{"id":36989,"date":"2026-11-02T16:09:27","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T16:09:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=36989"},"modified":"2026-11-02T16:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-11-02T16:10:13","slug":"iawa-names-vanessa-blacknall-jamison-its-2026-woman-of-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/international-news\/iawa-names-vanessa-blacknall-jamison-its-2026-woman-of-excellence\/%20","title":{"rendered":"IAWA Names Vanessa Blacknall-Jamison Its 2026 Woman of Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The International Aerospace Womens Association<\/a> (IAWA) has named Vanessa Blacknall-Jamison the recipient of its 2026 Woman of Excellence Award, recognizing her leadership, mentorship and contributions to advancing women in aviation and aerospace.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Vanessa Blacknall-Jamison<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Blacknall-Jamison will receive the award during the Gala Dinner on November 4 at IAWA\u2019s Annual Conference in Philadelphia. Presented annually, the award honors an extraordinary woman whose thoughts, words and deeds embody IAWA\u2019s values, \u201cConnect, Inspire and Lead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With more than 48 years of aviation and aerospace experience, including over 30 years in executive and senior leadership, Blacknall-Jamison has built a career spanning airline operations, aviation safety, executive coaching, organizational leadership, workforce development, education and nonprofit governance. Across those roles, she has consistently invested in people sharing her expertise, opening doors and helping others prepare to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most recently, Blacknall-Jamison served as executive director of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), concluding her tenure in August 2026 after leading the organization through its historic 50th anniversary. Her nearly four decades of service to OBAP include making history as its first female and first non-pilot board chair. She was inducted into the OBAP Hall of Fame in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previously, she held leadership roles with the Federal Aviation Administration and United Airlines, where she concluded her airline career as senior manager of emergency procedures training. Through VBJ Solutions, Inc., she continues to serve as an executive coach, consultant, mentor and trusted advisor, helping executives, teams and emerging professionals navigate leadership challenges and organizational change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her commitment to developing the next generation is central to her legacy. Through mentoring, coaching, education, youth programs, scholarships, workforce development and individual advocacy, Blacknall-Jamison has helped create pathways for future aviation and aerospace professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVanessa sees promise in people sometimes before they see it in themselves, and she stays beside them as they discover what they can do,\u201d said IAWA President Marita Lintener. \u201cShe pairs candor with kindness, offers encouragement with practical guidance, and takes joy in someone else\u2019s breakthrough. That generosity makes her an exceptional choice for this honor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Woman of Excellence Award recognizes women who connect leaders, peers and younger associates; inspire others through mentoring, sponsorship and education; and lead as respected role models in their professional and volunteer lives. Blacknall-Jamison\u2019s sustained commitment to expanding opportunity and helping others succeed reflects each of those ideals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, Blacknall-Jamison also holds certifications in change management. She earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in public relations from the University of Southern California and an MBA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

IAWA\u2019s Annual Conference takes place November 3\u20135, 2026, in Philadelphia, bringing together aviation and aerospace professionals for leadership development, industry dialogue and connection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The International Aerospace Womens Association (IAWA) has named Vanessa Blacknall-Jamison the recipient of its 2026 Woman of Excellence Award, recognizing her leadership, mentorship and contributions to advancing women in aviation and aerospace. Blacknall-Jamison will receive the award during the Gala Dinner on November 4 at IAWA\u2019s Annual Conference in Philadelphia. Presented annually, the award honors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[114],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-international-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36989","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36989"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36989\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36992,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36989\/revisions\/36992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36989"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36989"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36989"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}