Former Texas Department of Transportation Aviation Division Director David Fulton and Kari Campbell, TxDOT’s Aviation Division director of Grants Administration and Management, have joined Jviation, a Woolpert Company. These aviation leaders will help airports across Texas by providing the services needed to enhance their operations.
A nationally recognized aviator and leader in the aviation industry, Fulton has devoted his life’s work to improving general aviation airports in Texas and Tennessee. As the first director of the TxDOT Aviation Division and in a similar position at the Tennessee Office of Aeronautics, Fulton has served the aviation industry for over 40 years, helping ensure that the general aviation airport system is safe, economically sound and in good condition for the flying public.
At TxDOT, Fulton led the rebuilding of airports across Texas, providing $1.45 billion in federal and state grants for more than 250 locally owned airports and transforming the Texas General Aviation Airport System from one of the worst in the nation into one of the best. As the new airport system took form, he launched innovative matching grant programs to build air traffic control towers and airport terminal buildings, and to incentivize communities to fund routine airport maintenance.
Campbell’s 20-plus years of executive level experience in aviation at the local and state levels have positioned her well to help Texas communities maximize their airports’ potential to meet air transportation and economic opportunities. As a Moore County judge, Campbell utilized all airport grant programs offered by the TxDOT Aviation Division to develop and maintain the county-owned airport. Her subsequent role as executive director of the Dumas Economic Development Corp. ensured that the Moore County Airport played a vital role in the economic growth of the area.
At TxDOT, Campbell developed strong working relationships across the state, working with local officials, airport managers and the FAA’s Texas Airport Development Office staff to align needs with available funding. As the Aviation Division’s legislative representative, Campbell worked with the National Association of State Aviation Officials and the U.S. Congress to enact new federal laws ensuring that unused, non-primary entitlement funds were converted to state apportionment funding for participants in the State Block Grant Program. This legislation is considered paramount to maintaining funding for general aviation airports in the state.
Campbell said she is looking forward to leveraging her experience to advance the work of Jviation clients.
“I’m excited to be working for a company that encourages me to open new doors, step outside the box and do what I love doing—helping others to find solutions and successfully navigate the system,” she said. “I know I can make a positive difference here and truly benefit the Texas aviation community.”
