Advocates
IAWA offers an opportunity for men to participate as an Advocate. An Advocate is a man, or a person who identifies as male, who otherwise meets the requirements of membership in any other category. An Advocate is not a member, but will support, promote, back, encourage and sponsor IAWA. The Advocate fee is directed to IAWA’s scholarship programs.
To become an Advocate, start your application here. Applications are reviewed and acted on every two weeks. If you have any questions, please contact IAWA Headquarters at info@iawa.org or call 202-960-3900.
Together We Build A Legacy
IAWA empowers female leaders in the aviation and aerospace industries.
IAWA has been bringing together accomplished women in all fields of aviation and aerospace for 30 years. Through our scholarships and mentoring program, we build a legacy. IAWA would not be where it is today without the continued support of our members and supporters. Be a part of building our legacy and Connect, Inspire and Lead.
Join Us!!
Meet our newest advocates!
Dr. Timothy Jung
ESI (Engineering Systems Inc.)
I spent 26 years in the Air Force. In the Air Force, I flew the B-1B, T-1A and T-41. I also taught aeronautical engineering at the Air Force Academy. Currently, I am an engineering consultant and investigate aviation accidents.
IAWA advocates
Gregoire James
Commercial Director of the International Aviation Waste Management Association (IAWMA)
Mr. James currently serves as Commercial Director of the International Aviation Waste Management Association (IAWMA), founded after a global waste and recycling study published by the National Academies of Sciences. Findings highlighted the need for an advanced evidence-based circular economy knowledge platform to stem issues arising from linear consumption. The study, sponsored by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), reviewed a cross-section of policies, regulations, and practices in recovering recyclables from the aviation industry.
IAWMA is a non-profit organization dedicated to the reduction and eventual elimination of all solid waste resulting from air transport activity worldwide and, in partnership with SAE International, will champion the development of global standards for products, processes, and services in business and commercial aviation, airports, and flight kitchens. In developing standards for global aviation, IAWMA will lay the foundation for the industry's future needs, help it meet increased demands for sustainability, and accelerate its adoption of the circular economy on an international scale.
Edwin Marin
Executive Vice President and Chief Underwriting Officer, USAIG
Mr. Marin was born in Elmhurst Queens to Colombian immigrant parents. As a first generation American, I graduated from The College of Insurance which is part of St. John's University. I am married with 4 kids and our family resides in Lawrenceville, NJ which is surrounded by Princeton to the north and Trenton to the south. I joined USAIG in 1994 before starting college and have had increasing roles with USAIG. Most recently, I am responsible for the purchasing of our reinsurance program and also manage the actuarial department. We are involved in the pricing of our aviation clients and also monitoring trends in losses.
Gregory Principato
President & CEO, National Aeronautic Association
President & CEO National Aeronautic Association, 2016-present. President & CEO National Association of State Aviation Officials 2014-16. President & CEO Airports Council International - NA 2005-13. Trade & Transportation Specialist Hunton & Williams, 1991-2005. Office of the Virginia Governor 1986-90. Office of US Senator Joseph R Biden 1982-86. Office of US Senator J. Bennett Johnston 1979-81. Executive Director National Commission to Ensure a Strong Competitive Airline Industry 1993. Member, Secure Borders and Open Doors Advisory Committee (George W Bush Administration)
David Hernandez
Shareholder, Vedder Price P.C.
David M. Hernandez is a Shareholder at Vedder Price, a member of the firm’s Global Transportation Finance team, and Chair of the firm’s Business Aviation and Regulation Sub-Practice Group. David has been consistently recognized in Private Aircraft (Global-wide) in Chambers High Net Worth as one the world’s leading high net worth business aircraft advisers. David represents a wide variety of clients, including Private Equity firms, Fortune 500 companies, high net worth individuals, corporate flight departments, charter operators, some of the largest aerospace manufacturers and suppliers, airlines, defense contractors and airports with a wide variety matters, including aircraft M&A due diligence, operational issues, financing, leasing and regulatory matters, complex government investigations, aircraft and part certifications, and FAA, DOT, BIS/OFAC (export controls), IRS and SEC enforcement matters. David is the current NBAA Tax Committee Chair and actively involved in the FAA/NATA’s illegal charter task force. David earned a BS from the United States Air Force Academy, an MBA from Monmouth College, and a JD from Northwestern University School of Law.
