Multiple Functions Being Moved From Frederick To Washington, D.C.

ANN has learned that AOPA will be making several changes in its Government Affairs Division at its offices in Frederick, MD.

A long-time AOPA insider who requested anonymity tells ANN that to better coordinate between state and federal advocacy efforts, the Airports and State Advocacy department will be reorganized and relocated to AOPA’s D.C. office. As part of this reorganization, the position of Vice President of Airports and State Advocacy is being eliminated and Greg Pecoraro will be leaving AOPA. Greg joined AOPA in 2006 and has achieved many state legislative victories on behalf of AOPA’s members during his tenure. He has also been instrumental in growing and strengthening the Airport Support Network.

Additional members of the airports and state advocacy team have also been asked to relocate their workplaces to the D.C. office.

The Director of the Airport Support Network position will also move to the D.C. office and report directly to Jim Coon. Joey Colleran, who holds that position, currently works remotely from her home in Texas and has been offered the opportunity to relocate to D.C.

Vice President of Government Affairs Melissa Rudinger represents AOPA on critical issues including NextGen, ADS-B, and airspace. She serves on numerous industry and governmental work groups and committees located primarily in Washington, D.C. To increase access to these groups and bring her technical knowledge to her colleagues at AOPA, her office will also be relocated from Frederick to Washington, D.C. The senior analyst position that reports to Melissa will also move to the D.C. office.

As AOPA expands its community development strategies, including the launch of new outreach efforts under the banner of “You Can Fly,” the roles of several regional managers will also be changing. Three new full-time “ambassadors” based in California, Florida, and Maryland will take over outreach efforts previously handled by regional managers for those areas. As a result of having full-time “You Can Fly” ambassadors located in California and Florida, John Pfeifer and Bob Minter will become contractors focusing exclusively on state advocacy and legislative affairs.

Several members of the government affairs team will continue to be based at the Frederick office with occasional trips to the D.C. office as circumstances demand. Rob Hackman, David Oord, Thomas Kramer, Craig Spence, Tom Zecha, and Jeremy DeLaTorre will remain in Frederick.

Additional organizational changes include: David Oord has been promoted to Director of Regulatory Affairs; Lauren Gingher has been promoted to Manager, Legislative Affairs; and Katie McMichael has assumed the role of PAC Coordinator. David joined AOPA in 2012 and has been a valuable member of the Regulatory Affairs team, completing projects such as the Airmen Testing Standards & Training Working Group report. Lauren joined AOPA in 2013 and has continued to take on new roles to facilitate department needs and helping support AOPA’s legislative work. Katie also joined AOPA in 2013. Since then, she has taken initiative with VOCUS and the PAC invitations to streamline the process.

FMI: www.aopa.org