Steven Deaton,
U.S. Postal Service

Steven Deaton is a 42-year Alaskan resident, with 26 years experience in postal transportation within Alaska.

Mickey Selhay,
Honeywell

Mickey Selhay has worked for Honeywell for 41 years and in Alaska for 32 years. He currently holds the position of field service engineer and has many years of world wide experience with the TPE 331 engine.

Jennifer Fabrizi,
U.S. Air Carriers

Jennifer Fabrizi is the T-100 senior database administrator for the U.S. Air Carriers. She has performed this job since June 1992 and her primary responsibility is the Alaskan Air Carriers. Prior to her federal position, Fabrizi worked for Continental Airlines performing various duties from gate agent to controller at Stapleton. Fabrizi also worked for World Airways as a crew scheduler/planner and spent time in Kuala Lumpur working the Malaysian Hadj. Fabrizi lives with her husband, Bobby, and their five dogs on a small 60-acre farm in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia where they raise alpacas and train horses.

Richard Rounds,
Harman's Repair Station

Richard Rounds has received numerous welding certificates from several institutions. Rounds has more than 20 years of industrial welding experience, including Journey-level pipe welding (carbon steel, aluminum and stainless steel), fabricating, blue print reading, ship fitting, shipboard fabrication, and extensive oxy-acetylene cutting experience (hand, track and pantogragh torches, including heavy demo cutting with oxylance). He has taught welding at Testing Institute of Alaska. Rounds has worked from the shipyards in San Diego and Ketchikan to the pipeline in Prudhoe Bay.

Don Harman,
Harman's Repair Station

Don Harman has a bachelor's degrees in aviation maintenance technology and in aeronautical science, both from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Fla. He has lived in Alaska since 1973. Harman worked for South Central Airways as a line mechanic for a year before getting hired by Alaska Airlines to work in the Japan Airlines Boeing 747 contract as line mechanic in 1982. He became lead mechanic after two years and moved in maintenance management eight years later. After supervising the Japan Airlines maintenance contract for a few years, Harman transferred to the Alaska Airlines mainline and Boeing 737, MD-80 operation. After supervising the line, shops and hangar, Harman retired from Alaska after 22 years to start Harman's Repair Station to repair aircraft cargo containers and nets. He has been operating his business at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport ever since.

Tom George,
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association

Tom George is the Alaska Representative of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. He works with government and industry groups to promote general aviation on behalf of more than 4,600 AOPA members in Alaska. George serves on the board of directors of the Alaskan Aviation Safety Foundation, and is an organizer of Aviation North Expo, a general aviation conference held annually. He also owns a small business that acquires aerial photography for scientific and industrial applications. Prior to joining AOPA, George worked as an applied researcher and project manager at the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in science, geology and land resources management.

Joseph Sprague,
Alaska Airlines

Joseph Sprague is the staff vice president for public and government affairs for Alaska Airlines. He leads the company's public affairs, government relations and corporate communications team at its Seattle corporate headquarters. Previously, Sprague served as managing director of government affairs for Alaska Airlines and was responsible for establishing the company's Washington, D.C., government affairs office. While in the nation's capital, Sprague was responsible for congressional and government-relations for the company. Before his Washington, D.C., assignment, Sprague was the director of sales for the Alaska region for Alaska Airlines. Based at the company's Anchorage regional headquarters, he was responsible for all passenger sales and marketing efforts for the company in the state. Prior to joining Alaska Airlines, Sprague was the general manager of the Era Aviation Center, an Anchorage-based corporate aircraft service center. He also spent 2 1/2 years as the director of marketing for Era Aviation, the largest regional airline in Alaska. Additionally, Sprague worked as the vice president of marketing and customer service for Harbor Airlines and as the manager of government and industry affairs for the National Air Transportation Association in Washington, D.C. Sprague handled regional airline and air charter issues for this aviation advocacy group. Sprague started his career in aviation as a pilot and flight instructor. He flew for Wings of Alaska in Juneau and in the corporate flight department of Geico Insurance. He also worked as an airline customer service agent and dispatcher during his college summers. Sprague serves on the board of directors for the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce, the Association of Washington Business and the Resource Development Council of Alaska. Sprague is a graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and is currently pursuing his master's degree in business administration at the University of Washington.

