Arxiv Endorsement from Conference Moderator (for someone not from academia)
Yes. It even happens to people inside academics that they are not endorsed for a particular subsection of the arxiv.

If your only contact is the panel moderator, I would not hesitate to contact them in a polite email. However, you can and probably should first look whether they can endorse you (find one of their publications and click on their name—it will say for which areas they can endorse) and change your message accordingly.