Meet Cat Clay Wren, a remarkable leader in the business aviation sector and the Chief Experience Officer at Business Jets in Dallas, Texas. Originating from a small town in southwest New Mexico, Cat's journey from a rural upbringing to a prominent role in aviation is a testament to her resilience and adaptability. Transitioning from college basketball to business aviation, she has swiftly climbed the corporate ladder, breaking barriers in a male-dominated field. Cat's leadership style is characterized by its non-traditional, effective approach, focusing on servant leadership and adaptability. Beyond her professional success, Cat is deeply committed to community service, especially supporting veterans and their families. As a trailblazer and advocate for women in aviation, Cat's story is one of determination, leadership, and positive impact.

Introduction:

• Introduction of Col. Merryl Tengesdal (Retired), author of "Shatter the Sky: What Going to the Stratosphere Taught Me about Self-worth, Sacrifice, and Discipline."
• Brief overview of her unique achievement as the first and only African American woman to fly the U-2 spy plane.

Background:

• Merryl's upbringing in the Bronx and her early fascination with space exploration.
• The journey from her childhood aspirations to joining the military with the goal of becoming an astronaut.

Main Discussion:

Career Challenges and Achievements:

• In-depth discussion on Merryl's experiences with the U-2 "Dragon Lady."
• The physical and mental demands of high-altitude flights.
• Overcoming barriers in a predominantly male-dominated field.

Overcoming Societal Expectations:

• Merryl's personal battles with societal expectations and imposter syndrome.
• The importance of self-belief and perseverance in her success.
• Strategies and mindsets for overcoming similar challenges.

Inspirational Insights:

• Merryl's perspective on what her achievements mean for diversity and representation in military aviation.
• How her story serves as an inspiration for resilience and determination.

Personal Passions and Influences:

• Discussion on her love for "Star Trek" and "Golden Girls."
• The impact of childhood mentors on her life and career.

Conclusion:

• Reflecting on Merryl Tengesdal's journey as a source of inspiration for the new year.
• Final thoughts and takeaways from the conversation.

Additional Notes:

• Purchase "Shatter the Sky."
• The Motivation Lab
• Information on upcoming events or talks featuring Col. Merryl Tengesdal.

In this episode of the 'AVIATE with Shaesta' podcast, we're joined by Emily Deaton, an influential leader in the aviation industry. Born and raised on Florida's Space Coast, Emily shares stories from her childhood, describing her childhood memories as a 'river rat' kid amidst rocket launches. She delves into her academic journey, highlighting her shift from an aspiring sports agent to a PR expert at the University of Florida.

Emily candidly discusses her diverse career trajectory, starting in the hospitality sector and transitioning to business aviation with Embraer Executive Jets. Her passion for embracing challenges shines through as she recounts her progression from sales to leadership roles, culminating in her current position as CEO of jetAVIAVA.

Throughout the conversation, Emily offers invaluable insights on women's leadership in aviation, balancing family and career, and maintaining enthusiasm in a dynamic industry. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity in leadership, encouraging listeners to bring their whole selves to work.

Join us for this motivating episode as Emily Deaton shares her journey, lessons learned, and the joys of working in the fascinating world of aviation.

About Julia Harrington:

• Lead Captain and Base Manager at Axis Jet in Chicago.
• Known for her pioneering role as a woman in the aviation industry.
• Balances her professional career with motherhood.

Early Interests and Influences:

• Julia shares her initial fascination with Business Aviation.
• Recounts her experiences at the EAA AirVenture, sparking her interest in aviation.
• Discusses family influences and early role models in her life.

Educational Journey:

• Details her educational path at the University of Illinois.
• Talks about earning her wings and the challenges she faced during her training.
• Reflects on the importance of education in her career.

Professional Career:

• Julia’s journey to becoming Lead Captain and Base Manager.
• Insights into her day-to-day responsibilities and experiences at Axis Jet.
• Discusses significant milestones and memorable moments in her career.

Women in Aviation:

• Julia's perspective on the evolving role of women in the aviation sector.
• Challenges faced by women in a traditionally male-dominated field.
• Advice for young women aspiring to enter the aviation industry.

Balancing Career and Motherhood:

• Julia shares her experience of balancing a demanding career with being a mother.
• Discusses the support systems that have helped her manage both roles.
• Offers advice to other women who aspire to grow their families while pursuing their careers.

Future Aspirations:

• Julia’s goals for the future in both her professional and personal life.
• Her vision for the future of women in aviation.

