A Series by Penny Rafferty Hamilton, Ph.D.
How did you first get inspired to work in the aviation industry?
Growing up in the age of NASA and the astronauts, Stephanie thought one day she would be in orbit. “In high school, I aspired to be an astronaut. I was told I’d have a greater chance of pursing that goal if I already had my private pilot license. So, as soon as I could drive myself to the airport, I began my flight lessons. In 1986, I achieved my private pilot license, prior to my graduating high school. It took me two summers, learning to fly out of a small privately-owned, grass runway, Arnold Field. My CFI was a former WWII pilot. My dad watched me solo in the fall of 1985. He thought I was doing it wrong. So, he began lessons, too. We actually got our licenses within 30 days of each other. I got mine first! To support his training, my dad purchased a Cherokee 140 which he owns and flies to this day.”
In 1987, America’s #1 Billboard song was “Walk like an Egyptian,” ABC TV Full House was popular, and President Ronald Reagan gave his now famous Berlin Wall speech, “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.” Stephanie was a Michigan State University electrical engineering student, and in Air Force ROTC. “Unfortunately, that path didn’t work out due to an issue with my vision and calculus grades, so I left the ROTC program. I pursued Urban Planning. I assumed that my passion for aviation would be hobby flying. I figured I would become a city planner or maybe a private consultant, who developed community master plans.
“Three months before I graduated with a BS in Urban Planning, a local aviation engineering firm, which worked almost exclusively in Michigan, needed a planner for their aviation projects. I applied and 31 years later, I am still an aviation planner, working coast-to-coast on some pretty cool projects. Planning everything from turf runways to statewide aviation systems. Conducting national research. In 1999, Mead & Hunt acquired my first firm. I’ve now been with Mead & Hunt for over 23 years. I love what I do and strive to educate others about the wide variety of aviation/airport careers.” Stephanie is a Vice-President and Department Manager of Aviation.
Mead & Hunt, Inc.is a national, full-service architectural and engineering firm. The growth of the company has mirrored the changing markets of the country—as infrastructure needs expanded, so did the company services. In the 1950s with the advent of our commercial airline age, America’s airports needed expansion and increased capacity. Mead & Hunt’s prior experience designing military bases naturally led into our commercial aviation industry.
Their Aviation portfolio is impressive. A few projects are: Centennial Airport Aviation Community and Administrative Facility, Yampa Valley Regional Airport Terminal, La Crosse Regional Airport Terminal Improvements, Denver International Airport B-West Concourse Expansion, Jet Aviation Scottsdale, and Central Nebraska Airport Terminal Design. Today, Mead & Hunt celebrates 120 years in business with over 900 professionals nationwide with 40 offices across America. Learn more at www.MeadHunt.com
What’s your first memory of aviation?
“Where I grew up in the ‘thumb’ of Michigan, we lived within sight of one of the primary flight paths for the U.S. Air Force and Michigan National Guard flights between Selfridge Air Force Base, their training range at Camp Grayling in northern Michigan, Oscoda Wurtsmith AFB, Kinross AFB, and K.I. Sawyer AFB. We were more than 60 nautical miles away from Selfridge, so the planes were always just high enough to be detailed but not close enough to be noisy. For as long as I can remember, we would see planes of all shapes and sizes flying overhead. I think that is where my interest arose,” Stephanie replied.
Who has inspired you the most (any mentors you want to mention?)
“I really didn’t have too many, if any female mentors, since there were very few in the airport planning industry when I started. My dad is probably my biggest inspiration because he always told me that girls could do anything boys could do when I was growing up. I think that stuck with me early in my career when I’d be one of the only females at aviation conferences or the only woman in an airport meeting. It was intimidating early on and being a private pilot was often the only ‘in’ that I had that would get me any credibility when presenting to an airport board that was entirely men, many old enough to be my grandfather. One board member even told me he had socks that were older than I was so what could I possibly know about planning his airport. My response was ‘Well, I’m a pilot so I at least know how to use the airport’– that got a laugh and kept me at the table. In that instance, that airport has been a client for over 30 years where I’ve had the pleasure of planning and watching a runway extension of 1,000 feet take place, along with the acquisition of over 150 homes and more than 300 avigation easements,” Ward responded.
Advice for other women inside our industry or thinking about aviation and aerospace?
“The world is your oyster! There has never been a better time to get into aviation with a huge demand for about every career out there! There are so many awesome careers in aviation offering a very rewarding and fulfilling career. The research we did on ACRP Report 202 – Developing Innovative Strategies for Aviation Education and Participation really highlighted the narrow view the general public has on the types of aviation careers. They think there are pilots and flight attendants. They have no idea of the need for airport managers, operations staff, or airport firefighters, or avionics technicians. Many people, adults and kids alike, have no idea that jobs, like mine, even exist, let alone that there is a demand for them. I’d suggest that women who are already in our industry need to work diligently to help educate the next generation of aviation professionals about the diverse range of careers that exist and engage them early to attract them into our industry,” Ward said.
Additional Background:
Stephanie Ward is a life-long learner. After earning her B.S. in Urban Planning, she continued her studies to earn a M.S. in Parks and Recreation Resources, with emphasis in Tourism Planning. She is an active member of the American Planning Association and holds American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP) status, which is the planning equivalent of a Professional Engineer PE. Very few women hold this nationwide certification, even today. Ward serves on the NASAO Center for Aviation Research and Education Board. The depth of her commitment to our aviation industry and building for the future includes the following: Western Michigan University College of Aviation Professor (teaching airport planning on an annual basis), member #21 of Women in Aviation International, member WAI Great Lakes Chapter (participating in Girls Day in Aviation and Women’s Aviation Career Symposium).
But wait, Stephanie does even more! She leads the Michigan Association of Airport Executives (MAAE) Michigan Aviation Professionals Training Course, aka Airports 101, held annually to educate new airport managers, and airport board members about key management and operational issues for airports. She is heavily involved in both the Transportation Research Board (TRB), serving on TRB Subcommittee on Aviation Systems Planning (AV020). On the Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP), she serves as the principal investigator on 12 projects, as a subject matter expert on seven projects, and a project panel member on three projects. Stephanie Ward makes every minute count.
