Steve Nielsen
President
Director of Aviation, Avalon Capital
Mr. Nielsen recently retired as Director of Aviation for Avalon Capital where he operates a Global Express and a Eurocopter 145. Mr. Nielsen has over 45 years in corporate aviation experience. He retired from Yum Brands after 21 years as their Senior Director. He is a former member of the National Business Aviation Association board of directors and NetJets advisory board. Mr. Nielsen served in the United States Marine Corps from 1966 - 1970.
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Charlie Ferraro
Treasurer
PrimeFlight
Charlie has more than 20 years of management experience with most of his career spent overseeing aviation operations. Most recently, he held the roles of Area Director for Signature Flight Support and Regional Vice President for Landmark Aviation. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Business at Southwestern University and holds a commercial pilots certificate.
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Austin Blue
Secretary
President, Spectrum Aeronautical
Austin Blue has over 25 years’ experience in aviation technology development. He is currently CEO of Freedom Flight Works, Inc working with utility powered parafoil air vehicle and related technologies. As President of Spectrum Aeronautical, LLC Blue has advanced application of carbon-fiber, advanced-composite aerostructures in the design, fabrication, and flight tests of the Spectrum 33 business jet. Blue has also served as Co-Founder and CEO of SciFly, working on UAS sensor and datalink testing, flight operations, and program management. Blue serves as a board member of Applied Composites Inc, a manufacturer of advanced aerospace structures for commercial, military and space customers with five locations with over 500,000 square feet of facilities and 700+ employees.. Blue has served on the board of the Southern California Aviation Association for more than ten years, holds MA (History) and Global MBA degrees, and is an instrument rated pilot. In 2018, Blue was named an Aviation Explorer of the Year by the Boy Scouts of America.
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Joe Barber
Director-at-Large
Director of Aircraft Management Sales, Clay Lacy
Mr. Barber works with individuals and corporations to tailor an aircraft management program for their jet and their objectives, providing the personal, professional client service. Joe has more than seven years of industry experience, including flight logistics coordination as well as charter sales. He has also helped develop marketing and sales programs for aircraft management companies. Joe has a B.A. in Communication Studies from California State University, Northridge, where he minored in Business Marketing.
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Julie Broderick
Director-at-Large
Area Director, Atlantic Aviation
Julie Broderick is a seasoned business and general aviation
industry veteran with over 30 years of progressive FBO management experience
from the two largest and leading companies.
Ms. Broderick is currently the Area Director of Atlantic
Aviation’s Southern California locations at BUR, CRQ, LAX, LGB, PSP, SBA, SMO
and TRM.
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Kristin Gilliam
Director-at-Large
Senior Account Manager, Universal Weather and Aviation
Kristin currently holds the role of Senior Account Manager, West Coast with Universal Weather and Aviation. Her career in aviation started almost 10 years ago and was never on her career path, but the aviation bug was caught. After obtaining her BA in Psychology from California State University Long Beach, Kristin realized that aviation was in fact the career she would like to pursue. Starting as a CSR at an FBO in Long Beach, to building a FBO from the ground up, to managing a charter sales team and now managing platinum and gold clients, Kristin has various perspectives within aviation. She is currently also the Treasurer for the nonprofit Wings of Love, a nonprofit providing financial assistance to children who have lost a parent in an aviation related accident.
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