The 34th Annual Women in Aviation International Conference will be held February 23-25 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA.
Come experience our trademark positive energy found at our annual conference. You will network with aviation industry professionals and continue your career development at education sessions, professional development seminars, and industry briefings.
Mark your calendar as you won't want to miss the inspiring keynote speakers, professional development seminars, education sessions, exhibit hall, scholarship awards, and 2023 Pioneer Hall of Fame inductions.
There's no better place to be inspired, share your enthusiasm, and connect with others who share your passion for the aviation industry. We look forward to gathering to connect, engage, and inspire with our valued members.
From your President, Jacquelyne Nichols…
The WAI Conference is the best event of the year. The positive energy radiates from the building. In a male dominated industry, it’s easy to feel overlooked and overwhelmed as women. This conference will fill your head with knowledge, fill your phone with contacts, and fill your heart with joy and inspiration from all of the incredible women you will meet and network with. It’s hard to put into words how incredible this conference is…so you’ll just have to go and experience it for yourself.
Last year, not only did I meet many of my real life hero’s either casually walking the halls or at the celebration events, but I also interviewed for and got hired by American Airlines. It is a wonderful opportunity to job search or to find out what jobs exist in the aviation industry that might be right for you.
This year I will be a presenter and give back to this amazing community that has given me so much. For my gradate degree capstone project, I focused on the policy changes that need to occur surrounding family planning in the military, specifically as it pertains to the high rates of infertility experienced by servicemembers, and especially those who work in the medical and aviation fields. I will also address the lack of assisted reproductive technology options and offer suggestions for the way forward. To learn more about my presentation, click here.
Whether you are military or civilian, this brief will have some useful information for you or for you to pass on to others. I would love to see some of your faces in the audience as I give this presentation.
Below are pictures from last years conference and all of the wonderful people I met and reconnected with:
Wally Funk - she is a legend! keynote speaker, pilot, astronaut, and so much more. Wally was one of the original Mercury 13 - women who passed the full battery of tests for astronaut training in the 1960s
Tammie Jo Shults - native New Mexican and one of the first female F-18 pilots in the Navy, she was the Capt of SWA1380 who’s engine came apart in flight, she is the author or Nerves of Steel
Sara Deal Burrows - first female pilot in the Marine Corps, we both served in the same squadron in the Marine Corps, she was inducted into the WAI Pioneer Hall of Fame in 2022
Captain Sandy Anderson - the first woman to Captain the Boeing 744 aircraft for Nortwest Airlines
Carol Hopson - Author of the historical fiction novel about the life of Bessie Coleman, titled “A Pair of Wings,” she is also a First Officer for United Airlines
Niloofar Rhamani - keynote speaker at the 2022 conference, Niloofar was the first fixed wing pilot in the Afghan National Army, due to threats against her life and the lives of her family, she had to seek asylum in the United States, she wrote a book titled, “Open Skies”
Samantha Anderson - current Miss United States, private pilot, and advocate for women in aviation
Erin Miller - fought for and got passed bill H.R.4336 giving permanent burial rights for Women Airforce Service Pilots, such as her grandmother Elaine Danforth Harmon, the book she authored is titled, “Final Flight, Final Fight”
Michelle “Mace” Curran - combat veteran F-16 pilot and former Thunderbirds lead solo pilot
Kelsey Casey - combat veteran Harrier pilot, and now Fedex pilot
Cathy Helms - Marine veteran and currently works in the Safety Department for American Airlines
Maria Vianco - LOE chapter member and Membership Outreach Coordinator, Maria recevied two scholarships from AWAM
