GHAC Conference
14
Oct
Summary
What this edition was
The 3rd Miami Aviation Safety Campaign met in July 2022. Sixteen speakers from ICAO’s NACC regional office, IATA, the FAA, Delta Air Lines, Frontier, Caribbean Airlines, Broward County and the World Food Programme worked through regional emergency response and safety. Thirteen presentations are available below.
Speakers
The voices on the podium
Capt. Samir Sajet is the Head of the World Food Programme (WFP)–Regional Aviation Safety Unit (UAE) for Asia, Sudanand the Middle EastRegions. Samir leads a common service provided by the World Food Programme to serve andprovide the humanitarian community with safe and reliable air transport services during humanitarian emergencies. In2017 Samir was appointed on a secondment as a Technical Specialist, Efficiency and Operations at the International CivilAviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal.With more than 45 years of experience in the aviation sector, staring in the Iraqi air commercial carrier as a fixed wingand Helicopter pilot holding helicopter instructor and inspector license and then joining WFP in 1998.
Experienced in building networks and managing relationships at all organizational levels, conveying technical, political andstrategic opportunities leveraging on 30 years of work in aviation, Influenced regulators in Colombia and Brazil oninfrastructurerequirements for airport concessions, reducing CAPEX by US$ 300 million, Work with 20+ team members inthe Americas and Europe to develop solutions to support the growth of our clients, With 30 years of aviation experience Iam a regular speaker at conferences such as GAD, AAAE and PhocusWright, on topics like the use of technology forpassenger, cargo and airport operations, the impacts of aviation to local economies and the importance of well-balancedairport concessions
Mr. Julio Siu has over 25 years of experience in Aeronautical Telecommunications, Project Management, senior businessadministration and financial matters. Mr. Siu covered several senior management andleadership posts in the CentralAmerican Air Navigation Services Corporation (COCESNA), such as Regional Manager of Honduras and he was theRegional Officer, Communications, Navigation and Surveillance for the ICAO NACC Regional Office as well as an auditorand Team Leader for the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP).Since 2016, Mr. Siu is the Deputy Regional Director of the ICAO NACC Regional Office, where he is responsible of theRegional Office management; he serves as Technical TeamLeader and assists the Regional Director in leading theorganization ́s vision and mission in support of 22 ICAO Contracting States and 19 Territories.
30+ years of experience in aviation industryenvironment, 19 years as airworthiness inspector for the Civil AviationAuthority of El Salvador, Avionics inspector, Head of Certification processes, Head of Flight Standards Departmentfor Airworthiness, Airworthiness inspector for the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) since 2005
The Regional Officer, Air Traffic Management and Search and Rescue (RO/ATM-SAR) deals with and is accountable forthe work on all matters pertaining to air space and air traffic management (ATM), Aeronautical InformationManagement (AIM), Search and Rescue (SAR) and safety of aircraft operations for North American and Caribbean(NAM/CAR) Regions
Experienced International Specialist with a demonstrated history of working in the airlines/aviation industry. Strongoperations professional skilled in Airports, U.S. Department of Defense, Aviation, Systems Engineering, andAerospace
Veteran with 25+ years of proven leadership, operations, sales, project management, logistics, international sales, teambuilding and diplomatic experience with a reputation for meeting the mostchallenging goals and objectives. Recognizedfor business acumen, managing programs and services initiatives making seemingly impossible situations work. Abilityto build solid relationships with executive leaders, business and international partners. Ledinternational operations inBrazil, and Uruguay. Able to achieve consensus across corporate and US government. Achieved measurable results indynamic, fast paced environments. Recipient of multiple awards for outstanding performance and professionalismthroughout career. Fluent in Spanish and Portuguese.
In the raise of his career served 17 years in the Honduran Air Force as military pilot, with ratings in several fixed wing and helicopter aircraft. On conclusion of his military service, joined DPKO briefly for a mission in Eritrea (UNMEE) and then worked for more than 20 years up to date with the World Food Programme; Currently serving Chief Aviation Safety Unit, with prior positions as Chief Air Transport Officer in South Sudan and Afghanistan. Previously served as Regional Safety Officer in Nairobi and South Africa and in Rome HQ from where he was assigned to participate in various worldwide emergencies like Mozambique floods, Iraq post war, Haiti hurricane, Indonesia Tsunami, Pakistan earthquake and flood, Madagascar floods and the Philippines Typhoon Haiyan/Yolanda back in 2013.