Brian Glod
Managing Director - US Practice Leader, Mash McLennan
32 years of professional experience in the aviation insurance industry. Currently the US Practice Leader for Marsh, which is the largest broker in the country. Brian’s team of 75 colleagues represent some of the largest and most complex aviation risks in the world. Brian is a former insurance company underwriter, and he holds both a pilot license and control tower operators certificate. He is Marsh Aviation’s leader for diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
Jack Gilchrist
Director, Shareholder, Gilchrist Aviation Law, P.C.
Worked as an aviation attorney for over 30 years, specializing in aircraft title, registration, citizenship, leasing, and other aircraft transactions. I am the sole owner of Gilchrist Aviation Law in Oklahoma City. I have been involved with IAWA for a number of years as a contributor, but am looking to get more involved as an advocate.
Mario Asselin
Chairman and co-CEO, Asselin, Inc.
Mario Asselin co-founded Asselin, Inc. in 2007 in response to the growing demand for aeronautical engineering services and now serves as chairman and co-CEO of the company. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada and a Master of Applied Science (M.A.SC) in Aerothermodynamics (aircraft icing) from École Polytechnique of Montreal. In his early career, he served in the Canadian Air Force for 14 years with a short stay at CAE’s military division. Mario is also an FAA Flight Analyst DER. Aside from his position as Chairman and co-CEO at Asselin Inc., Mario currently works as a Flight Sciences Fellow at Bombardier, is a Transport Canada Design Approval Designee (DAD), a Learjet Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) Unit Member (UM), and serves as Chairman of the Safety Review Board at the Bombardier Flight Test Center. Mario is also a member of the Manufacturer’s Flight Test Council (MFTC), GAMA EPIC (Electric Propulsion and Innovation Committee), the Manufacturer’s Icing Certification Group (MICG), and the Electric Flight Test Committee.
Pradeep Fernandes
Vice President, Strategy - Commercial Airplanes, The Boeing Company
Pradeep Fernandes is vice president of Strategy for Boeing Commercial Airplanes. In this role, he oversees cross-functional efforts to define Boeing’s strategic direction and address complex, enterprise-wide business decisions. These include greater life-cycle value for customers and internal capabilities for Boeing, growth opportunities such as services and intellectual property control, product and propulsion strategy, and aviation policy. Fernandes is also responsible for international business development strategy and serves on the Boeing International leadership team.
Benoit Defforge
President, Airbus Corporate Jets
Benoit Defforge, 57, leads the Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) business globally – a position that he has held since January, 1st 2014. Since then, Benoit has reshaped the strategy, developed excellence in customer care and renewed the product portfolio to further raise ACJ as a leader in Business Aviation.
He graduated with an Engineering Diploma from Arts & Metiers ParisTech in 1987, and an INSEAD Business Diploma in 2011.
In 1990, he joined aerospace manufacturer Labinal, part of the Safran group. At Labinal,
Benoit Defforge started his career in general engineering and then, as Operations Manager, was responsible for leading a variety of programmes from business jets to airliners and
helicopters, rising to become General Manager of a business unit serving Airbus, helicopter and railway customers.
He joined Airbus in 2003, initially leading a project to improve the performance of the Airbus A330 final assembly line in Toulouse.
In 2005, Benoit Defforge was appointed Head of Airbus A380 Electrical Systems development, responsible for boosting performance while implementing harmonised processes throughout all Airbus sites.
In May 2007, Benoit Defforge was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Airbus Corporate Jet Centre, the Airbus outfitting Centre. In this role, from 2007 to 2013, Benoit has successfully managed the creation and the development of the company, delivering more than 20 VIP cabins for ACJ319/320 and a large scope of dedicated services.
Kenneth Quinn
Partner, Clyde & Co US LLP
Senior Equity Partner, Clyde & Co; General Counsel & Secretary, Flight Safety Foundation; Board of Governors, Army Navy Country Club; Member Services Board, Royal Aeronautical Society; Fellow, RAeS; former Global Chair, Aviation, Baker McKenzie; former President, International Aviation Club of Washington DC; former Chair, Aviation, Aerospace & Transportation, Pillsbury Winthrop; former Chief Counsel, U.S. Federal Aviation Administration; former Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation; former Chair, American Bar Association Forum on Air & Space Law; former Editor-in-Chief, The Air & Space Lawyer; former Chair, Parish Pastoral Council, Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle. Associate, Sidley Austin.
