John Wellington

WAA Chairman

Chief Operating Officer

Kuttin Wealth Management

John H. Wellington is the Chief Operating Officer of Kuttin Wealth Management, a Private Wealth Advisory Practice of Ameriprise with offices in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Texas.  Our CEO, Jon Kuttin, ranked #11 on Barron's Top 100 Independent Advisors.  At Kuttin Wealth, we put clients first.  Prior to joining Kuttin, John has had a 34 year career in financial services working for Merrill Lynch, Smith Barney, Advest, Inc., J.P. Morgan, Broadridge and Quovo, Inc.

In 2006, John pursued a life-long dream and began private pilot lessons at Westchester County Airport. He obtained his PPL in January of 2007, bought his Trinidad TB-20 in August 2007 and earned his Instrument Rating in January 2008. John keeps his airplane on the ramp at Atlantic Aviation West and is very active in keeping General Aviation available at Westchester County Airport.



Greg Keshishian

WAA Vice-Chairman

Management Consultant and Flight Instructor

Greg Keshishian is the Managing Partner of GK Partners Inc. which provides management consulting services to publicly-traded companies in the areas of financial performance, management compensation and corporate governance. During the last four decades, his corporate clients have included over five hundred manufacturing, financial services, consumer products, technology and industrial companies.

At the same time, Greg has been an active single/multi-engine and instrument flight instructor and Master CFI in the NYC-metro area. He specializes in working with Beechcraft owners and operators, and he personally owns a classic 1949 A35 Bonanza. Always focused on pilot proficiency and safe operations, he has worked extensively with the ABS Air Safety Foundation and with FlightSafety International. He also serves as an FAASTeam Representative in the Farmingdale FSDO, and has been the Chief Flight Examiner and District Safety Officer with USCG Auxiliary aviation 


   

Jennifer Kempsey

WAA Executive Director

Northeast Regional Sales Manager

C&L Aviation 

Jennifer Kempsey is the Northeast Regional Sales Manager for C&L Aviation, an MRO based out of Bangor, Maine, and has worked in the aviation industry for over 15 years. Kempsey is a long-time aviation advocate who currently sits as the Westchester Aircraft Maintenance Association (WAMA) Junior Vice President and Women in Aviation (WAI) Westchester County as Treasurer. Jennifer also volunteers with The NBAA Maintenance Committee, The Aerospace Maintenance Competition, and WAI Girls in Aviation Day held at the airport.  

Kempsey was awarded “40 Under 40” in 2020 by NBAA for her passion and dedication to the industry. She believes in the future of aviation and is grateful for all aviation has been able to provide for her.

When she is not supporting the industry she loves, she enjoys going to see live music, thrifting, and trying new restaurants. Jennifer currently lives in Westwood, NJ, with her sweet little chihuahua Lucy, who she often travels on the road with.



Stephen B. Malkinson

WAA Treasurer


CTO

Red Hat

Stephen grew up in Dublin Ireland started flying on his fourteenth birthday in a Piper Cherokee and was hooked. As is normal in Europe he then went on to learn to fly gliders before moving to the USA in 1981. By 1984 Stephen found himself in one of the aviation capitals of the USA, Seattle, and had many opportunities to fly with friends around the Seattle area. It was on his return to the USA from Paris in 1998 and the proximity to HPN that Stephen committed to getting his private license and did so at Panorama. Initially he started flying with the Westchester Flying Club and in 2012 joined the first of two partnerships in Diamond DA40s both kept on the ramp at Atlantic Aviation West. In May of 2017, Stephen and his flying partner acquired a 2003 Grumman Tiger. 

When not flying, Stephen works for Red Hat as a Chief Technology Officer focussed on their networking partners in the Silicon Valley commuting from NY to San Jose commercially several times a month. Prior to Red Hat, Stephen worked for IBM and occasionally flew on IBM's corporate jets for business purposes. Stephen started with IBM in Seattle in 1985 and has also worked in San Francisco and Paris before moving to Westchester in 1998. Prior to IBM he worked for North American Phillips in Syracuse and New York City and for several computer companies in Dublin Ireland. Stephen is a graduate of Trinity College Dublin.

