AVIATE with Shaesta
Shaesta Waiz, Michael Wildes
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Recent Episodes
Aviation Pro Sarah Kalmeta Reveals Why Pivoting Is Power
Sarah Kalmeta built her career around one core truth: a pivot is not a failure. It is feedback. In this conversation, Sarah explains how her own aviation career forced her to confront burnout, health…
Tasha Funes: What Private Aviation Flight Attendants Really Do
Tasha Funes built her aviation career across commercial, charter, government, and private aviation, and in this conversation she explains how each chapter taught her something different about the…
Katherine Moloney Built a Movement in Aviation — And It Started With 40 Women and Sandwiches
Katherine Moloney did not grow up thinking she would become a pilot, even though aviation was in her family. Her father flew, but she never saw herself in the cockpit and brushed off early signs that…
Katie Hill on eVTOLs, policy, and building aviation’s next chapter
Katie Hill works at the center of aviation policy, government affairs, and advanced air mobility, and in this conversation she explains how she got there. She started on Capitol Hill working for…
Pilot-Turned-Candidate Shelly DeZevallos Says Aviation Needs a Bigger Voice in Washington
Shelly DeZevallos has spent decades working in aviation and public service, and in this conversation she explains why running for Congress felt like the natural next step. She argues aviation and…
Samantha Spencer: Why airport ops is the hardest job at the airport
Samantha Spencer oversees both landside and airside operations at South Bend International Airport—meaning she’s responsible for everything from FAA and TSA compliance to snow ops, badging,…
Amman Mujahid: There’s No Female or Male Engineer—There’s Just an Engineer
Amman went from rejection to finding her path in aircraft maintenance—then had to fight to be treated like a real technician. In a mostly male program, she was pushed toward admin work while men got…
Sabira Rezaie: Afghan Helicopter Pilot Rebuilds Her Life in America After Losing Everything
When Sabira Rezaie sits in a cockpit, she says she carries two things at once: the voices of Afghan women who never got the chance to fly, and the weight of everything she lost. That mix—purpose and…
The 3% Club: Aviation Needs Mechanics but Women Are Leaving with Veronica Leacock Borchardt
When Veronica Leacock moved from Panama to the U.S., she wasn’t just changing countries. She was rebuilding her entire career—new language, new system, and a licensing process that nearly shut her…
Trip Your Way Forward: Abingdon Mullin on Watches, Aviation, and Not Quitting
When Abingdon sat at a 99s Christmas dinner in 2006, she thought she was just celebrating her new private pilot certificate. Instead, she discovered a gap no watch company was willing to fill: pilot…
The Cost of Silence: DEI Rollbacks, Safety, and the Future of Aviation with Dr. Kimberly Perkins
In this episode, host Shaesta Waiz speaks with Dr. Kimberly Perkins—787 airline pilot, research scientist at the University of Washington, and fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society—about the…
Purpose-Driven Leadership: Lynda Coffman on DEI, Workforce, and the Future of Aviation
In this episode, host Shaesta Waiz speaks with Lynda Coffman—CEO of Women in Aviation International, former United Airlines executive, and Northwestern adjunct professor— about sustaining a qualified…
“Don’t Wait for the Invitation” — Aircraft Mechanic & Advocate Samantha T. Mitchell on Owning Your Path in Aviation
In this episode, host Shaesta Waiz speaks with Samantha T. Mitchell—licensed A&P mechanic, author, and founder of Black Women in Aviation—about building a career where women are still drastically…
A Business Case for DEI in Aviation with Jennifer Pickerel
In this episode, host Shaesta Waiz speaks with Jennifer Pickerel—President of Aviation Personnel International and a veteran executive search consultant—about the rollback of diversity, equity, and…
If the Space Won’t Hold You, Move: Leadership and Well-Being with Captain Reyné O'Shaughnessy
In this candid conversation, host Shaesta Waiz speaks with Captain Reyné O'Shaughnessy—veteran FedEx pilot, human-performance specialist, and author of This Is Your Captain Speaking: What You Should…
Why Ignoring DEI Is Aviation’s Biggest Safety Risk with Kathryn Creedy
In this episode, host Shaesta Waiz speaks with Kathryn Creedy—veteran aviation journalist and advocate for workforce equity—about the rollback of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in aviation…
What Mervat Sultan Teaches Us About Building Equity and Opportunity for Women in Middle-East Aviation
In this episode, host Shaesta Waiz speaks with Mervat Sultan—founder of Ramjet Aviation Services and President of the Women in Aviation Middle East Chapter—about how intentional leadership,…
What the First Latina U.S. Air Force Pilot, Olga Custodio, Teaches Us About Building a Stronger Industry
In this powerful conversation, host Shaesta Waiz speaks with Retired Lt. Col. Olga E. Custodio, the first Latina to fly for the United States Air Force and later, the first Latina commercial airline…
Capt. Lynn Rippelmeyer on Flying the 747, Mentorship, and Moving the Industry Forward
In this wide-ranging conversation, Capt. Lynn Rippelmeyer—first woman to fly the Boeing 747—joins host Shaesta Waiz to dismantle the myth that equity and excellence are mutually exclusive.…
Jessica Ruttenber Exposes How DEI Rollbacks Threaten Aviation
Military veteran and advocate Jessica Ruttenber—retired Air Force officer, founder of Level Up Aviation joins host Shaesta Waiz to explain why dismantling diversity, equity & inclusion programs…
Frequently Asked Questions
AVIATE with Shaesta has published 95 episodes since July 2021, covering topics in Drama, Fiction.
AVIATE with Shaesta is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 42m.
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