This week on the "AVIATE with Shaetsa" podcast, Jenny Showalter delved into her family's aviation legacy and career trajectory. She reminisced about growing up in Orlando, the origins of Showalter Flying Service, and the family's deep connection to the Orlando Executive Airport. Jenny shared fond childhood memories, discussed the emotional sale of the family business in 2015, and reflected on her subsequent roles, including her leadership in the Florida Aviation Business Association. Despite not becoming a pilot herself, Jenny's passion for aviation shines through her extensive community work and her current venture, Showalter Business Aviation Career Coaching, where she supports aviation professionals in their career development.

This week on the AVIATE with Shaesta podcast, I speak to Ezinne Uzo-Okoro, Assistant Director of Space Policy for the White House. With her incredible career in aerospace, I asked Ezinne specific questions around the AVIATE (Acknowledge, Vocalize, Inclusion, Act, and Evolve) theme.  

From humble beginnings in Nigeria, where she sought solutions to everyday problems, Ezinne Uzo-Okoro has charted an extraordinary path. Her journey, marked by curiosity and resilience, led her from aspirations of being an inventor to the forefront of space exploration and policy-making. With a career that began at NASA in 2004, Ezinne has accumulated extensive expertise in space engineering systems and management. Her academic accomplishments are equally impressive, with three master's degrees and a historic doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from MIT, making her the first and only Black woman to achieve this feat.

In her current role as the assistant director of space policy in the White House's Office of Science and Technology Policy, Uzo-Okoro is instrumental in shaping the nation's space priorities. Her days are filled with tackling challenges ranging from space debris to Earth’s climate monitoring, reflecting a diverse and impactful portfolio.  

Uzo-Okoro's vision extends beyond practical solutions; she envisions a future where space technology plays a critical role in advancing society and the global economy. Her dedication and pioneering spirit have not only led to significant contributions in the field of space exploration but also positioned her as a role model, inspiring others to pursue their dreams relentlessly.

Kodey Bogart, Retired Army Aviator, Educator, Entrepreneur, & Author: turning adversity into her superpower.  

As many of us are familiar, adversity is a universal and inevitable part of life that most of us face through challenges like illness, loss, financial hardship, and the growing pains of life. Adversity is non-discriminatory, affecting all individuals regardless of gender, race, or socioeconomic status. No person is immune from it. While adversity introduces difficulties, it also plays a crucial role in personal growth and grit. Within society, we have witnessed how adversity drives innovation, strengthens community bonds, and enhances empathy.

In the face of adversity, the history of women in aviation is a testament to resilience. Since the early days of flight, women like Élisabeth Thible, who flew in a hot air balloon in 1784, and Aida de Acosta, who in 1903 became the first woman to pilot a motorized aircraft, have been relentlessly reaching for the skies. The early 20th century saw women like Emma Lilian Todd designing successful airplanes and Georgia "Tiny" Broadwick performing parachute jumps, pushing the boundaries of what was considered possible for women at the time. Even with these successes, these pioneering women were often not considered serious aviators or contributors to the field.

Despite their early involvement, women were also often restricted to working privately or in support roles in the aviation industry before 1970. Nonetheless, they were breaking records and competing in air races against men within the first two decades of powered flight. During World War II, while most female pilots were restricted from military flight, many served in auxiliary services and support roles. As time progressed, women continued to make progress, often in the background contributing greatly to our industry, with limited resources and a lack of community in their workplace.  

The modern landscape for women in aviation is certainly improving with several organizations and initiatives dedicated to supporting women in the workforce, however, the data still reflects a significant gender gap. We learned from the FAA Women in Aviation Advisory Board report how women make up less than 20% of the aviation workforce, with even lower representation in pilot and maintenance roles. As of 2022, women account for just 9.57% of all pilots. When we exclude student licenses, the figure drops to 6.34% for non-student female pilots. The five-year trend leading up to 2022 does show growth in the number of female pilots, but the percentage increase is modest, sometimes being referred to a flatline growth.  

Reflecting on the importance of gender equality in our industry and thinking about the conversations I have had with women in the industry, I've come to believe that a significant way to better support women is by actively listening to their stories, specifically on adversity. Hearing how they've transformed challenges, failures, and difficult moments into avenues for growth not only fosters equality but also empowers the next generation, who sometimes feel the pressure to be perfect. These storied provides practical guidance and perspective on resilience and perseverance, illustrating how to rise above obstacles and advance with determination. On a personal note, when I talk about adversity during keynote presentations, I find it to be healing as I share these experiences with others.  

