New Members
February 2024
Olivia White
As a Vice President in Alix Partners' Aerospace, Defense, and Airlines Practice, Olivia works hands-on with clients to solve problems and provide organizational support. With seven years of experience in A&D operations across multiple platforms, she specializes in supply chain performance as well as manufacturing optimization. She has extensive expertise in defense operations across development and production lifecycles. Olivia has worked on air and undersea platforms as well as functional teams at a leading defense contractor. She is a graduate of Lockheed Martin’s Operations Leadership Development Program with experience in quality, production operations and supply chain.
She has a Bachelors in Supply Chain Management from Baylor University, and Masters of Science in Business Analytics and an MBA from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.
Samantha (Sam) Marnick
Sam Marnick is a strategic adviser and consultant at M7 consulting, as well as a Board Member for InTrust Bank. She was the Chief Operating Officer (COO), President of the Commercial business, for Spirit AeroSystems until December 2023 leading over 12,000 employees across 9 global locations (UK, Europe, US and Asia) with over 15m sq. ft. of manufacturing facilities with approximately $5B in revenue. As COO, was responsible for all global manufacturing operations, supply chain, fabrication, tooling and footprint.
Prior to becoming COO in 2020, Marnick held a progression of leadership roles since joining Spirit shortly after the company’s creation in June 2005. Her prior roles at Spirit include Executive Vice President and Chief Administration Officer (CAO) and Corporate Strategy, Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), Senior Vice President of Corporate Administration and Human Resources, Vice President of Labor Relations & Workforce Strategies, Communications and Employee Engagement.
Before joining the company, Marnick was a senior consultant and Principal for Mercer Human Resources Consulting, holding management positions in both the United Kingdom and in the United States. Her prior experience focused on human capital research, change and communication, working with U.S. and Pan European corporations on corporate infrastructure, leadership and development, compensation and benefits programs, mergers and acquisitions, and global corporate strategies.
Sharon McKenna
Sharon McKenna has over 40 years in equipment finance with a specific focus on Aircraft. In those years, she has worked in every department related to aircraft finance, including structures, equity investments, pricing, residuals, remarketing, contracts, and credit, and now insure the future values of aircraft and manage risks.
Shelley Raina Talwar
Since her father was a pilot, Shelley Raina Talwar has been passionate about aviation since birth. Having studied Aerospace Engineering and obtained a B.Eng in Canada (specialising in propulsion and aerodynamics) and an MSc in the United Kingdom (Cranfield University - Aerospace Dynamics), she brings 18 years of professional experience.
She has employed by the aircraft lessor Avolon Aerospace for approximately 3 years. As the Vice President Airline Strategy within the Commercial team, she is responsible for aircraft marketing, providing final asset allocation recommendation to our Chief Commercial Officer and recommending which deals are accretive for the business, and leading Avalon's freighter business development strategy.
Prior to this she spent 15 years at Airbus in Toulouse (France), Hamburg (Germany), and Bristol (UK). She started her professional career in 2006 after obtaining my MSc from Cranfield University, and worked in the Aerodynamic design office in Toulouse, France, where she was responsible for the aerodynamic design of new single aisle nacelles and engine integration. Over her 15 years at Airbus, she worked across functions, moving from Engineering to A350 Program (responsible for the manufacturing and integration of the Flight Test System on the wings), later to Customer Services and then finally Commercial Aircraft Sales and Marketing.
She is truly a multi-cultural Canadian—proudly born and raised in Vancouver—with a very European heart thanks to her proud connection to France and Germany. She has lived in France, Germany, the UK, Singapore and currently lives and works in Dubai, UAE.
Gemma Downs
Gemma Downs is in-house Corporate Counsel for Jetcraft.
She obtained her Law degree in 2016 and subsequently qualified as a Solicitor in 2023. Since finishing her studies, Gemma has forged a career as a trusted legal advisor, finding practical and effective solutions to complex legal issues. At Jetcraft, Gemma provides support and guidance on contract negotiation and drafting, and has successfully negotiated aircraft purchase agreements and other aviation-related contracts.
In her previous role, Gemma specialised in property law and developed extensive experience drafting and negotiating leases, sale and purchase agreements and other real estate contracts and transactions.
Outside of work, Gemma enjoys practising yoga and cycling to maintain a healthy lifestyle. She also values spending time with friends and family, and making new connections through socialising. Her personal philosophy is centred around helping others wherever possible, and she takes pride in making a positive impact on the lives of those around her.
Vanessa Aaron
Vanessa Aaron is a long time pilot and flight instructor, air force veteran, and former air traffic controller turned lawyer.
