My inaugural year

I have been overwhelmed and impressed by how much AOPA offers and does for its members. It’s been a key point in my meetings across the country—the way AOPA supports your aviation journey, the way AOPA helps preserve the freedom to fly, and the world-class service AOPA provides its members—and, as I close out my first year in this incredible job, the way AOPA advocates for its members.

From the halls of Congress to state houses across the country to federal agencies, AOPA gets things done, and I have learned this repeatedly in the past year. It’s an honor and an unprecedented privilege to watch your association at work and to lead the charge. AOPA is the voice of general aviation, and as I have walked the hallways of our nation’s capital and taken calls from FAA Federal Air Surgeon Dr. Susan Northrup, spoken with policy makers at the Department of Transportation and other federal agencies, and testified before Congress, I have learned the strength and respect of our voice. We have strength in numbers, strength in our collective voice, and influence in our relationships across the aisles.

Learning how the machine works has been a priority during my first year. With the guidance of AOPA Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy Jim Coon, I have discovered how industry-shaping legislation is carried out and seen how it is dependent on our forged relationships with key stakeholders and their staff. Jim and his team understand who champions a particular issue, who appreciates the economic benefits of general aviation, and who actively supports GA. Congressional staff matter greatly to leaders in Congress; our leaders deal with many types of legislation, so they rely heavily on their staff to determine which perspectives align most closely with the agenda they have to serve their constituents.

Because we are in Washington, D.C., every day, we are a respected and effective voice for GA. We’ve won game-changing legislative victories—and are working to achieve others—such as defeating ATC privatization efforts, expanding BasicMed, protecting pilot privacy, ensuring ADS-B is used to enhance safety, addressing medical health reforms for pilots, improving the designated pilot examiner program, and ensuring a safe and smart transition to unleaded fuel—just to name a few. AOPA carries your voice to the halls of Congress, our federal agencies, and state legislatures across the country.

• AOPA has beaten back past proposals to privatize our nation’s air traffic control system. This year, we have been working behind the scenes as a core member of the Modern Skies Coalition to bring the aviation industry together—GA, airlines, policy makers, labor, and manufacturers—to focus on modernizing the system. This industry unity is somewhat unprecedented, but it shows that we are stronger when we work together, as this effort resulted in a $12.5 billion down payment to get our nation’s ATC modernization effort underway.
• Since 2017, more than 90,000 U.S. pilots have qualified to fly safely with BasicMed. Because of AOPA, the FAA reauthorization bill increased the weight of aircraft that can be flown under BasicMed, and the number of seats and passengers in those aircraft. And we will keep advocating for additional reforms to some of these operational limitations.
• AOPA is pushing hard against an FAA-proposed policy change that would result in an automatic denial for a pilot submitting an incomplete medical application. Our medical education efforts make sure the FAA has what it needs without hurting pilots, and these efforts, combined with the strong partnership with Dr. Northrup and her team, have resulted in improvements in wait times and outcomes for special issuance medicals.
• There’s nothing magic about age 70—or any other age, but many insurance underwriters believe differently. We are working to get coverage options for older pilots that acknowledge their flying skills, experience, frequency, and proficiency, regardless of age.
• ADS-B was never meant to be a tool to impose fees; AOPA strongly supports the Pilot and Aircraft Privacy Act, which would prohibit airports from collecting fees from pilots based on ADS-B data. We’ll need your help to get that bill passed, so stay tuned for outreach from us to contact your Congressional representatives.

Never could I have imagined being a part of the wide variety of measures that AOPA undertakes to keep GA alive and vibrant. Having seen how anemic GA is in other countries around the world, the work that AOPA does on behalf of pilots and aircraft owners makes me proud to be at the helm of such an important and influential organization. I’m one small cog in this vast system, but AOPA has a strong, clear voice. I’m proud to say this has been a very successful inaugural year. Bring it on, 2026!

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