WAI On Air Podcast

Meet Capt. Wendy Morse, a United captain and the first woman to serve as an ALPA national officer bringing more than 35 years of union experience to her role. She exemplifies a “see it, be it” leadership role model for girls and young women entering aviation — particularly the piloting profession.   As national safety coordinator, Wendy oversees the Association’s Air Safety Organization (ASO), the...

Meet Jacqui Key, vice president of domestic line stations at United Airlines, where she oversees U.S. line station operations across the country. With 20+ years in the industry, Jacqui brings a wealth of experience and perspective to this conversation. Previously, Jacqui held leadership positions as the managing director of domestic line stations, managing director of premium solutions and recover...

Meet Jessica Cox, the world's first licensed armless pilot. Adaptability has defined Jessica Cox's life. Refusing to see herself as different, she mastered everyday tasks with her feet and continually defied expectations. Her lifetime of adapting led her to become a fourth-degree black belt in Taekwondo and the world's first licensed armless pilot. Jessica's journey, from dreaming...

Pete Muntean is a CNN correspondent based in Washington, D.C. A pilot and flight instructor, he covers aviation and transportation as well as general assignment stories for the network. Pete came to CNN in 2020 after a decade in local news. He was the transportation reporter for WUSA9 in Washington, D.C. where he detailed chronic safety problems on the Metro public transit system and led the stati...

Meet Amy Tomlinson—the Blue Angels' first female weapons system officer— who leads drone delivery at Amazon Prime Air. Amy has over 25 years of leadership and management experience including a strong background in instructing, mentoring, and program/project management. Her skills include combat operations, flight training, team building, planning, risk management, data analysis, public speakin...

Meet Caroline "Blaze" Jensen, a 1998 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, a retired fighter pilot, and veteran. She is a highly experienced leader, command pilot, instructor pilot and evaluator. During her time in the Air Force, she accumulated over 3,500 hours in Schwitzer 2-33 gliders, Cessna 172, T-37B Tweet, T-38 Talon, and the F-16 Fighting Falcon. She was the first femalereserve...

Meet Dr. Peggy Chabrian Dr. Peggy Chabrian is the founder of Women in Aviation International and retired as WAI president/CEO in September 2019. She grew the organization from its first conference attended by 150 people in 1990 to an organization representing thousands of women in all aspects of aviation today. A long-time aviation enthusiast and professional aviation educator, Peggy is a 2,800-ho...

Meet Diana Birkett Rakow of Hawaiian Airlines As chief executive officer of Hawaiian Airlines, Diana Birkett Rakow is responsible for the performance and advancement of the Hawaiian Airlines brand and Alaska Air Group’s business in Hawai‘i — including Honolulu, the combined company’s second largest international hub after Seattle.   She also leads Air Group’s sustainability and venture investment...

Meet Jennifer Draughon , she leads a dynamic team of aerial firefighting experts as president of Neptune Aviation. She began her aviation career at Boeing, where she worked at the flight-testing field in quality assurance. With more than 25 years of industry experience, Jennifer is recognized as a leader in aerial wildland firefighting. Under her leadership, Neptune is innovating in the rapidly ev...

Meet Lynda Coffman , CEO of Women in Aviation International (WAI).  She leads the business development and strategic direction of the 20,000-member strong nonprofit organization while partnering with the board of directors and overseeing staff and daily operations.    Prior to joining WAI in January 2024, Lynda served as vice president of United Airlines and president of United Ground Express, a w...

A 2019 National Women's Hall of Fame inductee and former Presidential appointee, Col. Nicole Malachowski (USAF, Retired) has over 21 years of experience as an officer, leader, and fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force. Upon her commission into the military, she was competitively selected to fly combat aircraft and embarked on an adventure among the first group of women to fly modern fighter jets. Ni...

Stephanie Chung is not just the #1 international best-selling author of ALLY Leadership, How to Lead People Who Are Not Like You : she's also a force of strategic innovation, a beacon of change, and a titan in the world of business growth and human capital management. With over 30 years of experience, Stephanie has cultivated a reputation for turning challenges into opportunities and transform...

Meet Joan Sullivan Garrett , founder of MedAire and a pioneer in aviation telemedicine. Working as a critical-care flight nurse in the early 1980s, Joan was regularly called into high-stakes emergency evacuations in remote regions. A life-altering mission to rescue victims of a traffic accident in rural Arizona inspired her to reimagine how medical care could be delivered in inaccessible environme...

Meet Stephanie Goetz , a businesswoman, leadership coach, philanthropist, professional pilot, TEDx speaker, and professional singer. Stephanie Goetz is a modern-day Renaissance woman. She is an award-winning former news and sports anchor at NBC, CBS, and ABC, a businesswoman, executive communication, leadership coach, philanthropist, professional pilot, TEDx speaker, and professional singer. As a...

As we wrap-up 2025 , WAI Director, Communications Kelly Murphy , and Communications Coordinator Suprina Kaur , take our listeners on a reflective tour of the 13 episodes of the Season 1 WAI On Air podcast. A special thanks to this year’s strategic partners, Amazon and United, for their generous support during the WAI On Air Podcasts. 😍🎙️ 🎧 Available on Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music, and Amazon M...

Meet the mother-daughter duo Katie and Willa Clark , BETA Technologies . Learn more about the various backgrounds and talents the Clark family brought together to build Vermont-based BETA Technologies—an aerospace company manufacturing electric flight. You’ll meet the mother-daughter duo Katie and Willa Clark, featured on the cover of Aviation for Women Q2 2025 issue, and hear how the power of fam...

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...

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...

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, pi...

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, pi...

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 w...

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 Operat...

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...

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...

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 y...