An ANN Special Report -- By Aleta Vinas
I'd like to focus on an
organization that encompasses women from all aspects of aviation.
Women in Aviation, International is open to pilots, air traffic
controllers, avionics and maintenance techs, engineers and those
who are not yet in aviation but sure want to be! WAI is so all
encompassing, even men are allowed to join, and you can't get much
more politically correct than that! With over seven thousand active
members, WAI didn't start out as an organization.
WAI founder Dr. Peggy Chabrian started down the aviation pathway
in 1978 with her private license. She has since accumulated
over 3,000 hours and numerous ratings. Originally planning to
become a schoolteacher, Chabrian combined her love of aviation with
her desire to teach. She obtained her BS degree from Middle
Tennessee State in June 1980. At the urging of a department
chairperson, Chabrian returned to her books and obtained her
master's degree in aerospace education. The end of her school
years was still not in sight. After seeking advice from
professors, Chabrian decided to teach aviation at a university
level, a position that requires a doctorate so she was yet again
hitting the books and obtained her Ph D. in Educational
Administration and Supervision at the University of Tennessee at
Knoxville. The doctorate from UT at Knoxville would fill the
PhD requirements but how could Chabrian tie it into aviation?
In a stroke of genius
and business acumen, her doctoral dissertation was a study on
faculty qualifications at universities with aviation programs. The
questionnaire Chabrian sent required information on the academic
qualifications, flight qualifications, salaries, tenure and
promotion requirements. Most importantly it included the questions,
"are you currently hiring and what are the qualifications for this
position"? Can you say job search? Chabrian sent resumes to
the openings, winding up with two offers fresh out of school.
She chose Georgia State University over a position in Ohio due to
the proximity of GSU to the Chattanooga area she had been living
in.
A year later, Chabrian moved into a position at Embry-Riddle
Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. As a side note for those
flight instructors out there who have attended the ERAU Flight
Instructor Refresher Clinic, we have Dr. Chabrian to thank for its
inception. After two years at ERAU Daytona, Chabrian headed to ERAU
west, the Prescott Arizona campus. It was around this time
that Chabrian noticed something any male in the aviation field can
tell you "there's just not enough women" albeit Chabrian's
viewpoint was from an entirely different perspective.
Chabrian mused "Wouldn't it be nice for the students if we could
have a one day conference and bring in some women from the industry
so the students could see that, yes, this is a good field to go
into and women are out there and they're doing it."
The idea began percolating in Chabrian's mind but there was an
incident that raised the temperature to the boiling point. During a
flight back to Phoenix in 1989, Chabrian sat next to one of those
chatty-type passengers. During the conversation the gentlemen spoke
of his vocation and then offered Chabrian her turn. Chabrian began
to explain how she taught in Prescott at an all aviation-oriented
university. The gentlemen stopped her, "Say no more, you teach
flight attendants, right?" This was 1989. Remember?. Dr. Chabrian
who was a Dean at ERAU at the time, politely enlightened the
gentleman that while flight attendant is a great profession, women
did work in areas other than the center aisle of a jetliner.
That first WAI conference was a day and a half affair, which
took place in March 1990 at ERAU Prescott. The small gathering of
150 people, which included folks from the campus and the local
area, were treated to the likes of Jeanna Yeager, Dr. Shannon
Lucid, Bobbi Trout as well as others. In the early years there were
no scholarships and no official organization behind the conference
to join. Attendance continued to increase and during the summer of
1994 the planning committee for the March 1995 conference raised
the question, "since coming to the conference for 3, 4, 5 years, we
come to this conference once a year and get all excited then have
to wait till next year! How do I join the organization?"
Organization, what organization? There was no organization and
Chabrian's initial reaction was "there are already hundreds out
there, I probably belong to half of them. We don't need another
one." After this initial thought, Chabrian did see the
need.
Most of the women's aviation organizations out there were
niche-oriented and geared toward a specific group - pilots,
mechanics, engineers etc. (in future articles I hope to cover some
of them). The incorporation paperwork was filed in December 1994
and Women in Aviation International, Inc. was announced at the
March 1995 conference as a non-profit organization (tax deductible
contributions accepted). WAI was dedicated to the encouragement and
advancement of women in all aviation careers and interests. The
1995 conference was also the year the first scholarships were
offered. Two five hundred dollar scholarships were presented.
Since then membership has grown, and as for the scholarships, how
does over half a million grab you? While about forty to fifty
percent of the scholarships are for pilot applicants, that still
leaves much on the plate for dispatchers, engineers, maintenance
and management as well as general scholarships to be applied
anywhere in an aviation related field. There are scholarships for
newbies to aviation as well as the "oldies". The scholarships
winners are announced at the three-day conference.
This year the conference celebrates its 15th anniversary in
Reno, Nevada, March 11-13. The conference is the place to be for
networking, prospecting, job hunting, interviewing and advice. Over
150 exhibitors including over 40 universities with aviation
programs are represented. The conference has been called one of the
most "spirited and enthusiastic aviation conferences." "The
atmosphere is very nurturing and mentoring." The speaker's list
reads like a who's who in aviation, women and men. FAA
Administrator, Marion Blakey; air show pilot and retired Northwest
Airlines Captain, Julie Clark; Secretary of the Air Force, the
Honorable James G. Roche. In addition to the booths and guests,
there will be a cornucopia of lectures, safety seminars with topics
across the entire spectrum of aviation. The pilot-mechanic
connection, Nanotechnology: changing the aircraft composite, WASP
then and now. No matter what area of aviation you lean toward,
there are at least a few seminars with your name on it. There is
also a day before conference special, a teacher's workshop (scout
leaders, CAP etc are also welcome), which shows educators from the
local area how to use aviation as a motivator in the classroom.
While the conference
may lean a little more towards networking for those already in
aviation, WAI does much to foster aviation ideas in young people.
Each chapter, currently there are 45 in the US alone, holds at
least one activity per year working with the youth in their local
area. Even more personalized is the mentoring program for
members. Those who are in the industry can offer to be a
mentor to young members nearby, or even over the phone, who have
questions about the area of aviation that the mentor is working
in.
Women in Aviation International runs the gamut for anyone
interested in the field of aviation. The mentoring program alone is
worth the price of membership. There are several different levels
of membership from individual to corporate. The scholarships,
networking and conferences are like a bonus. I haven't even
mentioned the magazine with interviews, ideas, product and book
reviews. Anyone, and not just women, with an eye towards aviation
should check it out.