Presenters – 2021 Global Conference on Diversity in Aviation, Aerospace and STEM

Lisa Abrams

Professor of Practice, The Ohio State University Department of Engineering Education

Lisa Abrams, PhD, is currently the associate chair for the Department of Engineering Education at The Ohio State University.  She received her Bachelor's and Master's in Mechanical Engineering and PhD in Industrial Engineering from Ohio State. She has seven years of industry experience in the areas of design and consulting. Her research focuses on the recruitment, retention and success of undergraduate students, especially those populations who are under-represented in engineering. She has developed and taught a wide variety of engineering courses in first-year engineering and mechanical engineering at Ohio State. She has received numerous teaching awards at both the college and the departmental level at Ohio State. Previous positions include interim director of diversity and outreach at Ohio State and the assistant dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Miami University.

Sathu Alagappan

Title, Bath & Body Works

Sathu currently works for Bath & Body Works (BBWI) focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Brand. She has over 20 years in corporate America, with experiences spanning the globe in areas such as HR, business analysis, project management, supplier/contract management and SAP development. While she had the opportunity to move from area to area, she realized that her passion throughout every experience is the ability to connect with people, build relationships, help uncover their potential and do it in a manner that is inclusive and equitable.

Alagappan has been able to help design and develop several trainings focused on cross-cultural appreciation and how to work effectively across teams. She is certified in Strength Finder, Hogan, DiSC, Hogan, DDI and is an Intercultural Development Inventory Qualified Administrator. Alagappan also has her undergraduate degrees in engineering and in management information systems as well as her MBA with a focus in strategic HR.

Lisa Barclay

Assistant Dean, The Ohio State University College of Engineering

Bio coming soon.

Olga Custodio

Latino Pilots Association; Ret. Lt. Col, USAF; and Ret. Captain, American Airlines

Olga E. Custodio was the first Latina to complete U.S. Air Force Undergraduate Pilot Training. She graduated in the top 5% of her class and received a fighter-air-reconnaissance qualification to fly the T-38 as an instructor pilot. Custodio also was the first American Airlines Latina commercial airline pilot. She points to three principles that have helped her succeed in a profession dominated by men: overcoming self-doubt, staying open to possibilities and seeing herself as an equal.

The path to her dream, however, has not been a walk in the park. While studying at the University of Puerto Rico, she tried to participate in the university’s Reserve Officer Training Corps program. She was denied the opportunity because women were not allowed in the program at that time.

But Custodio never gave up hope, and she went on to fulfill her dream of becoming a commissioned military officer—and then some. A female military aviation pioneer, she served for 24 years in the U.S. Air Force, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. As a T-38 pilot instructor, she received the Headquarters Air Education Training Command Aviation Safety Award for superior airmanship for handling an in-flight engine failure emergency. Besides the T-38, Custodio flew the T-41 and the T-37 as a student. After transitioning to the U.S. Air Force Reserves, she flew for a major airline, becoming the first American Airlines Latina commercial airline pilot and later one of the first Latinas to upgrade to Captain. Custodio flew the Boeing 727, Fokker 100, Boeing 757, and Boeing 767 airframes around the U.S and the Caribbean, Mexico, Canada, Central America, South America and Europe at American Airlines before retiring. She’s also flown several general aviation aircraft like the Stearman biplane, Cessna-172, Beechcraft-35 V-tail, Cirrus Vision Jet, and a few others.

Today, Custodio is retired with over 11,000 flight hours to her name. Now a speaker and community leader, she works with several nonprofit organizations that advocate for inspiring and empowering students, especially those from underserved communities, to pursue careers in aviation and aerospace. As a STEM advocate, she has also volunteered as a speaker and role model at local schools, universities, corporations, and military base groups, encouraging young women and men to reach for their dreams. Custodio is a mentor with the Women in Aviation International, Aviation Explorers and the School of Aeronautics of the InterAmerican University in Puerto Rico, to mention a few. Among her numerous recognitions, she was inducted into the San Antonio Aviation and Aerospace Hall of Fame.

By pioneering many firsts during her career, Custodio has shattered stereotypes and served as a powerful role model for others aspiring to become pilots. From breaking barriers and overcoming challenges as a woman in a male-dominated profession throughout her career, she has gained essential life insights and perspectives that she shares with everyone, especially women working to achieve their dreams.

Custodio lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband of 47 years, Edwin—who is also her best friend, supporter and advocate for everything she sponsors. They have two children, Marcia and Edwin II, and one grandson, Jedi.

