaw, "[Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena](/concepts/unidentified-anomalous-phenomena/): Policy Implications for the Government of the [United Kingdom](/places/united-kingdom/)" (May 2024); No. 4, "Anomalous Health Threats: Health Security Considerations for UAP," credited to "The Sol Foundation" (July 2024); No. 5, Paul Thigpen, "NHI, UAP, and the Catholic Faith: How Will the Church Respond" (July 2024); No. 6, Skafish, "The Prospect of Executive Branch Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Secrecy: The Harm to Congress and Potential Remedies" (November 2024). Volume 2: No. 1, Rizwan Virk, "Investment in UAP Technology and Ventures: Opportunities, Challenges, and a Way Forward" (March 2025); Nell, "The UFO Enigma: A Call for US Government Disclosure" (May 2025; its cover reads "The Policy Papers of the Sol Foundation, Volume 2, No. 2, Spring 2025"); and three papers by Marik von Rennenkampff: "Robust Evidence of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena in Pre-Satellite Era Night-Sky Images" (January 2026), "First Peer-Reviewed Scientific Analysis of Possible UAP Materials Employs State-of-the-Art Technologies" (April 2026) and "The Civilizational Risks of a UAP Technology Arms Race: Nonhuman Technology and Global Security" (August 2026). The site also lists, under April 2026, McConnell's "UAP Whistleblower Restitution Fund Would Incentivize Disclosures to Congress." The numbering printed on the site for the 2026 items does not run consecutively with the earlier series.[^17]

Volume 1, No. 2 gives "Board Director: Dr. Garry Nolan" and "Executive Director: Dr. Peter Skafish" on its back page. Its executive summary says the foundation "commissioned" the report and that it does not present evidence for any theory of UAP. Its bibliography cites Senate Amendment 797 to S. 2226.[^18] Nell's paper argues for enactment of the review-board and eminent-domain provisions of the Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena Disclosure Act "or by executive order," credits Mike Rounds and Chuck Schumer with the 2024 reintroduction, and describes its author as a retired Army colonel whose last active-duty assignment was as Army director supporting the [UAP Task Force](/organizations/uap-task-force/) and who is chief executive of StarDustX Materials, Inc., "a multimillion-dollar VC-backed startup."[^19]

### UAP Science Advisory Council

In June 2026 Loeb announced that he would lead a "UAP Science Advisory Council" and, in a list he supplied to the news outlet DefenseScoop (published June 17, 2026), named twelve other members with focus areas, among them Gallaudet (oceanography), Nolan (molecular biology and materials science) and Skafish (anthropology). An official of the [Office of the Director of National Intelligence](/organizations/director-of-national-intelligence/) told DefenseScoop that the office, the [Federal Bureau of Investigation](/organizations/federal-bureau-of-investigation/) and the [Department of Defense](/organizations/department-of-defense/) had established an interagency UAP Governance Board, that it "met for the first time yesterday" (June 16, 2026), and that the board is supported by outside advisory groups including the council. Loeb said the council would help the [All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office](/organizations/all-domain-anomaly-resolution-office/) "resolve the UAP mystery."[^20]