Rick Castaldo,
Capstone Project Lead

Rick Castaldo served for 12 years in FAA Surveillance, engineering and management, and was past program manager of the Airport Movement Area Safety System. He was deployed at top 35 airports; a technical officer of the ASDE-3; and program manager RE&D for airport surface traffic automation. Castaldo served 10 years with industry as designer and implementer. He has eight years active duty with the U.S. Navy as a radar and telecom technician. He holds a bachelor's degree with graduate work in transportation system engineering. Castaldo has authored of papers on surveillance and surface traffic automation. A student pilot and airplane owner, he has survived owning an ultralight for five years and survived 1600 sky-dives, though he has now retired from the sport. He's currently assigned to the ADS-B Program office in systems engineering and stakeholder interface.

Jeff Deitz,
FAA Hazardous Materials

Jeff Deitz left the U.S. Army in 1989, and was hired by MarkAir. He worked many positions as a cargo and ramp agent, and spent the last few years of MarkAir's existence as a hazmat and security instructor. Between 1996 and 1997, he worked for an airline support company managing the cargo operations for three Russian air carriers. After MarkAir folded and the Value Jet crash of 1997, the Federal Aviation Administration hired him as the dangerous goods/hazmat inspector.

Mike Tobin,
Alaska Airlines

Mike Tobin is Alaska Airlines' manager for dangerous goods. Alaska Airlines is an IATA Operational Safety Audit registered airline. Born and raised in Alaska, Tobin has spent more than 25 years in the Alaska airline industry, the past three in the ISO 9001:2000 certified safety division of Alaska Airlines. A certified hazardous materials manager, Tobin also represents the company in industry hazmat groups such as the Air Transport Association and at the recent IATA Dangerous Goods board meeting in Beijing.

Steve McNew,
Cessna Aircraft Co.

Steve McNew is responsible for developing and conducting computer-based training programs. McNew began his Cessna career in August 1978 as a production flight test maintenance technician, working there until December 1985. McNew increased his aircraft maintenance experience through employment at a Cessna-authorized service station. His extensive knowledge of Cessna aircraft systems was utilized at FlightSafety International's Cessna Maintenance Learning Center, where he instructed the single- and multi-engine piston aircraft as well as the Conquest I and II, 500 and 650 Series Citation aircraft and composite repair courses. In June 1993, McNew returned to Cessna, where he held single-engine, multi-engine piston-powered, and Citation customer service engineer positions. He was promoted to his current position in 1998. McNew holds a commercial pilot certificate with single- and multi-engine instrument airplane ratings. Further, he is a certified airframe and powerplant mechanic with an inspection authorization rating. McNew holds a CitationJet Type Rating 525S. He was type rated on April 11, 2003.

Jim Haselberger,
Alaska Tent and Tarp

Jim Haselberger is an active outdoorsman. He enjoys hunting, fishing, camping and flying his Cessna 180 and Piper PA-12. Before purchasing Alaska Tent and Tarp, Haselberger worked as director for the Fairbanks Office of the Governor during the Hickel Administration. He was chief executive officer for North Country Credit Union (now Credit Union One), from 1978 through 1989. Haselberger has been the president of the Fairbanks Rotary Club, chairman of the United Way Campaign and Board, on the board of the Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce and president of the board for the Catholic Schools of Fairbanks. He hails from Marshfield, Wis., and came to Alaska in May 1975. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse in 1972, majoring in business administration. He and his wife, Sandy, make their home in Fairbanks and have two children and five grandchildren living in Anchorage.

