Fireside Chat with Kathleen Guilfoyle

IAWA members and friends gathered virtually on January 27th to kick off the first virtual networking session of 2022 with a Fireside Chat with IAWA's New President Kathleen Guilfoyle. The event was moderated by Nicole Huque. 

Kathy shared her personal and professional inspiring stories by talking about her supportive and encouraging parents, who shaped her to be the person that she is today and how she approaches things in life, by showing her the importance of leading by example and by teaching her the importance of advocating for yourself. 

Kathy addressed the challenges of being a working mother and a career woman and how working part time would not provide the opportunity for growth.  Kathy talked about a study she did that showed that women were leaving the workforce because they didn’t have the support they needed to continue growing in their career and emphasized the importance of having a support system and a champion around you to see your growth and your development.  

Kathy also talked about the importance of building your network to grow and develop in the aviation and aerospace field and recommended investment in IAWA by becoming a member. “Investment in IAWA is investing in yourself, your personal growth, your development and your career”.  In order to meet IAWA’s mission of cultivating and advancing women leaders in the aviation and aerospace industries through a global network, Kathy has set her goals to increase membership in Europe and Africa and retain our global members.  

Kathy encouraged nonmember attendees to join IAWA, invited all to join the IAWA Leadership Forum scheduled for June 10, 2022, in Geneva and announced that the IAWA 33rd Annual Conference will be November 9th-11th in Lisbon, Portugal.