Natalie Pronovost
Natalie Pronovost has achieved a Master in Software Engineering early in my career that allowed her to land her first job in the Aerospace industry as a Quality Assurance Lead for embedded software of a Fighter plane manufactured by Lockheed Martin. She has spent 13 years learning about the industry being directly involved in the operations and fleet management of the Fighter. After that experience, she moved in the Data analytics space understanding how to extract data from sensors and MROs to better optimize costs and time. After 5 years of data learning, she realized that the usage of the cloud to enable the data, models, AI was inevitable. Therefore, today she works for AWS and I am helping customers in the Aerospace industry transform and innovation with the cloud.
Saglara Meyer
With over 12 years experience in project, change and HR management, Saglara is a goal-oriented professional with demonstrated success designing and implementing new strategies, plans, and processes for optimizing the people operations within organizations. Recognized throughout career for an outstanding work ethic and excellent relationship-building skills, as well as the ability to drive positive change and help build workplace diverse & talented cultures known for strong engagement.
As HR Business Partner, her mission is to empower the talented and passionate team members to fulfill their potential and achieve their career goals. Saglara is dedicated to shaping work culture that attracts and inspires top talent worldwide. She holds SHRM-CP and People Manager Qualification Credentials from the Society for Human Resource Management, and Change Management Practitioner Credential from Prosci. A strong proponent of Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and DE&I, she leads initiatives within the field. Her expertise is supported by the Stanford University Certification in Leveraging DE&I in organizations and her MSc in Environmental Policy and Planning from Roskilde University in Denmark.
Saglara is currently serve as Chair to Certification Committee with local to Puget Sound SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management) organization. She is also an advisor in Strategic Plan Development Committee with Lake Washington School District.
She's been emerged in Aviation and Aerospace world since January 2023 and immensely inspired by the industry. In support of women engineers, she has implemented talent management initiatives that resulted in tripling the number of female engineers companywide.
Julie Garland
Julie is the Founder and CEO of Avtrain - one of Europe’s leading drone training and consultancy organisations setting the standards for others to follow. She is a former Airline Training Captain, Aircraft Maintenance Engineer, Barrister at Law and Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators; prior to undertaking her position as CEO of Avtrain she was the Director Compliance for Norwegian Air International. She is the founding and current Vice-Chair of the Unmanned Aircraft Association of Ireland and sits on the Board of Directors of JEDA - Joint European Drone Associations as the Irish representative and is the JEDA representative on JARUS – the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems where she is Vice-Chair of the JARUS Industry Stakeholder's Body Steering Committee. She also a member of the Board of Advisors for the Estonian Aviation Academy (EAVA) and is a Royal Aeronautical Society Mentor for aspiring aviators. Julie has been the recipient of many awards and accolades including being listed in the 2023 eVTOL Insights Powerbook and winning Airwards Training & Certification Organisation along with multiple podcasts such a Jarlath Regan, The Flying Irishman and Jo Moses, Formidable Females of Future Flight.
Kristin Spear
With over three decades of experience in the hospitality industry, Kristin Spear has developed a diverse skill set spanning fine dining, hotel management, and corporate aviation. The friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers is the hallmark of her professional life. In addition, she spent 18 years in fashion advertising and now manages social media and strategic branding for an aviation company. She has served on the board for the Beaverton Downtown Association and chaired the annual fundraiser for St. John Fisher school.
Michaela Lucas
Michaela Lucas is the Co-Director of the NASA Space Grant and EPSCoR Programs for Nebraska in the U.S. This NASA program is meant to be the "face of NASA" in each state. It provides funds for students and faculty to engage in NASA-related projects such as space payloads, university rocket and robotics competitions, high altitude ballooning, and more. Michaela developed the Nebraska Space Ambassador program in 2013 and she partnered with NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) to host the first national conference for educators at KSC in 2018 and 2019.
Previously, Michaela served as a full-time aviation faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where she taught Aviation Safety, Airport Safety & Security, Diversity in Aviation, Introduction to Aviation and Aerospace, and other courses. She served as director for a national aviation policy seminar for university students in Washington, D.C. Michaela continues to teach as an aviation adjunct instructor for UNO.
Burcu Sahinkaya
Bernadette Ryan
Bernadette Ryan is a highly experienced aviation professional with expertise in global aviation finance with more than twenty years of experience working with aircraft leasing companies, banks, airlines, lawfirms, insurance companies, rating agencies, borrowers, FAA counsel, local counsel in foreign jurisdictions, and aviation registration authorities globally. Experience includes international and cross-border acquisition, sale, leasing, novation, asset finance and assignment transactions involving commercial and private aircraft and aircraft engines. Prior to joining Pillsbury, she worked at ILFC, (now owned by AERCAP), a global leader in aircraft leasing for 18 years.
Erika Pearson
Erika Pearson is vice president of Commercial Sales and Marketing for Southeast Asia and Oceania for Boeing as of January 2023. Pearson will be based in Singapore and is responsible for commercial airplanes and services sales in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Philippines, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific Islands.