Jerry Proffitt,
Mid-Continent Instruments

Jerry Proffitt enlisted in the U.S. Air Force at 18 as an autopilot and instrument specialist. His airframe experience includes AC, HC, EC-130s, AT-38B, HH-3, F-8 (test drone), UH-1B, and F-4G. Honorably discharged in 1990 as a guidance and control systems specialist, Proffitt went to work for DynCorp maintaining T-38s. After obtaining his first sales job at PacAero in Burbank, Calif., in 1991, he was promoted to sales manager within three years. In Wichita, Kan., he found employment at a parts brokerage house and attended college. In 1996, Proffitt was offered a position at Mid-Continent Instruments as a customer service representative. He obtained his bachelor's degree in computer information systems in 1998. Although these days his primary focus is on sales and customer service, he's also involved in many areas of Mid-Continent, including management and planning of the overhauled exchange pool, manufactured items for stock, SQL database and reports, and consulting on various aspects of business management. Proffitt is a member of the Wichita Chamber of Commerce and the Wichita Manufacturer's Association.

Robert L. Richmond,
Richmond & Quinn, APC

Robert L. Richmond is founder of Richmond & Quinn, APC, which was established in 1975. Richmond has practiced law since 1970, concentrating predominantly on defense of aviation, admiralty and personal injury cases. He received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University in 1965 and his law degree from the University of Oregon in 1970. Between college and law school, he served in the United States Army as a captain in military intelligence. He has also worked as a commercial fisherman in Kodiak. Richmond is a past president of Defense Counsel of Alaska. He is a member of the American and Alaskan bar associations. He is also a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates and Federation of Insurance & Corporate Counsel.

Aimee Oravec,
Richmond & Quinn, APC

Aimee Oravec began work with Richmond and Quinn in January 2007. Oravec graduated from Southern Utah University in 1994, and received her law degree in 1998 from Washington University in St. Louis, receiving the National Order of the Barristers. She practiced in Missouri for a year, and moved to Fairbanks in 1999. Since then, her practice has included assisting employers to resolve internal human resource issues, to respond to discrimination and wage and hour complaints, and to draft policies and conduct compliance audits. Oravec also has experience in civil litigation defense, representing institutional and corporate clients and their agents. Her reported cases include Wasserman v. Bartholomew, defending a police officer in an excessive force claim; Lowell v. Hayes, representing the City of Fairbanks, its attorney and former mayor in a defamation matter; and Ellison v. Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local 375, representing union stewards in a harassment case.

Robin Lavoie,
Pratt & Whitney Canada

Robin Lavoie has been a Pratt & Whitney Canada employee for 20 years. He started at the P&WC overhaul facility as an inspector on all Pratt & Whitney Canada products for five years. The following five years were spent as an instructor at P&WC Training facility teaching PT6A, PT6T, JT15D and PW100 engine models. He has spent the last 10 years as a senior field service representative in Phoenix, Ariz., for McDonald Douglas and Learjet. Since 2001, Lavoie has been based in Calgary, Alberta, covering western Canada. Alaska was recently added to his territory.

J. Robert Ward,
Wedbush Morgan Securities

Since 1999, Robert Ward has served as a financial advisor to small and medium size businesses for their qualified and non-qualified retirement benefits, including plan design, vendor selection, and continuing employer/employee consultations. Additionally, Ward manages personal portfolios. Once client risk tolerance is established and a personal investment policy statement is in place, assets are allocated between fixed-income securities and equities. Where his management method significantly departs from common methodologies, is his use of a risk-adjusted model portfolio. The model is actively managed using the Dorsey, Wright & Associates Point & Figure Technical Analysis discipline. Prior to joining Wedbush Morgan Securities, Ward was general manager and minority owner of a retail business with $30 million in annual sales and 100 employees. His 20-year career spanned all aspects of retail management, including accounting systems, marketing and human relations. Ward is active in Bellevue Rotary, Automotive Service Association of Washington and serves on the board of directors for the Western Pension & Benefits Conference Seattle Chapter.

