AVIATE with Shaesta

By Shaesta WaizSociety & Culture Technology Fiction Relationships

AVIATE with Shaesta episodes

October 27, 2021 Kimberly Perkins, Researcher, Pilot & Writer, discusses Psychological Safety in aviation
Join my conversation from the NBAA convention in Las Vegas with Kimberly Perkins. Corporate pilot, mother, and PH. D Student at the University of Washington, Kimberly is an amazing woman researching significant areas in aviation like diversity, inclusion, psychological safety, and safety culture. In our conversation, Kimberly talks about her research thus far and what motivated her to study these topics. Learn more about Kimberly at her website, www.kimberly-perkins.com.
22 min
October 11, 2021 Vice President Sales & Marketing at Atlantic Aviation, Sue Sommers talks about the community in Aviation
Sue Sommers, VP of Sales and Marketing for Atlantic Aviation, has over 25 years of experience in aviation. She started her career working at an FBO in customer service and has built her career impressive career over the years. Sue is a native of Louisiana and a mother. Hear how she leaned on her community to help her build her career.

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46 min
October 01, 2021 Retired Astronaut, Artist, & Author, Nicole Stott discusses New Horizons & Lessons from Space
Our guest this week is Nicole Stott. Nicole grew up in Clearwater, Florida. She began her career in 1987 as a structural design engineer with Pratt & Whitney in West Palm Beach, Florida. In 1988, Stott joined NASA at the Kennedy Space Center as an Operations Engineer in the Orbiter Processing Facility.
In 2000, she was selected as a NASA Astronaut. In April 2006, Nicole was a crew member on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) 9 mission, where she lived and worked with a six-person crew for 18 days on the Aquarius undersea research habitat. Nicole has been to space two times now, once in 2009 as a mission specialist on STS-128 Discovery, participating in the first spacewalk of that mission; she spent over 100 days as a flight engineer on the International Space Station (ISS), and returned on STS-129 Atlantis. Her second time to space was in 2011, where Nicole was a mission specialist on STS-133, the final flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery.
Today, Nicole (a mother) is an artist who shares her passion for space through her work. She is a co-founder of the Space for Art Foundation, and is also an author of the book Back to Earth: What Life in Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet―And Our Mission to Protect It, which comes out on October 12.
IG @astro_nicole @spaceforartfoundation
https://www.backtoearthbook.com https://www.spaceforartfoundation.org

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1 hr 10 min
September 24, 2021 Blue Origin's Kiah Erlich on the power of pivoting.
Kiah Erlich, pilot, STEM advocate, and leader in aviation, has served in a wide variety of positions throughout her aviation career. Upon graduating from Auburn University with a bachelor’s degree in aviation management business administration, Kiah worked in Airport Management for the Sky Harbor International Airport in Arizona. Intrigued by the Honeywell B757 Flying Tech Lab, Kiah took a leap in faith and started working for the company for over six years, starting off in the Marketing and Product Management division. After two years, she then became the Director of GM Flight Services and, was promoted to the Senior Director of VPGM Rotation, Engines, and Power Systems. During this time, she obtained her master’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. In 2018, Kiah pivoted and started her career as the Head of Global Sales for Panasonic Avionics Corporation. Today, Kiah is the Director of Astronaut and NASA Sales for Blue Origin.

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53 min
September 17, 2021 President of New Vista Acquisition Corp. & Founder of AirFinance & XOJet, Kirsten Bartok Touw talks about Innovation & Investing in Aviation
Kirsten Bartok Touw is the founder and managing partner at AirFinance, which specializes in structured finance, leasing, and the financing of aircraft, with emphasis on emerging markets. In addition, Kirsten is the Co-President, COO, and Director of New Vista, a special purpose acquisition company.
Prior to AirFinance, she was Vice President, Strategy, Structured Finance & Corporate Development at Hawker Beechcraft Corporation. Kirsten was a co-founder, board member, and CFO of XOJET, where she was part of the original core executive team that built the private jet charter company and developed its innovative business jet, outsourcing model.
Before joining XOJET, Kirsten spent over 12 years in private equity, venture capital, investment banking, and capital markets. Most recently Kirsten was a partner at Alpine Investors, a San Francisco-based investment firm, where she focused on aerospace, business process outsourcing, education/training, and retail.
Kirsten received a BA, cum laude, from the University of Pennsylvania where she was a Benjamin Franklin Scholar, and an MBA from Stanford University's Graduate School of Business.