Since Stephen moved to Westchester, he has been very active in General Aviation at HPN and brings to the WAA a balanced view of Westchester Airport based on his commercial use, corporate use, student pilot, aircraft renter, club member and now light aircraft owner.

Previously Stephen has been both the avionics officer and Vice President of the Westchester Flying Club.



Pat Cunningham

WAA Board Member


Director of Aviation

PepsiCo


Pat Cunningham has spent most of his career working at Westchester County Airport.  His first job in aviation was working the line at Westair, in the 1970s.  

Pat has been PepsiCo’s Director of Aviation since 2006, and has worked for PepsiCo since 1989.  Prior to becoming PepsiCo’s Director of Aviation, Pat was PepsiCo’s Manager of Aircraft Maintenance.  Before joining PepsiCo, Pat worked for Panorama, Mobil Oil, Newsflight, and Executive Air Fleet. 

Pat served on the Board of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) from 2002 to 2014, and served as NBAA Board Chairman from 2009 to 2011.    

Pat holds a Bachelor’s in Political Science from Manhattanville College, an MBA from Manhattan College, and a J.D. from the Pace University School of Law.  He is an attorney admitted to practice in New York and Connecticut.  He is also an NBAA Certified Aviation Manager (CAM).  



Brittany Davies

WAA Board Member

NE Regional Representative

NBAA 

With 19 years of business aviation experience, Brittany is the Northeast Regional Representative for the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). The NBAA represents the diverse interests of companies using general aviation aircraft for business purposes, helping business aviation to thrive in the U.S. and around the world. Her career has spanned the scope of aviation including charter scheduling/sales, hangar development, flying as an aerial photography pilot, and running her own consulting firm. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Aviation Technology from Metropolitan State University of Denver and is a Multi-Instrument, Commercial rated pilot.

Her commitment to the business aviation community is marked by her involvement in grass-roots organizations throughout the years. Brittany was the first Executive Director of the Westchester Aviation Association in White Plains, New York (KHPN) and previously represented the Northeast as a member of the NBAA Local and Regional Groups Committee. As a founding member of the Colorado Aviation Business Association in 2007, she has a strong passion for the positive impact such an association can have in a community and understands the hardships faced from county and state levels. With a vast background in customer relations and business development, she utilizes industry knowledge, efficient technologies, and sharp writing skills to continue to help aviation business’ and organizations succeed.




John Donofrio

WAA Board Member

Director of Aviation

JPMorgan Chase

John started his aviation career early in his high school years. He attended Aviation High School in Queens NY, continuing on to Embry-Riddle for his undergraduate work. John graduated with a Bachelors Degree in Professional Aeronautics with a minor in Management and Safety.  In his early days, John worked for Butler Aviation before landing a maintenance position with ITT corp. During his eight years with ITT, John worked as a line technician while pursuing his private, commercial, instrument and multi-engine rating.  After a 16 year career at ITT, John held a Chief Pilot position with Unisys Corporation.  John is currently the Director of Aviation for JPMorgan Chase, based at HPN.




Scott Dyer

WAA Board Member

Flight Instructor

Scott is a flight instructor based at HPN and has been flying for 40+ years (the last 35 years based at HPN). He holds CFI/I instructor certificates, as well as ATP multi-engine and commercial single-engine land and sea pilot certificates. For over 20 years he has been the liaison between WAA and ATC (HPN Tower and NY Tracon) and has facilitated dozens of meetings between local pilots and flight departments who participate in our WAA/ATC working group and our ATC counterparts. He also was the principal author of our HPN response to a proposal by FAA to expand the NY Class B airspace laterally and with lower floors, and is currently engaged in commenting on the Class C proposal for HPN.