Susan Morse,
Alaska Airlines

Susan Morse started with Alaska Airlines in 1999, working as a customer service agent in Anchorage. She joined the management development program in 2000, rotating through supervisory assignments in San Francisco, Anchorage, Reno, Nev., and San Diego before taking her first customer service manager's job in Oakland, Calif. Morse moved to Fairbanks in 2004 in the same position. She's originally from Missouri and lived in Texas before moving to Alaska in 1996. While in Texas, Morse taught school and was a volunteer in with the PTA and Girl Scouts.

Richard Komarniski,
Grey Owl Aviation Consultants

Richard Komarniski, president of Grey Owl Aviation Consultants Inc. in Manitoba, Canada, has been active in the aircraft maintenance field for 32 years. He currently holds valid Canadian and U.S. pilot and aircraft mechanic certificates and has worked as a director of quality assurance, base engineer and airworthiness inspector. Since 1991 he has studied the effects of human factors on aircraft maintenance technicians. Komarniski has spent the last 14 years developing and facilitating maintenance human factors workshops to the aviation community. Grey Owl has been a leading provider of maintenance error reduction strategies, both domestically and internationally, by providing human factors training to aviation maintenance personnel on-site at customer facilities. Komarniski has also been a speaker at various IA Renewal seminars, PAMA, NBAA, RAA, SAE, FAA, NATA and F.S.F.

Kent Jackson,
Jackson,Wade & Blanck LLC

Kent Jackson is an aviation attorney, author and a type-rated ATP with flight experience in Part 91 and 135 operations. He is a partner in the law firm of Jackson, Wade & Blanck LLC in Shawnee, Kan., and practices solely in aviation law. He has represented numerous pilots, flight departments and corporations in FAA enforcement proceedings, IRS excise tax audits and aviation accident litigation. Jackson is admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia, Kansas, Missouri and New York, and advises clients from coast to coast on all aspects of aviation law, including the FAA and IRS considerations of aircraft acquisition, operation and leasing. He frequently speaks on behalf of the National Business Aviation Association, the University Aviation Association, the National Air Transportation Association, Jeppesen and other aviation groups on aviation issues. Jackson participated on the Fractional Ownership Aviation Rulemaking Committee on behalf of Bombardier's FlexJet program. Jackson is past chairman of the National Business Aviation Association's Tax Committee. He is also an adjunct professor at Central Missouri State University, where he teaches classes in aviation law and the Federal Aviation Regulations. Jackson has written for Jeppesen's CFI Renewal Program, the Lawyer-Pilot's Bar Association Journal, Flight Training Magazine, Inside Air Charter, and the Business Aviation Management Journal. He writes a legal column for Business & Commercial Aviation. He has been quoted in Aviation International News, Flying and USA Today.

Jesse VanderZanden,
Fairbanks International Airport

Jesse VanderZanden has been the airport manager for Fairbanks International Airport for nearly four years. He graduated with honors from Oregon State University, double majoring in human resource management and international business and marketing. Prior to his position at the airport, VanderZanden worked for two U.S. senators, Mark Hatfield and Gordon Smith. He specialized in appropriations, transportation and natural resources policy. He also worked as a governmental affairs specialist for Tri-Met, helping to secure funding for the largest public works project in Oregon's history, the $1 billion Westside Light Rail. VanderZanden moved to Alaska in 1998 with his wife, Amy. Prior to appointment as airport manager, he served as the executive director of the Alaska Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fund and Outdoor Council.

Michael Morgan,
Warbelow's Air Ventures

Michael Morgan, director of operations at Warbelow's Air Ventures, is an ATP-rated pilot active in the field of aviation safety. He is currently a member of the Alaska Air Carriers Association Board of Directors. As a former Medallion Foundation board member, director of operations for Glacier Bay Airways in Juneau and executive vice president of Pan Am Weather Systems, Morgan has plethora of aviation experience.

