Mindy Tautfest

Owner and CEO, Secretary of the Board

Mindy Tautfest is a published author, speaker, and television personality renowned for her pioneering work in UFO investigations. As the owner and CEO of the Hayden C. Hewes International UFO Bureau (IUFOB), Tautfest leads efforts to transform our understanding of Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAPs). Integrating decades of documented research with cutting-edge technological innovation, the IUFOB is dedicated to exploring the nature, origins, and capabilities of these phenomena. Under her leadership, the organization provides a data-driven approach to enhance scientific understanding, inform global policies, and prepare humanity for potential contact events with these phenomena.

In 2023, Tautfest oversaw the recovery and digitization of the IUFOB’s historic files, preserving decades of pivotal UFO research, including notable cases such as President Jimmy Carter's UFO sighting and the Heaven’s Gate Cult investigation. With a professional background as an ICU nurse and disaster relief volunteer, she brings a unique analytical perspective to the field. As the former Dean of MUFON University, she developed a comprehensive training curriculum for field investigators that is now utilized globally. Her meticulous research has been featured on the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens and The Proof is Out There.

A personal Near Death Experience (NDE) in 2016 inspired Tautfest’s exploration of connections between NDEs and UFO encounters, building on Dr. Kenneth Ring’s Omega Project. Her book, Dying to Meet Them: One Woman's Incredible Journey from NDE to UAP, delves into these profound phenomena.

Tautfest resides in Oklahoma City where she is dedicated to assisting experiencers in processing their encounters, advancing public understanding of UFO phenomena, and guiding the IUFOB in its mission to illuminate the past, understand the present, and guide the future.