David Walton
Deputy Managing Director and COO
Mr. Walton joined the BOC Aviation in November 2014 as Chief Operating Officer, and he also now serves as Deputy Managing Director. He currently oversees the Legal and Transaction Management, Compliance and Insurance, Pricing and Portfolio Management, Technical, Procurement and Information Technology departments. Mr. Walton has more than 30 years of experience in the aircraft leasing and finance industry. Prior to joining the Company, he served as a general counsel for both privately held and publicly listed companies, with primary responsibility for structuring and documenting capital raising, joint venture and leasing activities. Mr. Walton graduated from Stanford University in the United States with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) degree and received a law degree from the University of California, Berkeley (Boalt Hall) in the United States. He previously was COO and General Counsel of Aircastle Limited, Senior Legal Officer at Boullioun Aviation Services and Partner at the Perkins Coie law firm in Seattle and Hong Kong.
Daniel da Silva
Vice President of Strategic Regulatory Policy, Boeing Capital Corporation
Daniel da Silva is vice president of Strategic Regulatory Policy for Boeing Capital Corporation (BCC), where he is focused on policy and regulatory issues associated with the aircraft financing mission of BCC. He was appointed to the position in June 2015, also serving as the co-Chairman of the Aviation Working Group (AWG). Previously, da Silva held vice president positions in Program Management, Services Sales, Customer Support and Commercial Airplane Sales at Boeing. Da Silva started his career at Embraer in Brazil, and worked at McDonnell Douglas in Long Beach, CA prior to the merger with Boeing.
A native of Brazil, da Silva received his aeronautical engineering degree from the Technological Institute of Aeronautics (ITA) in São José dos Campos, Brazil.
Ryan Austin
EVP & COO, HPM
Jose Botelho
Executive Director & CEO, Latin American and Caribbean Air Transport Association
José Ricardo Botelho is a Lawyer from the Catholic University of Salvador, Brazil with experience in civil aviation and public service.
Prior to joining ALTA, José Ricardo served for 4 years as President of the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and, for about 2 and a half years, he served as Brazil's Alternate Diplomatic Delegate to ICAO, actively participating in the amendments to the text of the Tokyo Convention in the work relevant to Brazil's entry in ICAO‘s Public Key Directory (PKD) and in the systematization of API (Advanced Passenger Information), besides having worked on the rules against acts of unlawful interference (AVSEC) for civil aviation.
José Ricardo holds a postgraduate degree in Criminal Sciences from Jorge Amado University and a postgraduate degree in Public Security Management from the National Police Academy, both from Brazil.
Grant Cochrane
SVP Intl Commercial Services, FedEx Express
Grant joined TNT in 1992 as a Field Sales Executive at Birmingham depot in the UK, progressing through various Sales roles and then moved into General Management positions, then functional roles in Key Account Management, until joining HO as Operations Director for Special Services Central Team before taking on the role as Global Special Services Director in May 2014.In July 2017 he took the role of Vice President –Special Services, at FedEx Express and from September 2019 I was given additional responsibilities with Enterprise Global Sales. December 2019 Grant took on the role of Senior Vice President, International Commercial Services and relocated to Memphis, with my wife Dawn and our dog, in February 2020
Our aim at International Commercial Services, is to offer support to the wider Global Express community and our Global customers, by providing global standardized policies and processes. This will allow market driven solutions to be delivered to our customer base and to grow International revenue by focusing on the complete product portfolio.
Dustin Cordier
President, Jet AVIVA
Dustin is attracted to people with bold ideas. On his 30th birthday his cousin, Ken, told him, your next 6 years are free. Ken flew an F-4 and was shot down at 30 then spent the next 6 years as a POW. This became Dustin’s WHY – helping others make their freedom count.
He is a former VP and sales executive with both Cessna Citation and Embraer Executive Jets, and current President of jetAVIVA - a market leader in turbine aircraft sales & acquisitions.
A #1 ranked sales professional at every stop, he’s been responsible for aircraft sales of almost $1 billion dollars. As a committee member and and former Co-chair of the NBAA Business Aviation Management Committee Leadership Conference he exemplifies the unique bond of business and fun that is aviation.
Dustin graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with honors and was an instructor and evaluator in both the C-21A & KC-135R. He currently lives in Atlanta with Kristen, his wife of over 23 years, his 4 children and 2 dogs.