Sandra Dawkins

Staff Director, Diversity Equity Inclusion and Belonging

Sandra Dawkins is the director of admissions and recruitment and the co-director of diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dawkins received her BS in criminal justice at the University of Texas, El Paso and her MPA from Franklin University. Prior to moving into admissions and DEIB work, Dawkins worked primarily in advancement at Ohio State. Dawkins joined The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine’s Professional Student Support office in 2011 working in many capacities until landing in admissions in 2014. Dawkins' passion for activism and equity drive her desire to help provide access for those who may not have the opportunity to thrive in varying spaces. She is fully supported by her wife and two daughters, who are the true reason to work towards equity for all.

Melanie Dickman

Advisor, The Ohio State University Center for Aviation Studies

Melanie Dickman’s love of aviation started as a child in Tempe, AZ, where she would lie in her backyard and watch the planes on approach into PHX Sky Harbor where her dad was an air traffic controller. She has been looking to the sky ever since!

Melanie is also a three-time graduate from The Ohio State University with undergraduate degrees in both psychology and aviation and a Master of Arts in Educational Psychology. Her focus was curriculum design and motivational and psychological factors in a woman’s decision to pursue a career in aviation. She holds a commercial pilot certificate with instrument rating and advanced ground instructor certificate (UAS Part 107 and dispatcher certificates in progress) and currently teaches air traffic control and introduction to aviation in the Center for Aviation Studies.

Dickman founded the organization Girls in Science and Technology (GISAT) in 2013, where she shares her passion for aviation and STEM with elementary school-aged girls in the central Ohio area. GISAT holds approximately 10 events per year for girls in kindergarten through fifth grade, introducing approximately 200 girls per year to STEM through an aviation lens.

Kayla Estes-Romero

Graduate student, University of Illinois at Chicago

Estes-Romero is earning a dual master’s degree in social work and public health, focusing on mental health and health policy and administration, respectively. She is currently interning at Above and Beyond Family Recovery Center as an addiction mental health counselor.

Outside of higher education, Estes-Romero spent three years working in legal aid, supporting free civil legal services in Southern Illinois. During that time, she worked with a wide variety of clientele including veterans, people with disabilities and people with criminal records.  

Estes-Romero is passionate about building social equity into public institutions. For her community work and scholarship, she has received recognition as a Principle Community Scholar and QuestBridge Scholar at Grinnell College and a Director’s Scholar at the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health.

Kathleen Filberg

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Intern at Piedmont Airlines

Kathleen Filberg is a senior at Salisbury University pursuing a BS in Human Resource Management in the Perdue School of Business. Filberg has been with Piedmont for six months and hopes to continue her career in aviation upon graduation. As well, she is the president of her campuses chapter of the Society for Human Resource Management.

Filberg is especially passionate about HR and diversity, equity and inclusion because of the vast array of people involved. She is looking forward to getting into HR in aviation because of the diversity of people, positions and experience involved. She enjoys education and being able to do her part in growing awareness, and believes in dedicating herself to making the workplace a more inclusive and enjoyable environment for all people and generations going forward.

Steven Goetz

Assistant Professor and Assistant Chief Flight Instructor, Department of Aviation Management and Flight, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Steve Goetz is an airline transport pilot, gold seal certified flight instructor, has been accredited as a master instructor by the National Association of Flight Instructors and holds a remote pilot certificate with small unmanned aircraft system rating. Goetz specializes in aircraft systems and Federal Aviation regulations. His research interests focus on fatigue and other topics related human factors along with recent contributions to the examination of diversity, equity and inclusion in collegiate aviation.

Carole Hopson

First Officer, United Airlines, Inc. / Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals, Inc.

Carole Hopson flies the Boeing 737 for United Airlines as a First Officer, based in Newark, NJ. After a remarkable 20-year career as a journalist and executive, she followed her dream to become a pilot and share her passion with others as a flight instructor, while raising her family. Despite what appeared like success, Carole always yearned to follow a childhood passion. Walking away from executive-level positions, she went to flight school with gusto and completed flight training at the peak of her corporate accomplishments. True to her roots as a writer, Carole has published her first novel: A Pair of Wings: A Novel Inspired by Pioneer Aviatrix Bessie Coleman, the first American to earn the French civilian pilot’s license.

Ayanna Howard

Dean, The Ohio State University College of Engineering

Accomplished roboticist, entrepreneur and educator Ayanna Howard, PhD, became dean of the College of Engineering on March 1, 2021. Previously she was chair of the Georgia Institute of Technology School of Interactive Computing in the College of Computing, as well as founder and director of the Human-Automation Systems Lab (HumAnS).

