Speakers

Captain Philip Adrian 

Captain Philip Adrian FRAeS currently serves as the CEO of MPS, the leading Fixed Base Simulator manufacturer for the Airbus A320 and Boeing B737 series. He leads two factories, one in the Netherlands and one in Germany, and an innovation team in the Netherlands. MPS partners with airlines, training organizations, OEMs and TDMs to provide tailored and innovative solutions for all training needs.

Adrian started as the MPS CEO in May 2018 after 11 years at Boeing, where he fulfilled multiple roles, lastly as chief pilot regulatory strategy. He joined Boeing as an airplane instructor on 737, 777 and 787 in August 2007, and further served as Boeing’s 737/737 MAX chief technical pilot, assistant chief pilot, and chief pilot regulatory affairs. He was responsible for setting and coordinating global training standards and regulatory EIS support of new Boeing airplanes such as the 787, 737 MAX and 777X ranges. He also was involved in the design and flight testing of all new Boeing products, including the NMA range.

Before coming to Boeing, Adrian was an airline captain and instructor/examiner, and served as head of training and in other management and executive positions for a major European airline for over 15 years.

Adrian’s career started in the Royal Netherlands Air Force, where he went through Officers and Flight training, and he was a flight instructor prior to joining the airline in 1992. He has served on several rulemaking tasks in the aviation industry, including FAA ARCs, EASA RMTs and many boards regarding flight safety, aviation security and crew resource management.

Adrian co-chaired the FAA ARC regarding UPRT and chaired the ICAO LOCART initiative and EASA RMT.0581/0582 on UPRT. He currently chairs the EASA RMT.0599 regarding EBT and performance-based rulemaking, leads the EASA ABLE (Aviation Blended Learning Environment) task while also serving as a team leader of the Training Expert Group supporting EASA RMT.0196, and is the current chair of the RAeS Flight Crew Training Group.

Adrian is a subject matter expert on aviation training, simulation, operational suitability, EBT/CBT, UPRT and worldwide operational regulatory affairs, and speaks on these issues regularly at multiple forums. He holds 737, 777 and 787 Type Ratings, and has instructed on all those types. In his career, Philip has operated, flight tested and instructed for over 13,000 flight hours.

Tom Anderson 

Tom Anderson is Archer’s chief operating officer, urban air mobility (UAM). In his role, Anderson oversees and directs Archer’s planned UAM operations, primarily focused on establishing its commercial operating service. Anderson joined Archer after three years at Breeze Airways, where he served as chief operating officer. Prior to that, he spent five years at ATR Aircraft as senior vice president, programs and customer services. He also previously held high-level positions at Airbus, Virgin America and Boeing and was part of the initial launch team that took JetBlue from concept to its first flights. Anderson’s deep experience in airline management, operations, and fleet maintenance help Archer commercialize a UAM service utilizing the eVTOL aircraft in development. Tom earned a BS in business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds an MS in transportation, economics, business & engineering from Northwestern University and is a licensed aircraft technician and pilot.

Deirdre M. Baggot 

Deirdre Baggot is a partner with the Oliver Wyman Health & Life Sciences Practice and is based in their Chicago office. She specializes in developing strategies to transform clients for the shift to value- and consumer-centric healthcare across her provider, payer, and private equity clients, and has developed multiple value-based healthcare provide and payer collaboration strategies.

During her career, Baggot led work for national and regional health systems focused on the development of a transformation roadmap to better compete in a value-based healthcare environment. She also supported product design, care management redesign and channel strategies, and has handled post-merger redesign for a health system. A former expert reviewer for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, Baggot also served as an advisor to NY Medicaid on the development and launch of eight chronic disease bundles.

Baggot is a former hospital executive who spent 10 years in academic healthcare, first at Northwestern and later at The University of Michigan Health System. She holds a PhD from the University of Colorado​.

Oksana Bardygula 

Ever since her first plane ride at four years old, Oksana Bardygula has been hooked on aviation. Even after receiving her bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering and her FAA airframe license, she still is fascinated by how airplanes work; how hundreds of tons of metal lift into the air to move people and cargo. She took that fascination with her to McDonnell Douglas, FedEx, Bombardier, and UXC Eclipse (formerly Tectura), where she expanded her experience in developing composite repairs, performing aircraft recovery and modifications, and aviation management and business development.

What intrigued Bardygula the most was solving problems and asking questions. “Why does that happen, how can we improve this, what would happen if we considered this instead?” This is what drew her to consulting more than 21 years ago, when she started the MYRA Group, a firm specializing in high value-added services in engineering and operational efficiency for the commercial aviation industry.

At Oliver Wyman, Oksana advises companies in the transportation sector on strategy development, operational efficiency, maintenance and engineering, and technology. She possesses a demonstrated record of realizing growth and efficiencies across various industry segments and functions, from manufacturing to aftermarket. She believes her success is due to her willingness to work hard, her respect for others, and the curiosity she has been able to garner through her international experience in North and Central America, Western Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. 