Carolyn Bettes,
Aurora Consulting

Carolyn Bettes of Aurora Consulting in Anchorage is a 35-year veteran of the hospitality industry and an enthusiastic traveler. She has worked and toured from Alaska to Angkor Wat, Minnesota to Machu Picchu and much more. Through her presentations and discussions on customer service, sales and marketing, tourism development and more, she is happy to share her world-wide, hands-on experience and observations.

Earl F Weener,
Flight Safety Foundation

Earl Weener is currently a foundation fellow of the Flight Safety Foundation in Alexandria, Va. This organization, founded in 1947, is an international nonprofit focused on safety for all segments of the aviation industry. Weener and Bob Vandel, executive vice president of FSF, are co-leaders of the FSF Ground Accident Prevention Program. Weener was the initiator and initial leader of the Controlled Flight Into Terrain and Approach and Landing Task Forces. Weener retired from Boeing in 1999 and has held positions at Boeing that include chief engineer - airworthiness, reliability & maintainability, and airplane safety; and chief engineer - systems engineering. He is also the recipient of the 2005 Honeywell-Bendix Trophy for Aviation Safety. His academic background includes a doctorate degree in aerospace engineering from University of Michigan. Weener owns a Beechcraft Bonanza and is an active pilot with a commercial license and instrument and flight instructor ratings.

Angela Elgee,
FAA

Angela Elgee is the branch manager for the System Safety and Analysis Branch in the Alaskan region for the Flight Standards Division in the FAA. She returned to Alaska from a headquarters position in Washington, D.C., where she served in the senior executive service as the manager of the Continuous Airworthiness Maintenance Division. Since joining the FAA in 1990, Elgee's assignments have included principal inspector duties in Seattle and Anchorage, and a staff assignment in the Alaskan Regional Office as well as several management positions. She became the manager of the Baton Rouge Flight Standards District Office in 1995, and the assistant manager of the Flight Standards Division in the Northwest Mountain Region in 1998. Before joining the FAA, Elgee served with the U.S. Air Force, completing assignments as an aircraft mechanic and aircraft maintenance officer. She retired from the Air Force as a Major. In addition, Elgee has a master's degree in systems management from the University of Southern California. Elgee and her husband live in Wasilla, where they maintain and fly their Cessna 206 on floats.

Kent Adams,
The Medallion Foundation

Kent Adams learned to fly in Fairbanks in the 1960s while attending the University of Alaska. He graduated and joined the U.S. Air Force as a pilot. Following pilot training he returned to Elmendorf Air Force Base and flew jet trainers. After leaving the Air Force, he flew C-130s for the Alaska Air National Guard for three years. He spent many years of his career working for the Federal Aviation Administration as an aviation safety inspector, supervisor and manager. After he retired in 2002, he joined the Medallion Foundation as a part-time employee. Adams has been working on the ASAP program since its inception at the Medallion Foundation.

Sarah MacLeod,
Potomac Law

Sarah MacLeod is responsible for the management of the law firm Potomac Law and the legal representation of foreign and domestic air carriers, aircraft maintenance and alteration facilities, distributors, pilots and other individuals and companies in federal court and before federal administrative bodies. MacLeod was instrumental in the formation of the Aeronautical Repair Station Association, where she serves as executive director. MacLeod is assistant chair for Air Carrier and General Aviation Maintenance of the FAA's Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee, a post she has held since 1996. A sought-after speaker, MacLeod has appeared at the Airline Suppliers Association Conference, Air Transport Association Engineering & Maintenance Forum, Coordinating Agency for Supplier Evaluation Air Carrier Section, Gorham Gas Turbine Engine Overhaul & Repair Conference, International Maintenance Symposium and Quality Control in Civil Aviation Conference. Her professional affiliations include the Virginia Bar Association, the National Transportation Safety Board Bar Association and the Association for Transportation Law, Logistics and Policy. MacLeod obtained her law degree from the Catholic University of America in 1991. She holds a bachelor's degree in human services from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash., where she was a district court investigator for Clark County Public Defenders.