Her career spans higher education, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and the private sector. Howard is the founder and president of the board of directors of Zyrobotics, a Georgia Tech spin-off company that develops mobile therapy and educational products for children with special needs. Zyrobotics products are based on Howard’s research.

Among many accolades, Forbes named Howard to its America's Top 50 Women In Tech list. In May 2021, the Association for Computing Machinery named her the ACM Athena Lecturer in recognition of fundamental contributions to the development of accessible human-robotic systems and artificial intelligence, along with forging new paths to broaden participation in computing.

Howard also is a tenured professor in the college’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering with a joint appointment in Computer Science and Engineering.

She is the first woman to lead the College of Engineering. Nationally, only 17% of engineering deans or directors across the country are female, according to the Society of Women Engineers. She also is the college’s second Black dean. George Mason University President Gregory Washington served as interim dean from 2008 to 2011. Throughout her career, Howard has been active in helping to diversify the engineering profession for women, underrepresented minorities and individuals with disabilities.

Howard earned her bachelor’s degree in computer engineering from Brown University, her master’s degree and PhD in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California and her MBA from Claremont Graduate University.

From 1993 to 2005, she worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she held multiple roles including senior robotics researcher and deputy manager in the Office of the Chief Scientist. Among other projects, Howard was involved in developing SmartNav — an autonomous, next-generation Mars rover — and SnoMotes, toy-sized robots that can explore icy terrain that is too dangerous for scientists.

She joined Georgia Tech in 2005 as an associate professor and the founder of the HumAnS lab. The lab focuses on humanized intelligence, which uses techniques such as sensing and learning to enhance the autonomous capabilities of robots or other computerized systems. The HumAnS lab has generated more than 250 publications and $8.5 million in principal investigators-led research funding.

Among other roles at Georgia Tech, Howard was program director of the nation’s first multidisciplinary robotics PhD program; associate chair for faculty development in the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering; and associate director of research at the Institute for Robotics and Intelligent Machines.

In 2013, she founded Zyrobotics to help translate the lab’s research into commercial products for children with special needs. Zyrobotics spun off as a non-profit in 2020.

Julius Keller

Assistant Professor, School of Aviation and Transportation Technology, Purdue University

Julius Keller is an active certified flight instructor with airplane single- and multiengine and instrument-airplane ratings. Prior to entering academia, Keller gained experience as a charter pilot in a Piper Navajo. He also managed multimodal transportation and logistics for numerous Fortune 500 Companies.

Keller’s primary scholarly areas include addressing issues identified by the FAA and NTSB, such as fatigue among collegiate aviation pilots and wildlife strikes. Keller has also investigated VFR into IMC and safety culture. He intentionally uses research to promote effective teaching and learning for the purpose of improving pilot competencies as well as safety.   

In addition to his scholarship, he has been recognized for his leadership efforts involving women and underrepresented minorities in collegiate aviation. Keller is the faculty advisor for the Women in Aviation Purdue Chapter, and a member of the University Aviation Association and Diversity Committee with the Aviation Accreditation Board International.

Keller teaches courses pertaining to advanced transport operations, multicultural team operations and research methods.

Sue Knoblaugh

DVM, Diplomate, ACVP

Sue Knoblaugh received a BS in biology from Seattle University and her DVM degree from the College of Veterinary Medicine at The Ohio State University. She received her post-graduate training in comparative pathology and laboratory animal pathology at the University of Washington in the department of Comparative Medicine.  She was a comparative pathologist with the Comparative Medicine Shared Resource at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington for ten years where she worked with several mouse models of cancer and infectious disease. She joined the faculty in the Department of Veterinary Biosciences at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine in 2015 where she is an associate professor and a comparative pathologist for the Comparative Pathology and Digital Imaging Shared Resource. She has been an invited speaker for several workshops and conferences and is an author and coauthor of several publications and book chapters. Knoblaugh feels strongly about diversity, equity and inclusion. She is the co-founder and co-chair of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists (ACVP) Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee and recently became co-director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging for the The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Irene Miller

Doctoral candidate, Oklahoma State University

Irene Miller has always had a passion for aviation.  In June 1993, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Aviation with a specialization in airport management. While studying at The Ohio State University Miller earned her private pilot license.  