Margaret “Maggie” Betz 

Margaret “Maggie” Betz is managing director of corporate partnerships in The Data Mine at Purdue University. She is an alumna of the Statistics Living Learning Community at Purdue University (coordinated by Dr. Mark Daniel Ward) and has a master’s degree in biostatistics. Betz has grown the Corporate Partners cohort of The Data Mine from one partnership in 2018 to more than 60 corporate partners and 500+ students in 2021. She leads a team that fosters team-based experiential learning projects throughout the full academic year for undergraduate and graduate students of all majors.

Jeffrey Carlson 

Captain Jeff Carlson leads Flight Operations for Atlas Air Worldwide’s subsidiaries Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo Worldwide. His responsibilities include overseeing flight operations, training, flight dispatch and crew scheduling for the company’s two operating certificates and its more than 2,500 pilots and 400 contract Flight Attendants. 

Mr. Carlson has held significant leadership roles during his 40+ year career. In addition to being a commercial pilot and prior to joining Atlas Air in 2008, Mr. Carlson served as Vice President of Flight Operations for Spirit Airlines, and as Chief Pilot and Vice President of Flight Operations at Northwest Airlines.   

Mr. Carlson is a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) and has more than 17,500 hours of flying time on numerous aircraft. Among his achievements at Northwest, Spirit and Atlas, he has been involved in labor relations and daily operations management.  

Mr. Carlson has served in a number of key industry associations including Airlines for America and the Cargo Airline Association’s Flight and Duty Time, Advanced Rulemaking Committee (ARC). The ARC was established by the Federal Aviation Administration to formulate recommendations enhancing aviation safety and mitigating the effects of flight crewmember fatigue. Mr. Carlson was instrumental in developing and presenting a recommendation on behalf of the Cargo Airline Association.  

Mr. Carlson participated in CBA negotiations with Northwest Airlines and has led the negotiation teams at Spirit Airlines and Atlas Air, Inc. 

Mr. Carlson has a Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical science from Embry Riddle University, and is a recipient of the university's Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award.  

Reinhardt “Rik” Carlson 

Rik graduated from Purdue’s aviation school in general flight, professional pilot and aviation maintenance technology programs. After graduation, he worked in the manufacturing sphere in several operational, supervisory and management capacities at Rockwell International and Beech Aircraft. He fulfilled his lifelong desire to fly with the airlines by joining Trans World Airline (TWA) where he was a captain at the time TWA merged with American Airlines. After 9/11, he was furloughed by AA and was hired by AirTran Airways. AirTran was acquired by Southwest Airlines where he completed his airline career. Upon retirement from the airlines, Rik became an Aviation Safety Inspector for the FAA. Now fully retired, he enjoys working on aircraft restoration teams on World War 2 aircraft at the Commemorative Air Force (CAF) in the Atlanta area. Rik holds a Commercial pilots license with instrument, multi engine and airline transport pilot ratings. He has flown and is type rated on the Boeing 717, 737, 757, 767, DC9, MD80, ERJ 170 and ERJ 190. He also holds a flight engineer license for turbojet powered aircraft on the Boeing 707 and Lockheed L-1011, a mechanics license with airframe and power plant ratings and a remote UAS license.

Kit Darby 

Kit was the president of Aviation Information Resources (AIR, Inc.) from 1989 to 2009. He was a B737-300/800 and B717 Simulator and Ground Instructor for Boeing in Atlanta, GA from 2007-2014, and is currently an ATP-CTP instructor for Delta Global Services . A retired B767 captain with United Airlines, Mr. Darby has interviewed 21 times with 17 different airlines and worked with four majors and one national airline since 1978. He has a BS in Aeronautical Studies from Embry-Riddle AU. Kit is author of the Simulator Flying Guide, Beginner’s Guide to Becoming a Career Pilot, the World Wide Pilot Supply Report, World Wide Jet Transport Simulator Study and the new Pilot Career Guide, and publisher of the Airline Pilot Salary Survey, Airline Pilot Careers magazine (1996-2008) and Airline Pilot Job Monthly Newsletter (1993-2009). Kit’s flight experience includes 20,000+ hours total time, 10,000 hours jet time. ATP with B717, B737, B727, DC-8, and B757/767 type ratings, flight/instrument and flight engineer instructor, commercial instrument helicopter pilot, plus military instructor/instrument examiner ratings in two helicopters and five fixed-wing multi-engine aircraft.

Chris Eastman 

Chris Eastman is the Director of Training, Standards, & Crew Planning at NetJets Aviation.  He is a graduate of Texas State Technical College’s aviation program and received a management degree at The University of Texas at Tyler.  After experiencing training through the lens of a flight Instructor, corporate pilot, and airline pilot, he joined NetJets’ Training & Standards department in 2006 as Assistant Director of Training. 

In his present role, he has led the transformation of NetJets Aviation’s Pilot Training program from Part 135, through 121 N&O, and ultimately to the first Advanced Qualification Program ever approved for a Part 135 Air Carrier.  He is currently pursuing a similar rebirth for Maintenance Training at NetJets.  Partnering with industry leading training providers, he is driving change to advance Maintenance Resource Management and Human Factors in a world that historically utilized a purely technical approach.

