William Ampofo has functional responsibility for sales & marketing, business development, channel management, e-Commerce and program execution to establish Boeing as a market leader in the business aviation and general aviation sectors. Previously, he served as Senior Vice President, Global Operations and Supply Chain, for Aviall, a Boeing Company subsidiary, and spent 22 years at United Technologies Corporations—at its Corporate Headquarters, Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, and UTC Aerospace Systems—in various finance, information technology, corporate strategy, and operations roles.
Commander Kirk Lippold, USN (Ret.) was the Commanding Officer of the USS Cole when it came under a suicide terrorist attack by al Qaeda in the port of Aden, Yemen. During his command, he and his crew distinguished themselves by saving the American warship from sinking. Today, Commander Lippold is a popular inspirational figure and leadership speaker who remains in high demand with Fortune 500 companies, leading financial institutions, top industry associations, the Department of State, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and state-level governments, both in the United States and internationally.
A former international corporate, airline, Red Cross, and 24-hour air ambulance pilot/captain, Erika Armstrong has an extensive social media network of passionate avgeeks, and is a Professor of Aviation at MSU Denver, Director of Instructional Design at Advanced Aircrew Academy, and award-winning staff writer for Colorado Serenity magazine. She is the author of "A Chick in the Cockpit" and "The Art of Being a Pilot" (coming out in 2019) and has over eighty published articles. She is a contributing editor and professional pilot columnist at Plane & Pilot, Disciples of Flight, NYC Aviation, Flying.com, Serenity, Mountain Connection, Contrails, General Aviation News, LinkedIn Influencer, and Business Insider.
Back by popular demand, Designated Pilot Examiner and Migration favorite Roger Sharp will take the stage to talk about the state of flight training in a way that only he can. In previous years, he has shared tips for curing common problems applicants have with taking the practical test (“How to Fail Your Flight Test”), signs that you may have a bad flight instructor (“Your Flight Instructor Might Suck”), and insights into why students fail their checkrides (“Why Students Fail Checkrides..and It’s Your Fault”). Who can predict what Roger might say this year?
Paul Bertorelli is Editor at Large for the Belvoir Media Group, which means…well, no one knows what it means. But he contributes to Belvoir’s aviation print publications, Aviation Consumer, IFR, IFR Refresher, and Aviation Safety. He writes a regular blog for www.avweb. com. In addition to being an expert in hurricane evacuation, he’s also an ATP-CFII-MEI and may have other letters as well. He lives in Florida.
An accomplished writer, Dave Hirschman joined AOPA in 2008. He is the author of "Hijacked: The True Story Of The Heroes Of Flight 705" and he previously covered FedEx as a business news reporter for the Commercial Appeal and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has an airline transport pilot certificate and instrument and multiengine flight instructor certificates. Dave flies vintage, historical, and Experimental airplanes and specializes in tailwheel and aerobatic instruction.
An industry-recognized expert in general aviation regulations, safety, and security; Lindsey McFarren founded McFarren Aviation Consulting in 2009 to provide consulting services to the GA industry. In previous roles with aviation associations and administrations, including the TSA, Lindsey became an expert on part 135 charter regulations and specialized in a broad range of general aviation and charter regulations and issues, including TSA security programs, safety management and assessments, fuel fraud and tax matters, air ambulance/emergency medical services regulations, and Part 135 / Part 142 training programs. She is an accredited Air Charter Safety Foundation Industry Audit Standard auditor, a CFI, and the former owner of a flight training facility in northeast Ohio.
George E. Bye is an aviation pioneer, influencer, innovator, and the Founder and CEO of Bye Aerospace, which was named the “Small Business of the Year” for 2018 by the Denver Business Journal and one of the “Top 50 Colorado Companies to Watch” in 2017. He is the entrepreneur and innovator behind Bye Aerospace with two decades of innovation experience. George has developed several aircraft designs, including the current all-electric eFlyer and solar-electric piloted Solesa designs. The two-seat eFlyer 2 is targeted primarily to the flight training market. George is an ATP-rated pilot with over 4,000 flying hours. He also is a Desert Storm veteran and a former C-141B Aircraft Commander and USAF instructor pilot in the supersonic T-38 for Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training.
Jim is an Experimental Test Pilot with Bell's Innovation group. His responsibilities include lead test pilot for the Bell Nexus urban air tax and technical lead for both Simplified Vehicle Operations and Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management. Prior to joining Bell in November 2017, he retired from the United States Marine Corps. During his Marine Corps career, he served as a KC-130 pilot, forward air controller, V-22 government flight test director, and commanding officer of the V-22 training squadron. Jim’s education includes a BS in Biochemistry from Virginia Tech, a MoE in Industrial and Systems Engineering from North Carolina State University, a graduate of the United States Naval Test Pilot School, and a PhD in Systems and Engineering Management from Texas Tech University. He is currently enrolled in Duke University’s Global Executive MBA program.