Miller wanted to further her education and earned a master’s degree. She graduated with a Master of Science in Space Studies in 1996. Miller is a doctoral candidate at Oklahoma State University and will graduate in spring 2022 with a doctoral degree in aviation and space. Her research interests are the development of critical thinking skills in collegiate aviation programs, diversity in the aviation industry and the impact modality, course schedules and pedagogical techniques have on student academic performance.

Miller has worked primarily in airport operations at John Glenn Columbus International Airport. She also gained experience with airport planning and oversight while serving as president of the Airport Advisory Board at Enid Woodring Airport in OK.

Miller is a member of Women in Aviation International and serves as the treasurer of the Huffman Prairie Chapter. She is also a member of the University Aviation Association and a Certified Member (C.M.) of the American Association of Airport Executives.

Miller began teaching classes for the Department of Aviation Management and Flight at Southern Illinois University in September 1996.  he is an assistant professor and teaches courses at the main campus and off-campus locations. Miller instructs undergraduate level courses in general aviation operations, airport operations, aviation industry regulations and several other aviation-management related courses. She enjoys teaching and sharing the excitement of education with her students.

James Moore

Vice Provost, The Ohio State University

James L. Moore III, PhD, is the vice provost for diversity and inclusion and chief diversity officer at The Ohio State University, while serving as the first executive director of the Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male. He is also the inaugural EHE Distinguished Professor of Urban Education in the College of Education and Human Ecology. From 2015 to 2017, Moore served as a program director for Broadening Participation in Engineering in the Engineering Directorate at the National Science Foundation in Alexandria, Virginia, and, from 2011 to 2015, he was an associate provost for diversity and inclusion at The Ohio State University, where he managed numerous programs and units.

Moore is internationally-recognized for his work on African American males. His research agenda focuses on school counseling, gifted education, urban education, higher education, multicultural education/counseling, and STEM education, and he is often quoted, featured and mentioned in popular publications, such as the New York Times, Columbus Dispatch, Spartanburg Herald, Cincinnati Enquirer, Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, Chronicle of Higher Education and Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. From 2018 to 2021, he was cited by Education Week as one of the 200 most influential scholars and researchers in the United States, who inform educational policy, practice and reform.

Moore has developed a national reputation as a thought leader on important educational public policy topics and regularly invited to share his expertise to various K-12 school systems, universities, professional associations, and governmental and non-profit agencies. On May 9, 2019, Congressman Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), Congressman Troy Balderson (R-OH) and staff of the U. S. House Representatives Committee on Science, Space, & Technology invited him to testify at the hearing titled, “Broadening Participation in STEM Education,” in the Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC. 

Moore has co-edited five books: (a) African American Students in Urban Schools: Critical Issues and Solutions for Achievement; (b) African American Male Students in PreK-12 Schools: Informing Research, Policy, and Practice; (c) Black Males and Intercollegiate Athletics: An exploration of Problems and Solutions; (d) Advancing Educational Outcomes in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics at Historically Black Colleges and Universities; and (e) Gifted Children of Color Around the World: Diverse Needs, Exemplary Practices and Directions for the Future. He has also published over 150 publications; obtained over $25 million in grants, contracts and gifts; and given over 200 scholarly presentations and lectures throughout the United States and other parts of the world (e.g., Brazil, Bermuda, Bahamas, Jamaica, Canada, England, Spain, China, India, Indonesia, Ireland and France).

Moore received his B.A. in English education from Delaware State University and both his M.A.Ed. and Ph.D. in counselor education from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Throughout his career, he has received numerous prestigious awards, honors and distinctions. Notably, he was selected as an American Educational Research Association Fellow, American Counseling Association Fellow, American Council on Education Fellow and Big Ten Committee on Institutional Cooperation Academic Leadership Program Fellow. In 2011, he was bestowed a proclamation from the Ohio House [OH]; in 2014, a resolution from the Columbus City Council [OH]; and in 2015, a key to the City of Spartanburg [SC]. Additionally, in 2018, Missy and Bob Weiler of Columbus, Ohio established in his honor the Dr. James L. Moore III Scholars Program to support diverse undergraduate students transferring from Columbus State Community College to Ohio State University.

Moore, a native of Lyman, South Carolina, is married to Stephanie M. Moore, who is also from South Carolina. They have four children: James L. Moore IV, Sienna Ava Moore, Savanna Marie-Ann Moore, and Sannai Elise Moore.

Nicole Nieto

Assistant Vice Provost for Outreach and Engagement, The Ohio State University Office of Academic Affairs

Throughout her sixteen year-long Ohio State career Nicole Nieto has held positions in the Offices of Student Life, Human Resources, Research and Academic Affairs.