Joel English 

Dr. Joel English is the executive vice president of Centura College, Aviation Institute of Maintenance, and Tidewater Tech, where he supervises all operations over 20 campuses across the United States. Dr. English is a board member for Choose Aerospace, the FAA’s Youth in Aviation Committee, and The Safe House Project.  He is a former board member of Aviation Technician Education Council, Career School Private Education Network, and the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges. 

In previous positions, Dr. English served as the CEO for the Ohio, Illinois, Colorado, and Miami Media Schools, a family of institutions dedicated to technical education in radio, television, and internet media broadcasting. He oversaw distance learning and school operations at several campuses as a regional director and executive director at Centura College, and he was formerly an Assistant Professor of English and Distance Learning at Old Dominion University. Dr. English is the author of Plugged In: Succeeding as an Online Learner.  He holds a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition from Ball State University, an MA in Technical and Expository Writing, and a BA in English from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

Edward Espiritu 

Edward Espiritu is a senior manager at United Airlines and currently leads the aerospace and aircraft technology vertical for United Airlines Ventures, a corporate venture capital fund focusing on opportunities in sustainability, aerospace and technology, and led the group’s transactions in Archer Aviation, Heart Aerospace and ZeroAvia. He also is part of the company’s corporate development team, where he led the company’s acquisition of its wholly owned flight training school and worked on the company’s minority investment in Clear Secure, Inc. 

Espiritu has been with United since 2014 and has supported numerous operational groups and enterprise-wide initiatives before moving into corporate development and ultimately United Airline Ventures.  He earned his master’s degree in business administration from Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management and his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Brian P. Fasano 

Brian Fasano is a vice president for Oliver Wyman CAVOK, based in the firm’s Atlanta office. He has more than 25 years of real-world aviation experience and is currently the lead for the Technical Services Focus Area at CAVOK, which provides expertise in airline technical operations support for specialization in aircraft records management, engineering, reliability, technical publications and maintenance programs.

Fasano successfully leads extensive projects at major airlines for optimization of maintenance programs, entry into service of new aircraft types, change management of entire technical operations departments and numerous other endeavors. He works throughout the United States, Europe and South America on projects with OEMs, airlines, MROs and suppliers to provide the necessary expertise and best practices that have effectively enacted changes that provide efficient savings.

Fasano has experience with operations of every aircraft type from the B787 to the CRJ200 as well as experience with all MRO IT systems from AMOS to Ultramain. This and his operational project management experience allow him to provide a broad-reaching outlook to each client.

Fasano is an FAA designated engineering representative and has approved hundreds of structural repairs on an assortment of aircraft types. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Georgia Tech and is a licensed professional engineer.

Ryan Goertzen 

Ryan Goertzen, vice president maintenance workforce development, AAR (NYSE: AIR), a leading aviation services provider to commercial airlines and governments worldwide. He oversees AAR’s various workforce-based initiatives and was responsible for the development the EAGLE Career Pathway Program. Mr. Goertzen also is the resident of Choose Aerospace, whose purpose is to unite the aerospace industry to implement solutions to the workforce shortage.

Mr. Goertzen started with Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology in 2011, holding the positions of vice president of education, president of Spartan's Tulsa campuses and corporate officer. Goertzen previously spent three years at AAR Corp managing the training and ASAP programs in Oklahoma City. He began his career as a pilot instructor for Air Wisconsin Airlines Corporation where he was responsible for Air Wisconsin's first learning management system and e-learning content used in recurrent pilot training. In 2005, Mr. Goertzen transitioned to the maintenance side of the airline as Air Wisconsin’s manager of maintenance training and ASAP manager.

Goertzen was ATEC president from 2014-2018. He holds a B.S. in aviation and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Goertzen is married to the love of his life, Jenny, and has three sons, Jacob, Joshua and Jack.

Lt. Col. Kimberly A. Hoffman 

Lieutenant Colonel Kimberly A. Hoffman is the division chief, innovation and technology, at 19th Air Force, Randolph Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas. She is responsible for technology acquisition, cybersecurity, integration, support and future proofing the digital backbone to accelerate pilot training transformation initiatives across the 19th Air Force. Her duties include leading the newly established Information Technology Program Management Office known as Digital Hammer.

Prior to this assignment, Hoffman served as the deputy director of staff for the Curtis E. LeMay Center for Doctrine Development and Education, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. She is a 2006 graduate of Daniel Webster College, where she received her commission as a 2nd Lieutenant through the Reserve Officer Training Corps program. She subsequently completed undergraduate navigator training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, and was selected as a Weapon Systems Operator in the F-15E Strike Eagle. Hoffman has flown in operational assignments with the 492nd Fighter Squadron at Royal Air Force Base Lakenheath, England and with the 336th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, North Carolina.

Hoffman is an Instructor Weapon Systems Officer with more than 1,500 hours in the F-15E. She has flown over 600 combat hours in support of Operations Enduring Freedom, Odyssey Dawn, Inherent Resolve and Freedom’s Sentinel. She earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation flight operations at Daniel Webster College and a master’s degree in aeronautical science at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University.  

Nancy Shane Hocking 

Dr. Nancy Shane Hocking is director of gateway programs at JetBlue, where she oversees all of the pathway programs that guide aspiring aviators and technicians toward roles at the airline. She holds a PhD in aerospace sciences from the University of North Dakota, a master’s degree in education from Harvard University and a master’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Hocking is also a multi-engine instrument-rated pilot and holds an aircraft dispatcher certificate.