Brian Costa
Chief Executive Officer, Chromalloy
Scott Cutshall
Senior Vice President, Clay Lacy Aviation
Robert Dewar
SVP A220 Customer Services, Customer Satisfaction & Product Policy, Airbus
Accomplished Senior Aerospace Executive with extensive expertise in program management and product development and design of complex aerospace programs (~$5.0 B) with P&L accountability. Proven ability to lead and improve business productivity and performance working with a global supply chain while enhancing client satisfaction by consistently increasing quality and delivery performance. Demonstrated success leading large complex organizations including Airbus, Bombardier products. Recognized by the industry for his strong leadership and drive, customer focus, excellent communication and collaboration skills, as well as a proven track record for the successful development and execution of aerospace programs.
Multilingual: English, French & Italian.
Chad Marcel
President, Piiq Risk Partners
Starting my career in 1984, I have spend over 30 years in the aviation sector, supporting Global clients with respect to their insurance and risk needs. After spending the majority of my career in leadership roles with two of the larger insurance broker, including secondments to the US, I co- founded Piiq Risk Partners in 2019 to offer a more tailored and bespoke offering for aviation and aerospace clients and we now have more than 50 partners, based in the UK, USA and France.
I have until now supported IAWA by encouraging relevant colleagues to join and participate as full members and I am now thrilled to be able to join as an advocate and look forward to more directly participating in the future.
Tommy Preston
Vice President, Ethics, The Boeing Company
Tommy Preston, Jr. is the vice president of Ethics at The Boeing Company, where he leads a team of global professionals focused on articulating, amplifying and embedding the company‘s values across the enterprise. The Ethics organization also ensures efficient and trusted reporting mechanisms and a strong anti-retaliation policy; works with senior leadership to foster a speak up culture through messaging and employee engagement; and embeds ethics advisors across Boeing business units and sites to identify risk areas, reinforce expectations of ethical behavior and provide bespoke guidance to employees.
Jim Simpson
Senior Managing Director, First Republic Bank
Michael Tentindo,
Partner, Hinckley Allen
Mike is the Chair of the firm‘s Business Aviation Group and specializes in the areas of aviation, commercial and real estate finance, serving as legal adviser to institutional lenders and borrowers in senior and subordinated debt financing and equipment leasing transactions.
Chris Raymond
Chief Sustainability Officer, The Boeing Company
Chris Raymond is the chief sustainability officer for The Boeing Company, and a member of the company’s Executive Council reporting to the Chief Executive Officer. As Boeing’s first chief sustainability officer, Raymond is responsible for further advancing Boeing’s approach on environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities, stakeholder-oriented engagement, reporting, and company performance. Raymond’s Executive Council responsibilities include driving shared awareness of ESG trends, opportunities and targets to guide company decision-making and global impact. Prior to this role, Raymond was the vice president of Sustainability, Strategy and Corporate Development (SSCD) for The Boeing Company, leading the team that shapes the company’s future through market insights, strategies, partnerships and investments for sustainable innovation, productivity and growth.
In addition to his SSCD role, Raymond was asked to also lead enterprise-wide efforts to engage, inform and seek feedback from stakeholders following the tragic accidents involving the 737 MAX airplane. Raymond partnered with the Communications team and leaders from across the company to focus on employees, customers, passengers, suppliers and other valued partners, ensuring their voices and interests were actively represented across all the company’s efforts.
Raymond was previously vice president of Embraer Integration, a role in which he led the efforts for a potential strategic partnership between Boeing and Brazilian aerospace company Embraer. Raymond also previously served as the first vice president and general manager of Autonomous Systems (AS), a division within Boeing Defense, Space & Security (BDS) focusing on enterprise autonomous aviation and marine technologies, intelligence capabilities, and networking solutions from seabed to space. Prior to his role with AS, Raymond was vice president and general manager of several businesses involving integrated missile defense, sensors and signals intelligence, and undersea capability. He also served as vice president of global Business Development & Strategy for BDS, leading a global team focused on customer solutions, partnerships, new business capture and strategic planning.
Raymond began his career as an engineer at Boeing’s Long Beach, California operation. He has served in leadership assignments in engineering, supply chain management, strategy, sales, program management, operations and communications. Raymond is an associate fellow in the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and a fellow in the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is part of The Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition, is a World 50 member and serves as an advisory board member with The Heritage Group, Dell Technologies, the MIT Climate and Sustainability Consortium, and the University of Illinois Aerospace Engineering Board. He is also an Advocate for the International Aviation Women’s Association.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Illinois, as well as a contract
management certificate and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California-Irvine.