Nieto has a PhD in women’s, gender and sexuality studies (WGSS) with a specialization in folklore studies from The Ohio State University. She serves on the President and Provost’s Council on Sustainability and on the advisory council for the Ohio Prison Education Exchange Project. She is a 2019 Ohio State Glassbreaker, an honor given to women who have advanced their careers at Ohio State while serving as mentors to other women.   

Nieto teaches courses in WGSS on popular culture, literature and food. She is also a STEP faculty mentor. Prior to arriving at Ohio State, she served as assistant director of international student and scholar services at the University of Alabama.

Katy O'Reilly

Program Manager, Open Doors Organization

Katy O’Reilly joined Open Doors Organization in 2015 after 10 years in community-based recreation and day program settings where she provided direct service to youth and adults with disabilities, the latter years as a certified therapeutic recreation specialist (CTRS). As ODO program manager, O'Reilly has thorough knowledge of best practices related to accessibility and universal design. She works closely with ODO’s airline partners as a lead trainer for the Complaints Resolution Official (CRO) Training Program as well as acting as CRO for multiple U.S. and foreign carriers. She has contributed to multiple major accessibility projects, most recently as co-author of the ACRP Report 210 Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities. Other accessibility-focused projects include the SEA Accessibility Assessment and Research Project and the PIT Wayfinding and Accessibility Assessment.  

O'Reilly has a B.A. from Western Illinois University in recreation, park and tourism administration and therapeutic recreation and resides in the Chicago area. 

Matt Romero

Assistant Professor, Department of Aviation Management and Flight, Southern Illinois University at Carbondale

Laurel Van Horn

VP Director of Programs, Open Doors Organization

Laurel Van Horn is recognized internationally as a leader in accessible travel and tourism, having worked as a writer, educator and researcher in this new, dynamic field since 1987.  Since 2004, she has served as VP director of programs for Open Doors Organization (ODO). Much of Van Horn's work is in the field of aviation, including development and delivery of training programs and symposia for airports, airlines and airline service companies. For ACI Global Training, she conducts a popular three-day workshop entitled “Accommodating Passengers with Disabilities.” Laurel was lead investigator for ACRP Report 210: Innovative Solutions to Facilitate Accessibility for Airport Travelers with Disabilities and is currently involved in a new project, ACRP 01-48: Assessing Airport Programs for Travelers with Disabilities/Older Adults.

A long-term resident of New York City, Laurel has an M.A. in economics from the New School for Social Research and a B.A. from Bryn Mawr College in sociology.

Lisa Watson-Morgan

Program Manager, NASA Human Landing System Program at NASA's Marshall SpaceFlight Center

Appointed to the position in July 2019, she oversees the integrated lunar landing systems, to include vehicles and systems that will transport astronauts to the Moon's south pole. Working with U.S. industry, her agency-wide team will deliver a sustainable landing system to ferry crew to and from the lunar surface. The landing system is a key element of NASA's bold new Artemis Program, which will leverage NASA's Space Launch System and Orion crew spacecraft to return explorers to the Moon by 2024, and, via the lunar Gateway orbital platform, enable a long-term human presence there by 2026, reigniting America's leadership in crewed exploration of the solar system and taking the next giant leap toward human exploration of Mars. Watson-Morgan previously was deputy director of Marshall's Engineering Directorate from 2018 to 2019, helping oversee an organization of more than 2,300 civil service and contractor personnel supporting development, testing and delivery of flight hardware and software associated with space transportation and spacecraft systems, science instruments and payloads under development at Marshall. She joined NASA in 1989 and has supported and led a variety of NASA programs and projects, including serving as manager of Marshall's Chief Engineer's office from 2011 to 2013 and director of the Spacecraft and Vehicle Systems Department from 2015 to 2018. She was appointed in 2013 to the Senior Executive Service, the personnel system covering top managerial positions in federal agencies. A native of Huntsville, Watson-Morgan graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa in 1991 with a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering, and the University of Alabama in Huntsville with a master's degree in industrial and systems engineering in 1994 and a doctorate in engineering management in 2008. She has received numerous NASA awards, including the Exceptional Service Medal in 2001, Exceptional Achievement Medal in 2010, a Meritorious Presidential Rank Award in 2018 and 2020 Distinguished Engineering Fellow, College of Engineering, The University of Alabama. Watson-Morgan and her husband live in Huntsville and have three children.