Hocking’s experience in the aviation industry includes time at Endeavor Air where she was director of pilot sourcing and industry outreach, and Cape Air where she was vice president of training and employee development. Hocking also has worked extensively in education, where she has taught students at both the secondary and post-secondary level.

Hocking’s expertise in pilot sourcing, hiring and performance has been utilized by government and private institutions alike. She is a board member of the Aviation Accreditation Board International and was recently appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to the Youth Access to American Jobs in Aviation Task Force, which will develop and provide recommendations to the FAA to facilitate and encourage high school students to seek careers in aviation.

Tammera Holmes 

Tammera L. Holmes is a mother, wife, sister, daughter, an ordained minister, entrepreneur, philanthropist, student pilot, and inspiration magnet.

Holmes’s work began as a professional aviation consultant at a global leader in airport planning. After 11 years in corporate America, she started AeroStar Consulting Corporation in 2008, followed by the non-profit AeroStar Avion Institute in 2016. AeroStar offers programs, activities, events, and workshops year-round for K-Career. Via these initiatives, Tammera became one of the only women of color in the world to own an aviation company.

Among her major achievements, Tammera has been inducted into the Illinois Aviation Hall of Fame for her work in transforming aviation education, has been featured in Forbes Magazine, received Congressional recognition for her work in STEM education, and has been invited by the Pentagon to provide aviation education expertise to the United States Air Force. In the Chicago community, she continues to work to connect the state to Chicago’s robust Aviation Academic Initiative Pipeline.

AeroStar began as a vision of Holmes to simply expose more youth to aviation careers. It has grown into a movement that has changed the trajectory for thousands of minority youth in STEM and aviation... And she’s just getting started.

Paul Kinstedt 

Paul Kinstedt serves as senior vice president and chief operating officer at Republic Airways. Kinstedt joined Chautauqua Airlines, one of Republic Airways Holdings’ subsidiaries, in January 2002 as director of systems operations control. He was promoted to vice president of system operations control for the company’s three wholly owned subsidiaries in September 2006 and served in that capacity until January 2013, when he was named vice president of flight operations. Before joining Chautauqua, Paul was vice president of customer service and director of flight control for Midway Airlines.

Paul received his bachelor’s degree in aviation science from Parks College of Saint Louis University and his MBA from Illinois Benedictine College. He holds an aircraft dispatcher certification and a commercial, multi-engine and instrument pilot rating.

Christian A. Klein 

Christian A. Klein is executive vice president and lead lobbyist for the Aeronautical Repair Station Association (ARSA), the trade association for the global aviation maintenance industry. In his capacity as a managing partner at Obadal, Filler, MacLeod & Klein, the law firm that runs ARSA, he has directed the firm’s policy advocacy practice for more than 15 years. Christian has been a leading voice in efforts to focus government attention on the aviation workforce crisis. Most notably, he led the coalition that proposed and enacted the new aviation workforce grant program created by Sec. 625 of the 2018 FAA bill. That legislation included several other workforce-related provisions proposed by ARSA, which he’ll be discussing. He also oversees ARSA’s economic research and member surveying, which have been essential to quantifying the impact of the technician shortage. Christian is a graduate of the College of William & Mary and Catholic University’s law school and has been a member of adjunct faculty at the University of Virginia for 15 years. In his free time, when he’s not dragging his teenage daughters to various sporting events, he produces and acts in independent films.

Parimal Kopardekar 

Parimal “PK” Kopardekar serves as the director of NASA Aeronautics Research Institute, where he is responsible for exploring new trends, research areas, collaborations and partnerships relevant to aeronautics enterprise. Recently, he co-led a comprehensive needs assessment study for wildfire mitigations. In the past, he served as NASA's senior technologist for air transportation systems.

PK invented Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management, which safely enables large-scale drone operations at lower altitudes and is now being globally adopted. He also chairs International Civil Aviation Organization unmanned aircraft system advisory group.

PK has received many awards, including the NASA Government Invention of the Year, NASA Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal, NASA Outstanding Leadership Award, NASA Engineer of the Year Award, and the prestigious Samuel J. Heyman Service to America’s Promising Innovation Award. He was named among 25 most influential people in the drone industry, serves as the co-editor-in-chief of Journal of Aerospace Operations and is a fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. He also serves as an adjunct faculty and teaches undergraduate- and graduate-level courses related to operations management, supply chain management and innovation. He holds PhD and master’s degrees in industrial engineering and a bachelor’s degree in production engineering.

Brad Lambert 

After graduating from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science Degree, Brad attended flight school at the Flight Safety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida.  Brad started his airline journey with Mesaba Aviation based in Detroit, Michigan.  From there, Brad worked as a pilot and later check airman for Airborne Express, US Airways, and USA 3000 Airlines while simultaneously obtaining his Juris Doctor Degree from Widener University School of Law (Now the Delaware Law School). 

