Aviation educator Dr. Donna Wilt was elected chair of the Society of Aviation and Flight Educators (SAFE) Board of Directors July 31 at the group’s annual membership meeting at AirVenture 2014 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. She replaces current Chair John Dorcey.
Wilt is an associate professor in the College of Aeronautics at Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) in Melbourne, Florida, and serves as a Special Advisor to the Board of Trustees of The Link Foundation.
Other officers elected at the meeting were David St. George of New York, Vice Chair; Jim Anderson of Arizona, Treasurer; and Kevin D Murphy of Washington, DC, Secretary.
SAFE is a professional organization for aviation educators, including FAA-certificated flight instructors. It was founded in 2009 as a member-centric group dedicated to improving aviation safety with better learning materials and professional development for aviation educators. Currently, nearly 1,000 professional aviation educators worldwide are SAFE members.
In addition to teaching and conducting research at FIT, Wilt is also chair of the Florida Spaceport Chapter of The 99s and serves as a subject matter expert in GA flight operations, ab initio flight training and avionics systems. She holds an FAA ATP certificate, is a three-time Master flight instructor, a FAASTeam Representative and EAA member. In her varied background are stints as an avionics design engineer for Rockwell Collins and as a flight instructor. She is a founding member of SAFE.
St. George is a 20-year manager of the East Hill Flying Club in Ithaca, New York, and is a designated FAA Pilot Examiner and the chief instructor for the flying club. He holds an FAA ATP certificate with ratings for gliders and seaplanes, and is an instructor for all fixed wing FAA certificates and ratings.
Anderson is Senior Vice President of Starr Aviation, a global aviation insurance firm. He holds an FAA commercial pilot certificate with single, multiengine and instrument ratings and is a flight instructor with instrument and multiengine rating and is a FAASTeam lead representative. He holds a B.S. in Aviation Business Administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Murphy is owner of Kevin D Murphy and Associates, a Washington, DC-based aviation consulting and writing firm that also creates educational, promotional and advocacy videos for a variety of clients. He holds an FAA commercial pilot certificate with single and multiengine ratings, is an instructor for both single and multiengine airplanes and is an FAA-certificated ground instructor for Advanced and Instrument.
The new SAFE officers will serve through July 31, 2015.