Meet Jackie Ruiz, founder of Latinas in Aviation.

Jacqueline calls herself a visionary social entrepreneur. Born in Mexico City, she moved to the United States at age 14, where she learned English and German. She has created two successful, award-winning companies, established two nonprofit organizations, published 16 books, created over 10 products, and held dozens of events around the world in just the past decade.

Jackie is a regular guest on TV and radio, including CBS World News, CBS Chicago, WGN-TV, ABC7 News, WGN Radio 720, and has been featured in Forbes Magazine, Inc., and others. She is one of the few Latina sports airplane pilots in the United States, and Jackie believes that “taking off is optional, landing on your dreams is mandatory.”

The book Latinas in Aviation is available on Amazon. 100% of book proceeds will go to the Pilotina Scholarship for young women aged 17 to 24.

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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Meet Taylor Deen, one of the few female Goodyear blimp pilots in the world.

Taylor Deen is one of the few active female blimp pilots in the world. At 37 years old, she has achieved the role of chief pilot with the Goodyear Blimp, logging more than 2,500 hours of lighter-than-air (LTA) flight hours and 3,000 fixed-wing hours. She earned her pilot license in 2005 and continued training to become a Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) with CFI-Instrumentation training. Taylor joined the California-based Goodyear blimp team in 2011 after flying as a charter pilot in Juneau, Alaska. She is currently a captain for the Goodyear Blimp Wingfoot Three and leads its Carson-based crew.

As a pilot for the world-renowned aerial brand ambassador for over a decade, Taylor has flown the blimp through more than 20 U.S. states as well as the Canadian province of British Columbia. She has captained flights over notable sports and entertainment events, including multiple NBA Finals, Academy Awards, and Golden Globes red carpets, PGA Tour events, and Rose Bowls. When not flying for transit or television, she has shared the blimp ride experience with hundreds of fortunate passengers, from tire dealers to philanthropists to celebrities. Taylor’s most memorable flights have included flying her grandparents in her home state of Oregon during a transit stop on the way to Tacoma, Washington for the U.S. Open of golf (2015) and two rare formation flights, including a two-blimp tandem flight over NASCAR’s Daytona 500 with retired GZ-20 models Spirit of Innovation and Spirit of Goodyear in Florida (2014) followed by an old-meets-new blimp dual maneuver with new technology airship Wingfoot One and the last GZ-20 model Spirit of Innovation (2015). As Goodyear transitioned its blimp fleet to the new, state-of-the-art “Wingfoot” airships, Taylor was proudly among the four Goodyear pilots who were the last in the world to fly the GZ-20 model blimp into its retirement (2017).

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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Meet The Honorable Jennifer Homendy, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair.

Jennifer L. Homendy is the 15th Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in other modes of transportation, including rail, transit, roadway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. 

Chair Homendy has served as the agency’s 44th Board Member since 2018 and Chairman since 2021. She was re-nominated and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2024 to continue serving in both roles. Her current term as Chair expires in August 2027, while her term as Board Member expires at the end of 2029.

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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Meet The Honorable Jennifer Homendy, National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Chair.

Jennifer L. Homendy is the 15th Chair of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant events in other modes of transportation, including rail, transit, roadway, marine, pipeline, and commercial space. 

Chair Homendy has served as the agency’s 44th Board Member since 2018 and Chairman since 2021. She was re-nominated and unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in May 2024 to continue serving in both roles. Her current term as Chair expires in August 2027, while her term as Board Member expires at the end of 2029.

Prior to the NTSB, Chair Homendy spent nearly 15 years as Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials under the jurisdiction of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the U.S. House of Representatives. She previously held positions with the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the Transportation Trades Department of the AFL-CIO, and the American Iron and Steel Institute.
Chair Homendy completed her undergraduate studies at the Pennsylvania State University – Harrisburg and recently obtained her Master of Transportation Safety Administration degree from Clemson University’s Institute for Global Road Safety and Security.

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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Meet Michelle "MACE" Curran, a former United States Air Force fighter pilot with nearly 2,000 hours of F-16 flying time. Michelle “MACE” Curran channels her unique perspective into relatable storytelling in her newly published book The Flipside: How to Invert Your Perspective and Turn Fear into Your Superpower.

A WAI conference attendee and keynote speaker, Michelle’s lessons learned will empower you to make bold choices and find your inner courage. Follow her journey on Instagram @mace_curran. 

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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Ever wonder what jobs are available at an airline? Learn more about the various opportunities available during this episode featuring a United Airlines panel discussion. 