In 2006, Brad moved to the Bay Area with Virgin America where he assisted in some of the startup functions and became the SFO Chief Pilot, followed by several years running the operations control center.  Following a couple of industry moves after Virgin America, and some time assisting Airbus Industries to build training centers in Mexico, Brad is now the Vice President of Flight Operations for Frontier Airlines based in Denver CO.  He holds an ATP and is typed in the SA227, FK100, A320 and A330. 

Robert L. Lowe 

Rob Lowe is the vice president of people and culture for Republic Airways. He provides executive leadership for employee engagement, talent management, diversity, equity and inclusion, and organizational effectiveness. With over 20 years of experience, Lowe has held leadership roles in human resources for several Fortune 500 companies including Dean Foods, The Nature’s Bounty Company, Accenture, Cummins Engine Company and Alcoa. Lowe has a bachelor's degree in business management and a master's degree in human resources development from Indiana State University. Lowe serves as a member of the Indiana State University Board of Trustees as well as the university’s Office of Advancement and Human Resources Development Program Advisory Board.

Leah Mask 

Leah Mask is a Human Capital and Talent Manager with Oliver Wyman, focusing on specialist groups in aviation, engineering, and rail. Prior to joining Oliver Wyman, Leah spent 15 years in Human Resource Management in the banking, aerospace, technology, and communication sectors.  Leah believes that HR can be a true asset to any company wanting to propel their business forward by recruiting, hiring, developing, mentoring, and organizing their workforce in the most strategic and productive way possible to achieve business objectives.

Leah excels at partnering with leadership to develop and implement human resource strategic plans to move the business forward.  She has successfully recruited and lead recruiting efforts to shorten time to fill and place excellent candidates in key rolls from line positions to executives. During her time at Oliver Wyman, Leah has successfully developed and implemented a college direct-hire rotation program into an aviation technical consulting group which normally only hires highly experienced candidates.  This program has been created to train college graduates with the required skills to perform on technical consulting projects and has enabled the firm to accelerate the hiring process when the experienced hire pool was limited without losing the quality product provided to clients.

Leah holds a Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees in Business Administration with Human Resources concentrations.

Allison McKay 

Allison McKay joined Women in Aviation International as CEO in 2020. She is responsible for the future strategic vision of the more than 14,000-member strong organization while overseeing the board of directors, professional staff and daily operations.

McKay previously served as vice president of the Helicopter Association International Foundation since 2015, commissioning the first academic study of staffing projections for the rotorcraft industry as well as creating a workforce development initiative.

McKay draws on more than 20 years of experience in the development and implementation of highly strategic initiatives with other aviation companies including Safran USA and B/E Aerospace.

She is a current member of the Women in Aviation Advisory Board with the objective to develop and provide independent recommendations and strategies to the United States Federal Aviation Administration to explore opportunities to encourage female students and aviators to pursue a career in aviation.

Crystal Maguire 

Crystal Maguire is executive director of the Aviation Technician Education Council, the trade association that represents educational institutions with aviation technical programs, and oversees day-to-day operations and strategic initiatives for Choose Aerospace, a charitable organization that promotes careers in aviation maintenance through development of aviation maintenance curriculum.

Maguire also provides operational management for the Aerospace Maintenance Council, a non-profit group that raises awareness about aviation maintenance technician careers through its annual Aerospace Maintenance Competition, and serves as Of Counsel for the Denver-based firm of Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP, where she provides legal services to aviation maintenance organizations.

Maguire spent twelve years at Obadal, Filler, MacLeod, & Klein, P.L.C., where she counseled companies on aviation maintenance regulatory compliance. There she also held various positions with association client organizations including vice president of operations for the Aeronautical Repair Station Association and director of government affairs and Washington counsel for the Associated Equipment Distributors.

Maguire graduated with a B.A. in management from the University of Tulsa. She received a J.D. from American University, Washington College of Law and is a member of the Virginia and Oklahoma State Bars. She is the recipient of AMT Magazine’s Next Gen 40 Under 40 Award, and ARSA’s Leo Weston Award for Excellence in Government Service.

Flack Maguire 

Flack Maguire has more than 25 years of experience with business plan development, strategic industry analysis, and launching new ventures, as well as 21 years of experience tracking and working with open source platforms. He served as a naval officer for seven years and served an additional five years in the active reserves.

Maguire founded Virtual Flight Academy (VFA), a nonprofit youth aviation training program that offers a fun and stimulating training environment for aspiring aviators as young as 12 years old. VFA combines the best of online learning, mentoring, flight simulation, online communities of practice, and real-world, face-to-face activities to transform how young people prepare for their first day of flight school

Maguire’s entrepreneurial passion is applying disruptive innovation, online communities, technology and career development in order to make vigorous career skills accessible to people at an early age. He has been involved in numerous speaking engagements as well as hosting conferences and workshops and has regularly briefed admirals, generals, congressional representatives and other influential people. 

Maguire earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California’s entrepreneur program.

Chris Moore 

Chris Moore is an international representative and the safety coordinator for the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Airline Division, where his responsibilities include negotiating and administering mechanic and related work groups contracts as well as supporting all safety programs at Airline Division-represented properties. He also is responsible for the Teamsters FAA Workforce Development Grant Aviation Basics program, the Spartan College of Aeronautics/ Teamsters partnership, and the development of the aircraft maintenance technician (AMT) apprenticeship program at United Airlines. He holds an FAA Airframe and Powerplant license and has worked in the airline industry for more than 35 years.

