Women in Aviation President Chabrian Announces Retirement

Women in Aviation President Dr. Peggy Chabrian announced at the WAI Connect Breakfast at Oshkosh that she would retire in April 2020. The transition period will allow for an executive search to determine her replacement.

Chabrian has seen the growth of Women in Aviation from a conference launched in 1990 to an association representing nearly 14,000 women and men from every corner of the aviation industry. WAI celebrated its 30th conference in March in Long Beach with record attendance, of roughly 4,500 people.

Women in Aviation delivers scholarships as well, and two more multi-engine rating scholarships were presented at the breakfast, bringing the total value to $12.5 million over the association's history. An endowment fund has also topped $1 million, allowing for those scholarship efforts to continue well into the future.

The breakfast featured keynote speaker Captain Tammie Jo Shults, pilot for Southwest Airlines Flight 1380, who gave a moving recollection of the emergency landing made in April 2018. The breakfast was followed by the annual WomenVenture group photo in Boeing Plaza, backed by the Boeing 787 and UPS 747.