Nikisha Ramsey – Director, Early Careers and Talent Partnerships 

Veronica Leacock Borchardt– Calibrate Partnerships Manager 

Kate Bufton – DEN Flight Operations Manager, Captain B737 

Houa Vang – DENVV Manager Ramp Tower Operations 

Roberta Zimmerman – Director of Air Traffic Data Analytics

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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Meet Rick Leach, President and CEO of GoJet Airlines

A long-time aviation industry veteran, Rick has worked in the industry for 44 years in numerous airline leadership roles as well as being a board member of the Regional Airline Association (RAA.org). His airline career began after college with Air Illinois and shortly thereafter, he was recruited by Jet America Airlines, to start as a customer service trainer at their new St. Louis operation.

During his tenure at Jet America, he also held the positions of city manager of the San Francisco/Oakland Bay Area operation and city manager of the St. Louis operation. Choosing not to relocate his family back to the West Coast, Rick joined the privately held Resort Air as their director of stations in 1988. In this role, he was one of the principals who helped lead this small airline through a significant growth and certification process, assisting with the conversion from Part 135 to Part 121 operations, as well as the certification of its new ATR fleet. In 1989, the airline changed its name to Trans States Airlines, and Rick was promoted to vice president. In 1998, he was promoted into the role of executive vice president and COO, and in 2003, he was promoted to president and CEO of Trans States Airlines, as well as president of Trans States Holdings, Inc., the airline's parent company.

In 2005, Rick founded GoJet Airlines, which became the second airline owned by Trans States Holdings. The Trans States Holdings family of airlines grew to three in 2010 when he negotiated the purchase of Compass Airlines from Delta and became president and CEO of these two airlines as well. In 2019, GoJet was selected by United to operate the CRJ-550, an innovative new product within Bombardier's successful CRJ family of aircraft.

From Rick’s arrival, Trans States Holdings grew from a carrier with twelve 19-seat Metroliners to one of the largest and most innovative regional airline holding companies in the market.

Interview by - Kelly Murphy, WAI Director of Communications

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.📲 Follow us on Spotify: WAI On Air PodcastOn Air is brought to you by Women in Aviation International Strategic Partners Amazon and United.

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Meet Maj. Gen. Regena Aye, Civil Air Patrol’s national commander and the corporation’s CEO. 

As Civil Air Patrol’s 26th national commander, she is a major (two-star), the highest-ranking CAP officer. She leads CAP’s nearly 70,000 members across the United States in fulfilling the nonprofit organization’s three primary programs of emergency services, cadet programs, and aerospace education.

Her more than 30-year CAP career began in 1989 as a cadet in the Kansas Wing, where she achieved the cadet program’s highest honor — the Gen. Carl A. Spaatz Award — in 1992. 

Interview by: Kelly Murphy, WAI Director of Communications 

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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On Air is brought to you by Women in Aviation International Strategic Partners Amazon and United.

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Meet Theresa Claiborne, the first Black woman in the U.S Air Force and retired United B787 Captain

Theresa Claiborne retired in May 2024 from United Airlines as captain of the Boeing 787 with 23,000 flight hours. Theresa is a pioneer as the first Black woman pilot in the U.S. Air Force, where she served as the first Black woman to command and instruct in the KC-135 Stratotanker during her seven years on active duty in the military and 13 years in the reserves. When Theresa joined United, she became the airline’s second Black woman pilot and retired as one of less than 200 Black women pilots in the United States and one of 25 at United Airlines. Theresa has won many accolades during her long career, and at WAI2025 in Denver, she was inducted into the Pioneer Hall of Fame during a ceremony and celebration. 

Interview by: Kelly Murphy, WAI Director of Communications 

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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On Air is brought to you by Women in Aviation International Strategic Partners Amazon and United.

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Meet Alison (Ali) Faddis, Director of Global Aviation Operations for Amazon Air.

She brings extensive aviation leadership experience to Amazon Air to oversee Network Control Center, Aviation Standards and Training, Aviation Safety, and Air Carrier Operations teams. Ali’s career began as a pilot at Horizon Air, where she advanced to serve as FAR Part 119 Director of Operations and System Chief Pilot while maintaining captain qualifications on multiple aircraft types. Prior to joining Amazon in 2022, she was Vice President of Flight Operations at Boeing's Insitu Inc., leading a global team of over 200 operators in unmanned aircraft operations for defense applications. Throughout her career, Ali has focused on creating and sustaining safe aviation operations while ensuring efficient delivery for customers worldwide.

Interview by: Kelly Murphy, WAI Director of Communications 

🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon Music.

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On Air is brought to you by Women in Aviation International Strategic Partners Amazon and United.

#WomeninAviationInternational #IamWAI #WeAreWAI #Aviation #Aerospace #WAITogether #WAIOnAir #WAIPodcast #AviationPodcast #WomenInAviation