Moore started his career with Continental Airlines in 1986 working on DC-9, DC-10, MD-80 A300, 727, 737, 747, 757, 767 and 777 aircraft. Throughout his career, he has been a tireless advocate for aviation and workplace safety. He is president of The Aviation Mechanics Coalition, a board member at PAMA and sits on the ATEC Legislative Committee.

Moore’s mission is to promote the AMT craft and the intrinsic value that AMTs bring to all facets of the industry. As part of this mission, he is deeply committed to developing pathways for veterans and those in underserved communities to become AMTs.

Geoffrey C. Murray 

Dr. Geoffrey C. Murray is a partner with Oliver Wyman, a leading global management consulting firm best known for its work in aviation and financial services.  From 2014 through 2019, Murray served as Oliver Wyman’s aerospace practice leader and led projects supporting boards of directors and senior leaders at OEMs, suppliers, financial sponsors and operators. His primary focus is on cost reduction and revenue growth in aftermarket and services. Murray supports other aviation-related clients where he focuses on flight and technical operations, training and supply chain management.

Murray is the principal author of Oliver Wyman’s pilot supply analysis, where he leveraged the firm’s proprietary global fleet forecast and surveyed flight operations leaders across the globe. His work on the topic has been featured on CNBC, NPR’s All Things Considered, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, NBC News, and all major aviation trade publications. 

Murray is an alumnus of the engineering programs at Northwestern University (Ph.D.) and Embry-Riddle (B.S.) He began his career at McDonnell Douglas as an aeronautical engineer where he was an original member of the U.S. Navy T-45A Goshawk experimental flight test team. He is a current and active aircraft owner, pilot and flight instructor with over 5,000 hours of flight time.

Raj Pai 

Raj Pai serves as senior technologist for NASA, Aviation Systems Division, where he leads machine learning and big data research programs in support of the Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD)'s Sky for All Initiative and the FAA's Info-centric National Airspace Systems (NAS).

Prior to joining NASA, Raj Pai spent more than 25 years in Silicon Valley and is a domain expert in digital twin, AI/ML, cloud solutions. Pai is passionate about understanding customer needs across market segments and harnessing technology solutions to solve them. As senior executive at leading data companies including Teradata, Informatica, and Intel, he and his team developed and deployed enterprise solutions across healthcare, financial services, and telecommunications. At smart grid startup, AutoGrid (Schneider Electric), he drove the effort to deploy solutions for global energy service providers to integrate and manage sustainable (solar, wind, storage) energy resources.

Pai is a well-known thought leader and frequent speaker at industry and academic events and is a mentor for data science interns and researchers at NASA.

Pai received his bachelor's degree in technology from the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay; a master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Hawaii, Mānoa; and a Master of Business Administration from the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley.

Gary Peterson 

Gary Peterson was elected as an international vice president of Transport Workers Union of America in 2017 and is the air division director. Gary previously held the position of air division systems coordinator. Gary also was elected president of TWU Local’s 565, 567 & 591; TWU Local 563 executive board member; and TWU Local 512 maintenance chairman.

Gary has been an aircraft mechanic for American Airlines since 1992 and has worked at the carrier’s Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, and Alliance Fort Worth Maintenance Base. Prior to being hired at American, Gary was a C-9 crew chief in the Air Force, Gary also served as a KC-135 crew chief in the Illinois Air National Guard and was honorably discharged from both.

Gary holds a Master of Arts degree in dispute resolution with a specialization in arbitration, mediation and negotiation techniques. Gary also holds a Bachelor of Science degree in business and finance. Gary has passed both FINRA Series 7 and 66 certification exams and has a Six Sigma Black Belt. Gary has certificates in Level 1 and 2 arbitration training from the George Meany Institute and attended the program on negotiation at Harvard Law School.

Gary is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas in Arlington, where he taught negotiation and dispute resolution.

Jeremy Peterson 

Jeremy Peterson is a vice president at Oliver Wyman CAVOK, where he serves as the lead assistant for the company’s Certification, Regulatory Compliance, Quality and Safety Focus Area and manages the firm’s qualification certification consultant manual and FAA recognition status. His responsibilities include managing Oliver Wyman CAVOK’s airline company manual library, leading FAA certification projects and developing the firm’s intellectual capital.

Peterson has played an important role in the development of the firm’s Single Operating Certificate (SOC) project methodology as well as the development of propriety strategic tools. His SOC experiences includes assisting five 14 CFR Part 121 Air Carriers and serving as the project manager during his last three SOC engagements. 

Peterson has 18 years of experience as an aviation professional, serving as a 14 CFR Part 121 airline captain and as a simulator instructor pilot. He holds a bachelor’s degree in aviation management and technologies from Spartan College of Aeronautics. His pilot certificates include an ATP, MEI, CFI, and CFII.

Lorel Roehl 

Lorel Roehl serves as general manager on Delta Air Lines’ talent acquisition team. Her responsibilities include leading the team and creating efficient hiring strategies for high-volume hiring for Delta’s Technical Operations and Reservations and Customer Care divisions as well as overseeing the airline’s subsidiaries and international front-line hiring initiatives.