Sarah Baal is a lifelong and passionate Disaster Management Professional, having joined the profession in 2011 aftergraduating from the University of the WestIndies, Mona Campus with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Geographyand sincethen she has obtained more than 20 licenses and certifications related to emergency responses. Her debut into disastermanagement was with Trinidad and Tobago’s National Disaster Office, the Office of Disaster Preparedness andManagement (ODPM) where she held multiple portfolios during her tenure. Since then, she has enhanced herprofessional development acquiring a NEBOSH National General Certificate in Occupational Safety and Health, andcertificates in Psychological First Aid, Risk Programme Management, Emergency Telecommunications, National IncidentManagement Systems and Emergency Management
Dr. Kools joined the FAA in 2009. During his tenure, Joe has successfully led several leadership development initiatives andspecial projects. He currently serves as the Senior Representative for Suriname, Guyana and the Caribbean region whichencompasses more than 10,000 individual islands, and cays in a region covering more than one-million square miles.Before joining API, Joe served as the Director of Executive and Organizational Development where he led the design anddelivery of several innovative, national award-winning programs. Joe also served as the Director of the FAA’s corporateuniversity, Program Manager of FAA’s Senior Leadership Development Program (SLDP) and the Program for EmergingLeaders (PEL). Under his leadership, he designed, and transitioned the FAA from its legacy corporate university (CMEL) tothe FAA Leadership & Learning Institute (FLLI).Before joining the FAA, Joe s
Ms. Gottlich is a foreign affairs specialist for the Western Hemisphere Division in the FAA’s Office of InternationalAffairs where she covers Central America and the Caribbean. In this role, she serves as the program manager for theCaribbean Aviation Resilience and Recovery Group (CARRG), an initiative established to improve the communicationand coordination amongst civil aviation stakeholders in the region. Additionally, she managed the Central AmericaPartnership (CAP), which supports aviation training and capacity building in Central America.Jessa joined the FAA in 2019 in the Office of Aviation Policy and Plans focusing on remote tower and federal contracttower policy within the U.S. She has also worked for the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization concentrating oninfrastructure initiatives in rural areas. Before joining the FAA, Jessa worked in surface transportation policy at BoozAllenHami
He holds a bachelor's degree in Aviation Science Management, a master's degree inAeronautical Sciences specializing in Aviation Safety Systems, and a doctoral degree inEmergency Management. Dr. Gracia has been an Adjunct Professor at the School ofAeronautics since 2004 and is the Emergency Manager at Aerostar Airport Holdings, LLC in theLuis Muñoz Marín International Airport in Puerto Rico. Over his years of professionalexperience in the aviation industry and the Academia, he has been responsible forthe creationand implementation of several successful safety programs at the Luis Muñoz MarinInternational airport, such as the airport certification program, the Safety Management System(SMS) and the Office of Emergency Management, among others.He also has led the coordination, response, and recovery of several natural phenomena such asearthquakes, hurricanes, and recently the global pandemic
Kevin Wu is currently the Airport Manager–Emergency Management at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.He is an Accredited Airport Executive with the AmericanAssociation of Airport Executives, and he has a Bachelor of Science in Aviation Administration aswell as a Master of Public Administration.Kevin has accumulated over 20 Years of AirportOperations experience from three international airports, refining his expertise inParkingOperations, Airside Operations, Emergency Response and Business Continuity.Kevin served as theAirport Emergency Operations Center’s Incident Commander for a FedEx flight FDX 910 Crash in2016 and he has been serving on the Broward Emergency Response Team, ESF1-Airport UnitLeader Since 2014.
Salvador Velasco is a professional in emergency response with more than 22 years ofexpertise in ER planning, logistics, training,deployment response, and after-action analysis.He holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from The Catholic University of Puerto Rico. Hecurrently serves as Frontier Airlines' Director of Emergency Response. He formerly heldpositions as Senior Manager of Emergency Response for Spirit Airlines, Director of HumanSupport Services for Kenyon International, and Family Assistance Coordinator for TACAAirlines.His practical experience includes working with survivors and relatives of victims of aviationaccidents in countries like Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Honduras, India, Libya, Panama,Peru, and Spain as well as helping those afflicted by natural disasters like earthquakes andhurricanes
Theresa Debosky is an accomplished aviation professional with a passion for customerservice and a safety advocate. She began her career in Ft. Lauderdale, FL with Delta AirLines in 1989. Her love to help people and travel the world made this a great fit.Throughout her 33 years of service, she has been involved with aviation and airportincidents like the Brussel’s bombings in 2016 and the Ft. Lauderdale shootings at theairport in 2018. Shehas activated Delta’s hurricane plan for numerous hurricanes andearthquakes. Planning and preparation are key to respond at a moments notice forTheresa and her team.
Private and commercial airplane pilot. With more than 45 years of experience,Guatemalan,based in Guatemala City. Focused on leadership, teamwork andresponsibility. Rigorous inregulatory tasks and compliance regarding GuatemalanCivilAviation
Gallery
From the floor
Resources
Presentations & downloads
PDF
D1P1 Chrystelle Damar ICAO
PDF
D1P2 Eddian Mendez
PDF
D1P2 Mike Carver
PDF
D1P3 Willie bergesv
PDF
D1P4 Joseph Kools
PDF
D1P5 Julio Siu
PDF
D1P6 Sarah Baal
PDF
D2P1 Jessa Gottlich
PDF
D2P2 Erick Garcia
PDF
D2P3 Kevin Wu
PDF
D2P4 Salvador Velasco
PDF
D2P5 Theresa Debosky
PDF
D2P6 Richard Callaway
Keep going
Earlier in the archive
GHAC Conference
Humanitarian Aviation Campaign
02
Sep
GHAC Conference
15
Oct
17th Global Humanitarian Aviation Conference and Exhibition
CVK Park Bosphorus Hotel, Türkiye
15 Oct 2025
→