The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) has unveiled the 2021 Business Aviation Top 40 Under 40, which recognizes rising leaders who are driving innovation within the industry. Among those selected this year is Christina Wilson, Aviation Development Program Manager with the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development.
“We are very proud of Tina and what she has accomplished here at DOTD in a relatively short period of time,” said Brad Brandt, Director of Aviation in the Office of Multimodal Commerce with the Louisiana Department of Transportation & Development. “Tina is a consummate leader. Her vision and performance bring the DOTD aviation office and airport construction program together to sustain the integrity of aviation safety and economic feasibility for the state of Louisiana.”
Wilson said she was honored to be included amongst this year’s group of talented and influential professionals. “Throughout my career in aviation, I have been blessed with incredible mentors and the opportunity to collaborate with bright colleagues who are passionate about supporting and growing safe flight,” said Wilson. “At Louisiana DOTD, our Aviation Division is dedicated and proud to serve our airport system, working each day to improve the safety and effectiveness of aircraft operations throughout the state. I am proud of the positive relationships built in our state and the hard work put in by the entire team every day.”
This year’s fourth annual Top 40 Under 40 list was selected by NBAA’s Young Professionals (YoPro) Council, a group of business aviation professionals and NBAA staff liaisons working to build relationships between the industry’s emerging leaders.
“We are honored to recognize this group of innovators who are helping shape the industry’s future,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen.
This year’s Top 40 Under 40 recipients are:
Airport Business:
- Katherine Bates, Napa County Airport
- Justin Lobb, Naples Airport Authority
- Grant W. Sussey, Watertown International Airport
- Christina Wilson, LADOTD – Aviation Division
Broker/Sales:
- Alexis Bennett, Textron Aviation
- Danielle Booth, AVEX, Inc.
- Jared Hasty, OGARAJETS
- Shelby Hooker, Cutter Aviation
- Dan Jenkins, World Fuel Services
- Jason Newbold, Bold Jets
Business Management:
- Kyle Black, GFK Flight Support
- Amanda Ferraro, Aviation Safety Solutions, LLC
- Kevin J. Kovarik, USAIG
- Elliott Taub, Advanced Drainage Systems, Inc.
Cabin Attendant
- Jasmine Alvarado, Clay Lacy Aviation
- Griffin Bruehl, Sajet Solutions
- Natasha Gardner, Visa
- Kerri Russi, Adobe
Innovation
- Stephanie Chahan, Exosonic
- Andy Nixon, MRO Insider
- Trevor Steffensen, Gogo Business Aviation
- Jacob Velky, Duke Energy
Maintenance
- Nate Dietsch, Netflix
- Caleb Gibson, Textron Aviation
- Matt Mansur, The Williams Companies, Inc.
- Brett Meicher, Encompass Health Corp.
- Tim Wade, Constant Aviation
Marketing
- Claudia Arnold, AEG Fuels
- Ashley Bouzianis, Standard Aviation, LLC
- David Buritica, Sheltair
- Rekha Lyons, Hillsboro Aviation
Pilot
- Brett Abbott, Boston Scientific
- Ryan Gibbons, CNL Aviation
- Julia Harrington, Avis Jets
- Leah Murphy, First City Helicopter
- Anthony Oshinuga, AirOshi
- Austin Stephens, Textron Aviation
- Kellie Young, The Coca-Cola Company
Scheduler/Dispatcher
- Megan Knox, Liberty Global
- Lee Rafalko, Corteva Agriscience