Roehl has more than 20 years of human resources and talent acquisition experience, working with several Fortune 500 companies including The Walt Disney Company, Starwood Hotels & Resorts, and Vistana Signature Experiences, where she cultivated a team-oriented environment that promoted diversity, equity and inclusion strategies to attract, hire and retain top talent. 

She believes that to have a positive influence on hiring strategies, you must first create a foundation built on strong partnerships, effective communication and trust – three key elements that helped chart the course as she led the hiring and sourcing strategies to welcome more than 10,000 new employees to Delta as the airline recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Roehl received her bachelor’s degree in liberal studies from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and her MBA from University of California, Irvine – The Paul Merage School of Business.

Lt Col Tracy A. Schmidt 

Lt Col Tracy A. Schmidt is the Chief of Curriculum Development, 19th Air Force, JBSA Randolph, TX.  She is the director of learning engineering efforts in support of Pilot Training Transformation, which is currently developing modernized curriculums for the T-6A, T-38 and T-1 aircraft.  She oversees 17 government and contract personnel who are responsible for supporting 75 syllabi across 19th AF flying training programs.   

Lt Col Schmidt entered the Air Force in 2001 after receiving her commission from the U.S. Air Force Academy. She attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Sheppard AFB, Texas.  She was then assigned to fly the F-15E at the 492d Fighter Squadron, RAF Lakenheath, England, where she deployed in support of Operation IRAQI FREEDOM and trained with many NATO partners.  She was then reassigned to the 41st Flying Training Squadron, Columbus AFB, Mississippi, as a T-6A instructor pilot. 

Following this assignment, Lt Col Schmidt served as an F-15E instructor pilot and acting director of operations in the 389th Fighter Squadron at Mountain Home AFB, Idaho.  There, she deployed in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM.  She also served as the director of staff for the 455th Expeditionary Operations Group at Bagram AB, Afghanistan, where she managed over 2,300 aerial decorations for over 800 deployed personnel and coordinated command and control for 10 combat squadrons.  Later, she served as assistant director of operations of the 366th Operations Support Squadron at Mountain Home, where she oversaw over 110 personnel in the base’s most diverse squadron, responsible for intelligence, air traffic control, airfield systems, programming, flight records, weather and aircrew flight equipment.

Lt Col Schmidt then served as an F-15E instructor pilot in the 334th Fighter Squadron at Seymour Johnson AFB, North Carolina.  While there, she also served as assistant director of operations for the 4th Operations Support Squadron, as well as director of staff and special assistant to the commander of the 4th Operations Group.

Next, Lt Col Schmidt served as director of operations for the 33rd Flying Training Squadron at Vance AFB.  She supervised flying operations in conduct of Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training for over 300 U.S. Air Force and allied partners each year, including over 100 aircraft and more than 16,000 sorties annually totaling over 22,000 flight hours.  She also served as chief of standardization and evaluation, as the chief advisor to the Operations Group Commander and AETC staff on Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training practices & procedures.  She oversaw 40 flight evaluators, administered flight evaluations, and was responsible for  the standardization of 270 instructor pilots & over 500 students flying three different aircraft types in conduct of SUPT.

Most recently, Lt Col Schmidt served as the deputy operations group commander for innovation at Vance AFB.  She led the first-ever ground-up revision of the T-6A training syllabus to adopt lessons learned from Pilot Training Next, and shift from traditional training methods stemming from 1950s educational standards to modern learner-centric and competency-based training methods.  She led a team of 15 instructor pilots to re-write the syllabus and conduct two beta-test classes, demonstrating a significant increase in the capabilities of the new pilot graduates compared to the status quo.  This program was subsequently adopted as UPT 2.5 and scaled across all three SUPT bases in 19th Air Force, training over 1,200 new pilots per year. 

Lt Col Schmidt is a command pilot with more than 2,800 flight hours in the T-37, T-38, T-6 and F-15E, including more than 570 combat hours. 

John Schumacher 

John currently serves as Senior Director, Flight Procedures, Training, and Standards for Atlas Air, overseeing a training program that encompasses over 100 B737s, B747s, B767s, and B777s operated by more than 2,500 pilots across two operating certificates (Atlas Air and Polar Air Cargo Worldwide).

John started his career as a pilot with Air Wisconsin in 2006, based on the east coast operating CRJ-200s for US Airways Express. He served in various roles including instructor and ALPA volunteer. In 2011 John joined Atlas as a pilot, and has served as First Officer, Captain, and Instructor on both the B767 and B747, and in 2020 moved into the current role overseeing the training program in Miami FL.

John has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Purdue University, and holds a CFI, CFII, MEI, and ATP with type ratings in Be-400, HS-125, CRJ, B767, and B747-400. He serves as a member of Purdue’s Industry Advisory Board for professional flight, and is a member of the Training Committee at Airlines for America.

Leisa Spears Snyder 

Leisa Spears Snyder is the director of workforce development at Atlas Air. She previously served as the vice president of workforce development and managing director of GROW NKY for the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. Prior to her time with the Chamber of Commerce, Snyder spent 16 years with Delta Air Lines in in-flight service as a field service manager at CVG.

