I serve as EVP of Corporate Development and Board Member at Hilo Aviation Inc. Our mission is to liberate aviation from the drag of fragmentation by building the world's first Aviation Training & Operating System — and my work sits at the center of that mission. I focus on corporate strategy, market development, strategic partnerships, and the business decisions that drive Hilo's growth. In practical terms, that means helping bring together the right products, the right people, and the right markets so that aviation organizations can stop stitching together disconnected tools and start operating from one intelligent platform.

I grew up on a farm in Kentucky — the fourth of ten children. While working the fields, I watched fighter jets streak past me overhead and thought that flying looked like a lot more fun than farming. That passion or dream pushed me towards the Air Force. After graduating from Brigham Young University, I went through Air Force pilot training and was fortunate to fly the A-10. I also served as an Instructor Pilot and Section Chief of Academics in the T-37, which is where I first discovered that teaching flying was just as rewarding as flying itself. I later transitioned to commercial aviation, where I've accumulated over sixteen thousand hours flying the Boeing 737 for a major U.S. carrier. After 40 years I still look up at airplanes flying overhead.

My passion for flight training was born in the Air Force. As an instructor pilot, I watched firsthand how much a skilled instructor — paired with well-designed curriculum — could accelerate a student's progress and build genuine competence. That connection between teaching and outcomes never left me. I've instructed and evaluated hundreds of pilots in classrooms, simulators, and aircraft, and I've seen the difference it makes when training is intentional and well-resourced.

Connecting with a student and watching the light bulb come on is rewarding each and every time.