With this, we invited Kodey Bogart, Retired Army Aviator, Educator, Entrepreneur, and Author, to be our podcast guest this week and asked her to share her story.

Kodey Bogart's career journey exemplifies the enduring spirit of women in aviation, demonstrating how resilience can turn adversity into triumph. Raised in Michigan with a love for the outdoors, art, and nature, Kodey faced an unfortunate challenge in her childhood that set her on a path of service rather than setbacks. She enlisted in the military after high school, where she discovered her passion for flight. As an Army Warrant Officer and Aviator, she was recognized with two Air Medals and a Sikorsky Rescue Award for her service during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Post-military, Kodey's aviation career continued as she flew over 2,500 hours of accident-free flight time, serving in air ambulance and aviation law enforcement roles. Her commitment to lifelong learning earned her a Master's in Aviation Safety from the Florida Institute of Technology and a Bachelor's from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, specializing in Helicopter Safety. Currently pursuing her Doctorate in Aviation with an emphasis on Safety and teaching part-time as an Adjunct Professor at FIT, Kodey balances her academic pursuits with motherhood, community engagement and authoring a series of books to educate and inspire the youth.

In 2018, I was invited to be a speaker at a conference in the Midwest. Before I got on the stage to present my keynote, the session before me was talking about a new concept that I remember briefly hearing about as a student at Embry-Riddle, Advance Air Mobility (AAM). The speaker mentioned how AAM is the future of aviation, and that it will revolutionize air travel as we know it.

AAM is known as the development, integration, and utilization of new airborne transportation systems, typically involving electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, drones, and other innovative aerial vehicles. These systems are designed to operate in urban, suburban, and rural environments. Since that conference in 2018, so many developments have transpired in this sector.

Key Features of the AAM sectors include;

• eVTOLs: These are aircraft that can take off and land vertically like a helicopter but transition to forward flight like a plane, predominantly powered by electric propulsion.
• Urban Air Mobility (UAM): A subset of AAM focusing on urban environments. UAM seeks to alleviate ground traffic congestion by taking advantage of the airspace above cities.
• Decentralized Infrastructure: Instead of large central airports, AAM emphasizes smaller vertiports or landing pads scattered throughout urban and suburban areas.
• Autonomous Operations: While initial operations may have human pilots, the goal for many AAM solutions is to eventually operate autonomously, which will require advanced autonomous flight systems and robust air traffic management solutions.

The AAM sector on a global scale was valued at $8.2 billion in 2022. It is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 20% by 2032 with a valuation to reach about $68.1 billion. Furthermore, investments in AAM have reached $4.8 billion in 2021, with new innovative companies launching each year in pursuit of the next successful eVTOL to hit the market. Specifically, there are over 200 companies globally in the race to develop eVTOL aircraft. The primary driver in the AAM sector is the Urban Air Mobility market which is projected to rise from 3.8 billion to 38.5 billion by 2030.

In terms of women in this sector, McKinsey & Company shared on its blog this year how women are advancing in Future Air Mobility (FAM). Here are a few key points the blog shared.

• Sustainable aviation saw the biggest improvement in gender diversity, with the number of women and nonbinary people increasing from 13 percent to 18 percent.
• Other segments, including manned advanced air mobility/eVTOL vehicles and small drones, showed smaller gains.
• Companies that develop supersonic and hypersonic technology regressed, with the number of women and nonbinary people falling from 23 percent to 20 percent, although the small sample size means that the departure of a few senior leaders could sway the numbers in a meaningful way.
• Among regions, North America has the most diverse leadership teams in both gender (20 percent female or nonbinary) and ethnic diversity—defined as the non-majority group in a company’s home country (18 percent).
• Technical roles have seen the biggest increase in diversity for both genders (going from 5 percent to 14 percent female or nonbinary) and people from ethnic minorities (going from 12 percent to 16 percent).
• Despite this progress, women and nonbinary people remain significantly underrepresented in technical roles at FAM companies, as they are in many other industries.

Our special guest who will launch us into season five of the AVIATE with Shaesta podcast is Elan Head, a familiar voice in AAM. Elan is an award-winning journalist specializing in aviation and technology. Head currently serves as the Senior Editor at The Air Current and continues to be a respected journalist in the industry covering several developments and breaking news in AAM. Elan is a Commercial Helicopter Pilot and an FAA Gold Seal flight instructor with helicopter and instrument helicopter ratings. Elan joins us to share her unexpected start in aviation and how she turned her passion for flight and journalism into a career that she truly enjoys.