In her current role, Snyder establishes relationships and partnerships with education and industry partners as well as workforce development and government organizations to build and strengthen talent pipelines for high-demand roles within Atlas Air.

Snyder earned a bachelor of business administration degree from Thomas More University and is an alumna of Leadership Northern Kentucky. She sits on regional advisory boards such as EC Learn and the University of Cincinnati’s Industry Advisory Board.

Nick Stone  

Nick Stone is a professional pilot and aviation thought leader with more than 21 years of experience as a pilot, standards captain, consultant and Air Force Veteran. He currently serves as the director of Oliver Wyman CAVOK in Atlanta, Georgia, where he manages teams of specialists and consultants, provides merger and acquisition technical and management consulting services to global clients, and serves as a technical consultant and subject matter expert for airline certification, compliance, quality and safety projects.

Stone has worked as a manager of flight standards for Compass Airlines, as a pilot and flight engineer for IFL Group, and as a pilot for Mesa Airlines. He earned a bachelor’s degree in professional aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a master’s degree in program and project management, engineering, from the University of Michigan.

Septo Sudiro 

After graduating from Trisakti university in 1989, Septo Sudiro worked for a multinational oil and gas company before deciding to build his own business in the energy industry. 

As the son of a pilot, Sudiro's ties to the aviation world led him to build his aviation business in 2008, when he began sending students to the United States for pilot training. Within a few years, inspired by the rapid growth of airlines business and the urgent need for pilots in Indonesia, Sudiro decided to create his own flight school. Perkasa Flight School opened with two Cessna 172 aircraft; today, the school boasts eighteen single-engine aircraft and three multi-engine aircraft. Perkasa Flight School is the only international flight school in Indonesia and trains students from Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, India, Pakistan and Libya.

Carol Valentino-Barry 

Since 2012, Carol has been collaborating with airlines, freight carriers, military bases, FAA FSDO , local and regional airports, manufactures, air repair stations, and part 147 AMTS toward building an Aviation Maintenace Technician pipeline tapped into high schools. Currently, she is working with high schools in Chicago, greater San Francisco area, Mishawaka (Indiana), Milwaukee and schools in the Delta region to introduce the aviation maintenance curriculum into their schools.

Carol is a member of AWAM (Association of Women Aviation Mechanics), WAI (Women in Aviation International) and is on the advisory council for the Aviation Technician Education Council’s online curriculum, Choose Aerospace. She has attended MRO Americas and EAA AirVenture for the last two years.

Carol Valentino-Barry is an educator and founder of Mentoring Mission to create authentic partnerships between education and business by leveraging industry expert mentors. Carol began her career working in manufacturing and in finance in her hometown, Chicago. She entered education and taught Business and Economics at several high schools. Frustrated with the lack of career counseling for students, Carol helped erect bridges between high school and post-secondary life. She earned a Career Development Certificate from Northern Illinois University and got busy creating business partnerships, including career internships, job shadowing, apprenticeships, and full-time jobs. 

Carol holds a B.A. in Economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, an M.B.A. from DePaul University, a M.Ed. in Secondary Education from Roosevelt University and a certificate of Project Management from Northwestern University and PMI. She is a 2018 Boston Marathon qualifier and finisher, yoga teacher, mom, wife, and daughter. 

Mark Ward  

Mark Daniel Ward is a professor of Statistics and (by courtesy) of Agricultural & Biological Engineering, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Public Health. He is director of The Data Mine, a university-wide initiative that enables students to learn data science methodologies and tools, and apply them in projects with research faculty and with industry partners.

David Wright 

David Wright currently leads Ab Initio Training Programs for Boeing Training Services. He is responsible for the development and delivery of ab initio training for new pilots and supports Boeing’s global customer base. He also is responsible for leading the development and implementation of Boeing’s next generation, global Early Career services offering. In this role, Wright has the privilege of working across the globe, partnering with airline customers from China, Europe, North America and the Middle East.  These rich experiences have provided him with a deep knowledge of international airline operations and the many different cultures within aviation.

Prior to this role, Wright was the director of General Aviation (GA) Client Management for Jeppesen and responsible for generating almost $90M in revenue for the company. During his tenure at Jeppesen, he also led their training product strategy and development. Responsible for the entire P&L, he and his team developed the pilot training materials that continue to make Jeppesen a leading brand in training pilots across the world.

Before his Boeing life, Wright was a vice president of operations at AOPA Air Safety Foundation.  Responsible for all operational aspects of the foundation’s operations, Wright led the development and dissemination of safety training and information to the U.S. GA market. 

His first airline job in the aviation industry was as a First Officer on a DeHavilland Dash 8 for Piedmont Airlines (a subsidiary of US Airways).  Here, he learned the day-to-day operations of a part 121 carrier flying the eastern U.S. as far south as Key West and as far north as Toronto. 

Wright holds an MBA from University of Maryland, University College and a Bachelor of Aeronautics from University of North Dakota (UND). At UND, he served as a flight instructor, supervisor of flight and finally a lead flight instructor. He credits his time at UND as one of the best periods of his life – not only for the exemplary education, but also because Grand Forks is where he met his wife, Kami.