Throughout her nearly 30-year career at Boeing, Pearson has worked across multiple business units, including engineering, product development and sales, taking on roles of increasing responsibility. Most recently, Erika served as the President of Boeing Business Jets, where she led Commercial aircraft sales to Business Jet, Government & Military customers.
Pearson joined Boeing in 1993 as an aerodynamics engineer in Product Development.
Early in her career, she worked as a performance engineer focused on customers in Africa, Australia and the Pacific Islands for all Boeing airplane models. Joining the sales team in 2008 as business director and deputy vice president of Leasing and Asset Management, Pearson progressed through various roles advancing commercial airplanes sales campaign activity throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas. Pearson was named Asia Pacific sales director in 2015 for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, where she led the Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia, Fiji Airways and Singapore Airlines Group accounts. She also served as business director and deputy vice president of Asia Pacific and India Sales from 2011-2015.
Pearson is a 1993 graduate of Purdue University, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering. In 2008, she was awarded an MBA from the University of Washington Executive Program. She also served on the Advisory Board of Purdue University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics from 2008 to 2020 and in 2012 was honored with the school’s Outstanding Aerospace Engineer award.
Claire Gini
Claire Gini began her professional career in Airbus in 2006 as a structural engineer. Eager to discover various facets of working for a pioneering international aircraft manufacturer, she then continued my career in various departments, from Finance Corporate to Industrial Projects and Strategy. These assignments were also the opportunity to live and work in different European cities (Bristol, UK; Toulouse, France, Hamburg, Germany).
In 2020, Claire transitioned to Airbus Americas, the American affiliate of Airbus to take a Finance Director position. On top of her day job, she became the leader for the gender-diversity focused Employee Resource Group, WIN@Airbus and has held this position since. She recently took over a new position as Transformation and Sustainability Director and remains passionate about Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. She is looking forward to continuing to advocate on this topic through her IAWA membership.
Narisha Karan
January 2024
Kozetta Chapman
Kozetta Chapman is the Senior Manager of Tech Ops Recruiting and Development at American Airlines. In her role, she champions the initiative to increase diversity within the Technical Operations space through recruitment, talent pipeline development, and community outreach events. She is also responsible for developing and implementing the team’s long-term strategy to ensure that the Tech Ops organization attracts and retains top talent.
With more than 20 years of experience in organizational development, Kozetta is focused on collaborating with others to develop strategies that are effective, innovative and transformative. Prior to her role at American Airlines, Kozetta was the Training Director for an international legal services company and a professor at the University of Oklahoma. As a professor, she instructed various courses including Minority and Ethnic Relations, Women around the World, Statistical Analysis and Social Problems. Most recently, Kozetta was a contributing author for the Association of Talent Development’s 2020 publication Leading the Learning Function: Tools and Techniques for Organizational Impact.
Maria Miller
Maria has been in the aviation industry since 2014. Joining an international law firm as a trainee, she quickly started working almost exclusively with the aviation finance team. She also developed expertise in corporate law and has worked on a couple of debt capital markets transactions. Maria has worked with both lessors and airlines and would love to connect with more people in the industry to share experience and learn more about personal and professional development.
Alicia Moen
Alicia is a former military aviator that is now a Senior Staff Consultant with Engineering Systems, Inc.
Eliane Scholtens
Having grown up in a very technical household with a grandfather who was a pilot, a father who got his private license in the 70s and three brothers who I would take turns with tinkering on our oldtimer cars, Elaine has always been interested in the aviation industry.
Following her studies of International Law at Leiden University, she began to work at LVNL (Air Traffic Control The Netherlands) in 2011. Besides training operationally as a Flight information Service Officer, she now works as Flow Management position controller and Deputy Supervisor for the entirety of the Netherlands. Additionally, Elaine is the Chair of the Works Council, which means she manages a team of 13 co-workers to provide advice and approval on a broad spectrum of business decisions and investments, and acts as a sparring partner for the Board of Directors as well as the Supervisory Board. This specific mixture of technical and business/legal continues to inspire her, and this is where she is looking to expand her career.
Elaine live in Voorburg with my husband and 5 year old daughter, where I enjoy living close to the beach and the many theatres and museums ‘next door’ in The Hague.
I very much enjoyed being a part of the conference in June 2023 and meeting so many interesting and like minded women from our industry. Unfortunately we are still so clearly in the minority and this was a unique event in that regard. IAWA sounds like exactly the community I am looking for and I would love to discover more in 2024.
Samantha Vela
Samantha is a 30-year-old female located in rural West Texas. In 2022, she decided to change careers from working in Higher Education to working and pursuing a career in Aviation. Samantha is currently going to school at MidlandCollege in Midland Texas and working at an FBO (Basin Aviation).