Gala Summer Camp - Florida Aerospace Training Center

Exciting Announcement: Girls Achieving Leadership in Aviation Summer Camp!

We are thrilled to announce the launch of the inaugural Girls Achieving Leadership in Aviation Summer Camp, exclusively for girls from the Boys and Girls Club of Tampa! This exciting camp is dedicated to empowering young girls with education, mentorship, and unforgettable experiences in the aviation industry.

June 24th to June 28th

at the Tampa Executive Airport

Join us from for an inspiring week filled with:

Educational Workshops: Dive into the fascinating world of aviation.
Mentorship Opportunities: Learn from women leaders in various aviation roles, including engineers, pilots, and astronaut Nicole Stott.
Field Trips: Explore different facets of the aviation industry through engaging excursions.
Inspiring Panel Discussions: Hear firsthand from women who are shaping the future of aviation.

I am Ivelisse Rivera, CEO of the Florida Aerospace Training Center, and I am honored to host the inaugural Girls Achieving Leadership in Aviation Summer Camp.

This event offers girls the chance to explore and engage with the aerospace industry, providing a unique and enriching experience. My goal is for each participant to leave empowered and prepared, with a clear vision for their professional future.

Veronica Citron joined America’s Favorite Airport in April 2020. As Vice President of Communications, she oversees all internal and external messaging for TPA.

Before joining the airport’s award-winning Communications team, she was Spectrum Bay News 9’s primary weekday evening anchor for 10 years. Her work earned six Suncoast Chapter Emmy awards, Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists awards, and Society of Professional Journalists

Sunshine State awards.

Veronica serves on The Florida Aquarium Board of Directors and is a member of the University of South Florida’s Zimmerman School of Advertising and Communications Advisory Council. She also served on USF’s Advancing Latino Access and Success Task Force.

She is a 2022 Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 honoree, the 2022 Girl Scouts of West Central Florida Woman of Promise, and a member of the Athena Society. Veronica graduated from the University of South Florida and lives with her husband and 8-year-old daughter in Tampa.

Panelists

Nicole Stott is an astronaut, aquanaut, engineer, artist, and author of Back to Earth: What Life In Space Taught Me About Our Home Planet – And Our Mission To Protect It; and most importantly a mom. She creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with her artwork to inspire everyone’s appreciation of our role as crewmates here on Spaceship Earth.

Nicole is a veteran NASA Astronaut with two spaceflights and 104 days in space as a crewmember on both the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. Personal highlights of her time in space include being the 10th woman to perform a spacewalk, first person to operate the ISS robotic arm to capture a free-flying cargo vehicle, first to paint a watercolor in space, working with her international crew for the benefit of all life on Earth, and of course the life-changing view of our planetary home.

Nicole is also a NASA Aquanaut. In preparation for spaceflight, she was a crewmember on an 18-day saturation dive mission at the Aquarius undersea laboratory.

Nicole believes that the international model of peaceful and successful cooperation we have experienced in the extreme environments of space and sea holds the key to the same kind of peaceful and successful cooperation for all life here on Earth.

On her post-NASA mission, she is a technical and creative consultant, motivational speaker, and advocate for all we do in space that is ultimately for the benefit of all life on Earth. Nicole is also extremely proud of her role as a founding director of the Space for Art Foundation — uniting a planetary community of children through the awe and wonder of space exploration and the healing power of art; and as a partner in purpose with Christina Korp and Space For a Better World – connecting the space curious to the space serious.

(Full NASA Bio: https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/stott-np.pdf)

Born in Cuba, raised in Argentina. At age 14 moved to Tampa, Florida.

While searching for answers to the right career, an opportunity to work in Tampa International Airport came up; which sparked the possibility that college was not the only path to success.

Although self conflicting, reconsidering a childhood dream job was the right step to a life never imagined before. Aviation is a field full of wonderful possibilities fit for different personalities and different goals.

Overtime, Anahi continued to grow as Passenger Service Agent for an Airline contractor which opened the door to a new world, and today to Certified Flight Instructor

Lori Steiner has over 25 years of experience in the planning, design and construction of aviation and transportation projects. She has been responsible for leading design teams on complex projects in an airport environment as well as managing on-call contracts.

Her project experience includes project management and design of runways, taxiways, aprons, roadways, parking lots and rail. She is thoroughly familiar with FAA advisory circulars and regulations and has experience working on airport projects across the country. She also has both construction administration and construction management experience at airport facilities.

Lori earned a bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and a MBA from the University of Florida. She is a registered Professional Engineer in Florida, Georgia, and California.

Andrea Reese joined Skyport Aviation at Tampa

Executive in 2018 as a part-time Customer Service Representative, despite having a Pharmacy degree and no aviation background.

Her rapid advancement led to roles as Customer Service Supervisor and Manager.

Andrea expanded her skills by training as a line service technician.

In early 2020, she successfully restructured Skyport Aviation’s Harrisburg, PA location as Interim General Manager. Returning to Tampa in 2021, Andrea was promoted to Assistant General Manager, and in 2022, she became General Manager. She currently holds this position at Tampa Executive Airport.

Mariah Blackmon is the President of Women in Aviation Tampa Bay Chapter, as well as a Charter Sales & Logistics

Coordinator for Skyway Aviation.

Upon graduating with her Bachelors in Aviation Science & Management, Mariah completed an Airport Operations Internship and became a student pilot. Recently, she won the National Business Aviation Association’s Top 40 Under 40 Award and continues to strive for success in the aviation industry.

Marilyn Gauthier helps oversee General Aviation at Tampa International Airport and HCAA’s three smaller feeder airports, Tampa Executive, Peter O. Knight and Plant City Airport.

Notable Contributions: Helps throw TPA’s annual GALA event raising scholarship money for young women looking to break into the field of aviation. Women who Inspires You: Sue Mowery-Schalk, a female leader within the FAA who helped inspire my career in aviation.