Scott owns a Cessna 210 which is based at Millionair. Flying over 250 volunteer flights, he volunteers for Angel Flight and PALS throughout the Eastern US.  When not flying, he is music director for a smaller choir.  He is a graduate of Cornell University and Duke University School of Law, lives in Westchester County, is married and has two grown children.



Luke Egan

WAA Board Member

Senior Captain

Solairus Aviation

Luke Egan began his professional pilot career at the young age of 14 after embarking on an introductory flight at his local hometown airport. Proceeding that flight, he enthusiastically began flight training toward his PPL at Goodrich Aviation in Endicott, NY.  

Following the completion of his PPL, he moved to Daytona Beach, FL to further pursue his aspirations of becoming a professional pilot at Phoenix East Aviation. Over the following five years, he earned various certificates to include a CFI, CFII, MEI, and AGI. During that time, he flew extensively as a Gold Seal Flight Instructor, Part 141 Check Airman, and Part 135 Captain. Concurrently, he accomplished his B.S. in Professional Aeronautics with a minor in Aviation Safety and Business Administration through Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

In 2008, he accepted a position with Gama Aviation on the Cessna Citation 550/560 aircraft. He progressed through several advancements before ending his tenure in 2014 as Cessna Citation X Captain for the iHeartRadio Flight Department. In 2014, he accepted a position with IBM Flight Operations where he was instrumental in developing their SMS program. He would later go on to serve as a Standards Captain on the Gulfstream G550/G650ER and Dassault Falcon 2000LX EASy aircraft. Additionally, he led a team of mentor pilots to assist in entry level pilot development. In 2021, he accepted a Senior Captain position at Solairus Aviation where he now operates a Dassault Falcon 2000LXS EASy aircraft for a private owner.

His true passion is in sharing the joy of aviation with others and giving back in a way that empowers others to experience the extraordinary opportunities that have been afforded to him.

“At the end of the day, it's not about what you have or even what you've accomplished… It's about who you've lifted up, who you've made better. It's about what you've given back.”  ~Denzel Washington~


 

Eric Faulkner

WAA Board Member

Chief Executive Officer
InLine Aviation Group

Eric Faulkner has worked most of his career in aviation commencing at New York’s LaGuardia Airport at the Marine Air Terminal in 1994 for an FBO. He started out as a line service technician and moved on to the position of customer service representative.

Since 2002, Faulkner has called the Westchester County Airport (HPN) his home. He worked for a large FBO chain at HPN until 2004 when he was solicited to take on the position of director of business development for a startup FBO company located at HPN named Skyport Flight Services.

The acquired company’s financials had been greatly underperforming prior to acquisition. Within 18 months the new management team was able to significantly increase the total volume of business that flowed through the FBO’s operation. Faulkner played a huge role in redeveloping the business by assisting the company to significantly increase its transient customer base, based hangar tenants, and airline fueling operations. In less than 24 months the asset was sold to Carlyle Group (Landmark Aviation) realizing a six fold return to the investors of Skyport Flight Services.

Faulkner stayed on with the new organization, Piedmont Hawthorne Aviation dba Landmark Aviation, as operations manager, and eventually held the title of general manager for the HPN location. Following another acquisition two years later when the now current owners (GTCR/Platform Partners) of Landmark purchased the entire network of FBOs, Faulkner was called upon to assume his current position as director of national accounts in order to grow fuel and hangar sales for the entire network of 52 Landmark FBOs. 

In July of 2016 Ross Aviation partnered with KSL Capital to acquire the 6 FBO’s from the Landmark Aviation, SFS buyout. Ross Aviation named Eric Faulkner their VP and General Manager of their White Plains location.

Eric Faulkner is the CEO of Inline Aviation group – An Aircraft Management and Maintenance company that provides aviation services in NY, NJ and CT.

Eric enjoys spending time with his wife Graceann, son Freddy and daughter Christina.