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57 min
September 10, 2021 Pilot, Author & Professor, Erika Armstrong talks about the cost of being a woman in aviation.
Our guest this week is Erika Armstrong. With a following of over 400,000 aviation enthusiasts, Erika is a pilot, VP of Business for Advanced Aircrew Academy, and Professor at the Metropolitan State University of Denver. In 2000, Armstrong released her first book, “A Chick in the Cockpit”, where she shares her life journey in becoming a pilot and the adventures she has had along the way. She is currently working on a second book, The Art of Being a Pilot, which will hit the bookshelves soon.
In addition to her incredible career, Erika is a mother of two and an advocate for women in aviation. At her core, she loves aviation and is an inspiration to women. In this podcast conversation, Erika talks to me about the cost of being a woman.

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58 min
September 03, 2021 Aviation Hall of Fame Aerobatic & Airshow Pilot, Patty Wagstaff on Travel
In this podcast episode, I have a conversation with the legendary Patty Wagstaff on the topic of travel and aviation. Patty grew up around aviation because of her father, who was a commercial airline pilot for Japan Airlines. In 1978, Patty moved from Australia to Alaska and began her flight training, earning her wings to fly. In 1984, she entered her first aerobatic competition, determined to become the first woman ever to win the U.S. National Aerobatic Championship. In 1991, Patty won the championship, three years in a row, making history in aviation. Wagstaff is a four-time winner of the Betty Skelton First Lady of Aerobatics Trophy and was the 1995 recipient of the National Air and Space Museum Trophy for Current Achievement in Aviation. In 2004, Wagstaff was inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame. Today, you can find Patty perform at airshows across the country or at her flight school in Florida, the Patty Wagstaff Aerobatic School.

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1 hr 5 min
August 27, 2021 Chief Growth Officer at Wheels Up, Stephanie Chung on Self-Advocacy
Stephanie Chung, our guest today, grew up around aviation because of her father, a Master Sergent, who served in the United States Air Force. She started her aviation career young, working for a Major US Airline- in various roles like working at the ticket counter, ground handlining, loading luggage, and eventually sales.
Stephanie realized her passion for sales, which led her to work in corporate sales, where her quota was $25 million, at the age of 25. Stephanie went on to work at Bombardier as Vice President of Sales of the US West Coast region. She has held several leadership positions for companies like SkyJet and FlexJet. In 2018, Stephanie became the president of JetSuite, becoming the very first African American to serve as president of a private aviation company in the United States.
In August of 2020, Stephanie became the inaugural Chief Growth Officer for Wheels Up. In addition to her incredible career, Stephanie is a wife and mother. She is a breast cancer survivor and has been cancer-free for over 12 years now. She has been featured in the Oprah Daily as a boss paving the way for women in leadership positions. In this podcast episode, we have a conversation with Stephanie on the importance of self-advocacy for women.

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1 hr 14 min
August 20, 2021 Media Personality & Pilot, Ariel Tweto on Social Media
In this podcast episode, I speak with pilot, producer, television star, and founder of a non-profit organization, Ariel Tweto. You may know Ariel from the Discovery Channel's hit, Flying Wild Alaska. Yup, that show was based on Ariel's family and their aviation business in Alaska. Ariel is from Unalakleet, Alaska. She is an avid runner and loves outdoor activities like hiking, biking, paddleboarding, and meditating. She has been a frequent guest on the Late Show with David Letterman, and currently, she stars in the IMAX movie, Into America's Wild, which premiered in early 2020.
My discussion with Ariel is on the social media pressures. She talks about how she manages to stay in the moment when sharing experiences on social media, coping with negative comments, and how stays true to herself.
You can find Ariel on social media at @AreilTweto.

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56 min
August 13, 2021 Retired U.S. Coast Guard Helicopter Pilot, Liz Booker on Motherhood in Aviation
Liz Booker is a pilot, writer for children and young adults, and mother of three. She retired from a 28-year career in the U.S. Coast Guard as a helicopter pilot and foreign diplomat in 2019 to write full time. She holds a Master in Public Administration from Harvard University, a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Vermont College of Fine Arts, and her Commercial Fixed and Rotary Wing licenses.
Liz is the host of the Aviatrix Book Club, Aviatrix Book Review podcast where she interviews authors of books featuring women in aviation, and the Aviatrix Book Review website, with over 500 books featuring women in aviation and space in all genres, for all ages. You can find her on social media @literaryaviatrix.
She joins the podcast to talk about her illustrious career and motherhood.

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1 hr 10 min

About AVIATE with Shaesta

From the publisher's feed

AVIATE with Shaesta brings some of the most interesting female aviators together- trailblazers, record-setters, mothers, adventurers, entrepreneurs- to have honest conversations about what it means to be a woman in aviation. Join Shaesta Waiz, the Youngest Woman to Fly Solo Around the World, as she goes around the world (via a podcast) and connects with the industry to have honest conversations about being a woman in aviation. AVIATE, which stands for Acknowledge, Vocalize, Inclusion, Act, Travel, and Evolve, are the themes guiding each conversation.