Foundation Staff
Bruce Landsberg, President
Bruce Landsberg has led AOPA’s safety initiatives for more than 18 years. During his tenure, the organization has been nationally recognized with numerous awards for aviation safety leadership and educational program excellence.
Now, as the president of the AOPA Foundation and the Air Safety Institute, he is responsible for a broad range of foundation activities to preserve the freedom of flight including safety programs, preserving airports, improving the image of general aviation, and growing the pilot population.
Landsberg writes the monthly “Safety Pilot” column in AOPA Pilot magazine, as well as a popular weekly blog in AOPA ePilot. He represents general aviation interests with the FAA, NTSB, National Weather Service, collegiate aviation programs, and various industry groups.
A former U.S. Air Force officer, he holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master's degree in industrial technology from the University of Maryland.
Landsberg has logged more than 6,000 hours as an airline transport pilot (ATP) and holds gold seal flight instructor certificates. He has been an AOPA member for more than 40 years.
Kathleen Vasconcelos, Vice President Education and Operations
Kathleen Vasconcelos is responsible for day-to-day operations of the AOPA Foundation, including oversight of the development administrative team and all of the functions of the Air Safety Institute from the production of training courses and seminars to oversight of the accident database.
Prior to joining the Foundation she worked in AOPA’s Media Relations department where she communicated AOPA’s message to the media and general public.
Vasconcelos is a commercial pilot with instrument and multiengine ratings, and an instrument-rated flight instructor. She holds a degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
Harvey Cohen, Chief Development Officer
Harvey joined the AOPA in August 2002 as Senior Vice President, Development. His primary objective is to secure fiscal funding for AOPA Foundation programs and secondarily increase the endowments. Focusing on leadership level philanthropy, he rightly proved the strength of the marquee name of AOPA.
Harvey was instrumental in creating the new AOPA Foundation. He met with and listened to our supporters in an effort to expand the initiatives about which pilots are concerned and willing to support.
From 1989 to 2002, Harvey led development for the Foundation Fighting Blindness (formerly the RP Foundation Fighting Blindness) helping to increase revenues from $5 million to over $17 million. Previously he held development roles at the University of Cincinnati, Carnegie Mellon, MIT, Weizmann Institute of Science and State of Israel Bonds.
Harvey holds a bachelors degree in education from Duquesne University, a masters degree in human development from St. Mary’s College. He was also selected into the Johns Hopkins Fellows in Change Management Program. Harvey is the first Sport Pilot amongst the AOPA staff.
Gary Martin, National Director, Strategic Philanthropy
Gary recently joined the AOPA Foundation following a 13 year career with Merrill Lynch, where he served as Senior Philanthropic Consultant with their Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Management. At the AOPA Foundation, he assists members and their advisors with charitable estate planning, deferred gifts, and life-income arrangements such as charitable remainder trusts and charitable gift annuities.
Gary’s experience in the nonprofit sector also includes 15 years as a development officer, planned giving director, senior trust administrator and foundation executive. He served as President of the University of New Hampshire Foundation and as Executive Director of the Institute of Nautical Archaeology Foundation at Texas A&M University. He holds the Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP®), and Chartered Retirement Planning Counselor (CRPC®) professional designations.
A marketing major at Texas A&M University as an undergraduate, Gary earned an MBA at the Thunderbird School of Global Management and a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from Texas A&M, where his doctoral dissertation examined the demographics of charitable remainder trust donors.
A former U.S. Navy officer, Gary was trained as a Chinese Mandarin linguist and served as a cryptanalytic intelligence special operations team leader aboard submarines during the Vietnam conflict. An AOPA member since 1978, he holds a commercial pilot’s certificate with instrument, multi-engine, and seaplane ratings, and he has been a CFI for more than 30 years.
Sandi Terkelsen, Director of Donor Development
Sandi joined the AOPA Foundation development team in 2008 and currently serves as the Director of Donor Development. Her focus is on securing major gifts to fund the various initiatives of the AOPA Foundation. Sandi also oversees the AOPA President’s Council and President’s Ambassador programs, and cultivates the relationships between AOPA and participants in these programs.
Her background includes over 15 years of marketing, sales, and advertising experience with a strong emphasis on client relationship management. Prior to joining AOPA, Sandi was Director of Client Services for a division of Advantage Sales & Marketing and their client, Unilever.
Sandi holds a bachelor degree in business administration from Cedarville University in Ohio and an MBA from the University of Connecticut. A private pilot for nearly 7 years, she has competed in the Women’s Air Race Classic and is the owner of a 1979 Cessna 172.