Nick Hartman

WAA Board Member

Private Pilot, Aircraft Owner and HPN Tenant

Nick started his flight training in 2014 at Republic Airport on Long Island, where he earned his private pilot certificate and instrument rating. He then shifted his flying closer to home at the Westchester County Airport and joined the Westchester Flying Club (WFC) where he flew the club's V-Tail Bonanzas, Piper Arrows and Cirrus SR-20 before joining a partnership that owns a Socata Trinidad GT. Nick is an active representative for general aviation on a range of issues around the airport and in January 2019 was appointed by County Executive George Latimer to sit on the Westchester County Airport Advisory Board which he currently chairs.

Nick leads a team supporting startups at Amazon Web Services (AWS). He is a graduate of Penn State University (BS Chemistry) and the University of Cambridge (PhD Biochemistry) where he was a Marshall Scholar. Nick and his wife and two sons live in Pelham Manor, New York. 



Sal Lagonia

WAA Board Member

Aviation Attorney & Analyst
Lagonia Law, Fox News Channel, Lawyer Pilot Bar Assoc.

Sal Lagonia is an Aviation Attorney and “on-air” aviation commentator for Fox News Network and numerous other news outlets. Sal retired from a career in Law Enforcement and served for 12 years as Judge of the Justice Court. He has served as the President of the Westchester County Bar, Delegate to the New York State bar and Delegate to the American Bar Association. He is the President of the International Lawyer-Pilot Bar Association and a frequent presenter to aviation groups on Aviation Safety and the Law. He is a Professor of Aviation Law at Dutchess Community College in Poughkeepsie and a member of the National Association of Flight Instructors.

He owns and flies his Cessna Cardinal RG and is a member of the AOPA Legal Panel, EAA, Flying Musicians, NBAA, LPBA, and the Young Eagles Program. Sal lives in Yorktown with his wife Loretta and tours with numerous artists as a musician, playing the trumpet and flugelhorn in both live and recording sessions.




Lauren Rones-Payne

WAA Board Member

General Manager

Million Air White Plains

Lauren Rones-Payne, a White Plains resident with more than 20 years of experience in luxury customer service, has moved to the private aviation industry working as the General Manager of Million Air at the Westchester County Airport for the past six years. Lauren is a graduate of the Fashion Institute of Technology in NYC, an avid marathon runner and Pure Barre enthusiast. She loves to travel the world and is the proud aunt of three nieces and a nephew. She is happily married for over fifteen years to White Plains City Councilman, Richard Payne of Larchmont, and currently lives locally in the heart of downtown White Plains.  Lauren is proud to be serving as a WAA Board member and hopes to encourage more women to become inspired and join this fast paced, high energy, 24/7 industry which offers many opportunities for today's youth. Lauren also serves on the Friends of the White Plains Youth Bureau and WAI Westchester County NY Chapter boards.


Brian Smith
WAA Board Member

Director of Operations
Citigroup Aviation

Brian Smith currently holds the title of Director of Operations for Citigroup Aviation based out of White Plains, NY. He has been with Citi for 22 years now and manages the daily aviation operations of an active Fortune 20 flight department with a global presence in more than 140 countries.

Brian holds a B.S. Degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Minor in Aviation Safety. He has accumulated over 9000 hours of flight time and has acquired 8 jet Type-Ratings. Before landing as the Director at Citi Aviation, Brian held a wide range of positions in aviation to include CFI, Charter Pilot, Scheduler, and International Training Captain. He has experience in both Part 91 and Part 135 operations for clients in the NYC Metro area such as Wayfarer Aviation, TAG Aviation, Multinational Corporations, and high net worth individuals.

Brian and his wife, Amy, reside in Connecticut with their 2 daughters. During any spare time he can find, Brian enjoys hobbies such as cars, sporting clays, his Labrador, and anything that gets him outside!

Westchester Aviation Association is a non-profit organization.

P.O. Box 447  |  Purchase, NY 10577-0447

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