The 22nd Annual International Aviation for Women Conference, which concluded in Reno, Nevada, on Saturday, Feb. 26, drew more than 3,000 attendees representing all aspects and interests within the aviation community, including military, commercial, corporate and recreational flying.
“The conference is about far more than pilots, however,” said WAI President Dr. Peggy Chabrian. “We also represent individuals from academia, maintenance, research, engineering and more.”
Conference highlights include:
- Attendance reached nearly 3,000 women and men, including representatives from the United States and 21 different countries. About 13% of attendees wer college/university students.
- The Exhibit Hall displayed 121 separate companies and organizations, representing all aspects of the aviation community.
- *$691,750 in scholarships were distributed to WAI members at every stage of life from university students to mature members seeking a mid-life career change to aviation. A total of 76 scholarships were awarded.
- The WAI silent auction raised nearly $20,000 for WAI’s Endowment Fund, used for scholarships and educational programs.
- Five women were inducted into WAI’s International Pioneer Hall of Fame including L. Tammy Duckworth, Black Hawk pilot and current Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs; Major General Susan Helms, Director of Plans and Policy for the U.S. Strategic Command, a flight test engineer and a former NASA Astronaut; Hazel Ying Lee, who in 1932 became one of the first Chinese-American woman to earn a pilot’s license and a member of WASP Class 44-18; Mary Ann Martin Wyall, a member of the last WASP class to graduate from Avenger Field and for the past 45 years has preserved and shared the history of the WASP; and Dr. Peggy Chabrian, founder and President of Women in Aviation, International.
“This year, I am honored to be one of the WAI Pioneers, and I am humbled to be included in such an historic and accomplished group of women,” added Chabrian.
The 23nd Annual International Women in Aviation Conference will be held at the Hilton Anatole in Dallas, Texas, from March 8-10, 2012. For more information: WAI.org