[^1]: Micah Hanks, "The Sol Foundation: How a New Think Tank of Academics is Applying 'Cutting-Edge Research' to the UAP Mystery," *The Debrief*, September 12, 2023. https://thedebrief.org/the-sol-foundation-how-a-new-think-tank-of-academics-is-applying-cutting-edge-research-the-uap-mystery/
[^2]: Same article, interview passages with Nolan and Skafish; Pasulka's post of September 11, 2023 is embedded in the article.
[^3]: "David C. Grusch" résumé, House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, hearing of July 26, 2023, Experience section. https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO06/20230726/116282/HHRG-118-GO06-Bio-GruschD-20230726.pdf
[^4]: Hanks, September 12, 2023, citing a Bizapedia entry updated September 1, 2023 and filings of July 7, 2023. The Bizapedia page itself returned a bot check and was not opened.
[^5]: OpenCorporates, "The Sol Foundation for Advanced Scientific and Policy Research," California entity 5810665, viewed October 3, 2026. https://opencorporates.com/companies/us_ca/5810665 (the California Secretary of State search returned a security block).
[^6]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API, EIN 933649160, IRS Business Master File extract dated September 16, 2026. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/933649160.json
[^7]: IRS Form 990 for 2024, EIN 93-3649160, object ID 202543269349300004, submitted November 22, 2025, with Schedules A, B, I and O, as rendered at https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/933649160/202543269349300004/full
[^8]: Chrissy Newton, "Academics, Investors, and UAP Seekers Unite at the 2024 Sol Foundation Symposium," *The Debrief*, December 20, 2024. https://thedebrief.org/academics-investors-and-uap-seekers-unite-at-the-2024-sol-foundation-symposium/
[^9]: "Biography of the Honorable Tim Gallaudet, PhD," House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, hearing of November 13, 2024, https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO12/20241113/117721/HHRG-118-GO12-Bio-GallaudetPhDRearAdmiralUSNavyRetT-20241113.pdf ; and the signatory letter of November 12, 2024 in his submitted statement, https://docs.house.gov/meetings/GO/GO12/20241113/117721/HHRG-118-GO12-Wstate-GallaudetPhDRearAdmiralUSNavyRetT-20241113-SD001.pdf; testimony of Gallaudet to Rep. Garcia, joint hearing of November 13, 2024, https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-118hhrg57440/html/CHRG-118hhrg57440.htm ("the Sol Foundation as a senior strategic advisor")
[^10]: Leslie Kean and Ralph Blumenthal, "Intelligence Officials Say U.S. Has Retrieved Non-Human Craft," *The Debrief*, June 5, 2023. https://thedebrief.org/intelligence-officials-say-u-s-has-retrieved-non-human-craft/
[^11]: The Sol Foundation, home page, "People" section (Executive Leadership and Advisory Board), https://thesolfoundation.org/ , read October 3, 2026.
[^12]: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API, EIN 992834592 (UAP Disclosure Fund). https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/api/v2/organizations/992834592.json
[^13]: IRS Form 990-PF for 2024, EIN 99-3863647, object ID 202533189349100938, submitted November 14, 2025. https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/993863647
[^14]: Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act database query, client_name "Sol Foundation," October 3, 2026 (fifteen returns, none for this organization); FEC Schedule A queries for the named individuals, October 3, 2026.
[^15]: Micah Hanks, "The Sol Foundation, Academia's New UAP Think Tank, Releases Videos of Lectures from Its Inaugural Symposium," *The Debrief*, February 12, 2024. https://thedebrief.org/the-sol-foundation-academias-new-uap-think-tank-releases-videos-of-lectures-from-its-inaugural-symposium/
[^16]: Anomaly Archives, "Nell, Karl," listing a Sol Foundation video titled "Karl Nell on The Schumer Amendment & Controlled Disclosure." https://anomalyarchives.org/collections/file/nell-karl/
[^17]: The Sol Foundation, "All Publications," twelve papers with authors, volume and month, https://thesolfoundation.org/all-publications/ , and paper pages under https://thesolfoundation.org/publications/ , read October 3, 2026.
[^18]: "UAP in Crowded Skies," The White Papers of the Sol Foundation, vol. 1, no. 2, March 2024. https://thesolfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sol_WhitePaper_Vol1N2.pdf
[^19]: Karl E. Nell, "The UFO Enigma: A Call for US Government Disclosure," The Policy Papers of the Sol Foundation, Spring 2025, Executive Summary and "About the Author." https://thesolfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/The-UFO-Enigma_Sol-Foundation.pdf
[^20]: "New science advisory council forms to help US government 'resolve the UAP mystery,'" *DefenseScoop*, June 17, 2026. https://defensescoop.com/2026/06/17/new-science-advisory-council-forms-to-help-us-government-resolve-the-uap-mystery/