AVIATE with Shaesta

As a young girl growing up in Atlanta, chemistry and math were a passion for Stephanie Espy, our podcast guest, this week. This passion followed Stephanie to college, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from MIT. Upon earning her degree, Stephanie became one of the women who earned 19 percent of bachelor’s degrees in engineering, as well as one of the minority women awarded 3 percent of bachelor’s degrees in engineering.  

Stephanie went on to further her education by graduating from UC Berkeley with a master’s in chemical engineering and obtaining an MBA from Emory University.

With a strong career path projected before her, Stephanie felt compelled to set her own course, focusing her work on making STEM subjects more relatable and engaging for kids and highlighting women role models in STEM. Stephanie started her own business in 2008 and is the Founder and CEO of MathSP. Additionally, she authored the book STEM Gems, a book for girls and young women to explore STEM careers through the stories of 44 inspiring women STEM leaders.  

In my conversation with Stephanie, who is recognized as the #1 LinkedIn Top Voice in Education, I asked her who were her role models growing up, how she had the courage to leave a stable industry job and start her own business, and she shares the entrepreneurship lessons she learned along the way.

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Our guest today is the extraordinary Jessica Cox. Jessica is the world’s first licensed armless pilot, as well as the first armless black belt in Taekwondo and a certified Suba diver. Born with a rare birth defect, Jessica adapted to life without arms by using her feet to support her everyday activities. In my conversation with Jessica, we talked about changing the narrative, breaking barriers, and how she is setting up aviation to be more supportive of people who have disabilities.

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Our guest today, to launch us into season three, is Lalitya Dhavala. Lalitya, who joined me from London, is an aviation consultant working for Ascend, the consultancy arm of the aviation analytics firm Cirium, aerospace engineer, and Board member of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Originally from India, Lalitya grew up in the United Arab Emirates in a passionate family about education. Following in her father’s footsteps, Lalitya decided to become an engineer at a young age. In 2013, she received her bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering and obtained a Masters in Aviation Safety in 2015.

In my conversation with Lalitya, she talks about her career in the middle-east, in a male-dominated field, where she felt the cultural pressures and expectations of being a working woman.

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Our guest today, who will conclude season two of the AVIATE with Shaesta podcast, is Colonel  Nicole Malachowski. At age 5, during a time when women were not permitted to fly for the military, Nicole knew that someday, she would fly a fighter jet. Finishing fourth in her class, Nicole graduated from pilot training at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, and was selected for the only F-15E slot allotted to her class. Nicole has served in a few operational tours and went into combat for the United States Air Force. In 2005, Nicole made history by becoming the first woman to fly for the Thunderbirds, completing 140 performances, and inspiring a generation of women aviators.  

In my conversation, I ask Nicole about her remarkable career and how she managed her mental health along the way. We also discuss Nicole’s physical health, especially after she was suddenly diagnosed with a tick-borne illness, which changed her life and career trajectory.

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Vanessa Blacknall-Jamison is our podcast guest today. Some of you may be familiar with Vanessa’s leadership from OBAP (the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals) or her advocacy and hard work with the FAA.

Vanessa grew up in Denver, Colorado, and was introduced to aviation by her mother, a Flight Attendant talent recruiter. Inspired by her mother’s ability to connect with people and her work in aviation, Vanessa started her career as a Flight Attendant. In the last 40-plus years, Vanessa has worked for United Airlines, the FAA, a Member of the Board of Trustees Foundation for the Civil Air Patrol, and the first woman and non-pilot Chairwoman of OBAP. Mentorship and connecting with people are at the core of everything Vanessa does.

In this conversation, Vanessa and I talk about her bringing, work-life balance, commitment to lifting minorities and women in aviation, and plans for the future.

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Today, our guest is a corporate pilot, Founder and President of the Hera Aviation Group, and mommy of two, Jessica Webster. As a Massachusetts native, Jessica attended airshows with her family and admired the aircraft from afar. It wasn't until the Commander of a P-3 Orion invited Jessica to sit on the aircraft's wing with the crew that she believed aviation was a career possibility. It was a defining moment that inspired her to pursue flight. After a non-linear path to becoming a corporate pilot, Jessica found herself in a difficult situation. Because she was a new mother, she was not given the opportunity to upgrade from her First Office position to Captain, although she worked just as hard as her counterparts.  

This situation shocked Jessica and later motivated her to find a way to continue to fly. Jessica was also inspired to start her non-profit, Hera Aviation Group, which raises awareness of the current constraints for women and primary caregivers in aviation and advocates for change within the industry.

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Joining me on this episode of the AVIATE with Shaesta podcast is the CEO and President of the National Aviation Hall of Fame, Amy Spowart. Amy grew up in central Pennsylvania and took a non-traditional route in aviation. Her first flight experience was when she was 19 years old on a TWA flight. 

Although Amy had her hesitations about flying for the first time, this was a big deal back home in her hometown, where people didn’t travel much. During her twenties, Amy lived in England, and when she came back to America, she decided to enroll in College. Believing that she wasn’t a capable student, Amy found herself drawn to history, resulting in her obtaining two degrees at the same time. Her passion for acknowledging the past opened the door to aviation and launched her career at the NAHF.

In our conversation, I ask Amy about her upbringing, her love for connecting with people, her 22+ year career and leadership with NAHF, and her contributions to women in aviation.

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Our guest today is the Chief Executive Officer of The Registry of Aruba, Alexandria (Alex) Colindres. Alex had fond childhood memories of spending her summers at The Registry of Aruba, which is a company founded by her dad. Although she was surrounded by business aviation, Alex had a soaring interest in the arts. After receiving a bachelor’s in fine arts and a master’s in art management from Columbia College Chicago, Alex started her art career in Miami, working for an Art Gallery and Spinello Projects.

To save up money to move out to California, in pursuit of accelerating her art career, Alex started working as the PR Manager and Civil Aviation Liaison for The Registry of Aruba. Through her work, her interest in business aviation grew and she started to earn her place in the family company.  

Alex is here to talk to us being a young executive leader, how she managed her business and team during covid, and how she is empowering young women in the aviation industry to pursue their dreams.

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Today, our guest, Shelley Svoren, is the Founder and CEO of Infinite Branches, which connects and transforms business aviation investments. With over 30 years of experience in finance, Shelley received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Oregon in Finance, Economics, International Business, and Scandinavian Studies. Her interest in aviation came from her father, who served in the marine corp, but because she didn’t see people in aviation who looked like her, she didn’t explore the interest further. Shelley has worked for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Silicon Valley Bank, at Macy’s as the Financial Analyst and Budget Manager, and the First Republic Bank before starting her own company.

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Our guest today is Guyanese American pilot Beverly Drake. In the 1970’s Beverley became one of Guyana’s first female pilots, flying both military for the Guyana Defense Force and commercial operations for Guyana Airways. By the end of the 1970s, Beverly left her country as a celebrated aviator, got married, had her first child while settling in America, and embarked on a different career track as an analyst for Goldman Sachs. Longing to return to aviation, Drake decided to work as an investigator for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). With over 30 years of experience as an aviation accident investigator, Beverly became the first and only black senior aviation accident investigator woman for the NTSB. Determined to change the status quo, Beverly has served as the Federal Women’s Program Manager for the past seven years at the NTSB. Beverly is a trailblazer nominee of Forbes 50 over 50, and an advocate for STEM.

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