The ACSF executive board has expanded the role of Bryan Burns, the organisation's president. Effective immediately, Burns will serve as both president and CEO of the Foundation. Additionally, the ACSF has hired its first-ever executive director, Debi Carpenter, who will lead the organisation's membership development, grant writing and fundraising efforts.

“This has been a transformational year,” says chairman Todd Weeber, who had tasked Burns with a variety of strategic planning initiatives, including elevating the brand, nurturing the Foundation's relationship with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, optimising the board of governors and creating new services and programme opportunities to serve the industry. “As a leader, Bryan has accomplished everything we've asked him to do. One of his biggest achievements last year was successfully transitioning the ACSF to Association Management Strategies, which provides a shared services model for our HR and accounting functions.”

Weeber notes that the ACSF continues to to exceed its goals of advancing aviation safety while focusing on strategy, branding, innovation, inclusion and diversity. “But we still have a lot of work to do to get the next generation of safety practitioners energised and engaged,” he says. “That means launching and executing some new and exciting programmes.” That effort will be headed up by veteran business aviation professional Debi Carpenter, who will spearhead the new initiatives in a newly created leadership role as the ACSF's executive director.

“We're growing,” says Burns. “And we're thrilled to bring Debi on board to help ensure our resilience and scalability as a nonprofit organisation. We want to continuously add value to the aviation safety industry by offering even more robust safety resources. Debi will lead this effort by seeking grant support and creating sponsorship and advertising opportunities for companies desiring to enhance safety, while promoting their brand to our 315-plus member companies.”

Prior to joining the ACSF, Carpenter served as the head of marketing and communications at Natilus, a leading unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) cargo manufacturer based in San Diego, California. During her tenure there, she played a key role in shaping marketing strategies, driving sales growth and fostering the development of the brand. Additionally, she has held executive positions with prominent aviation organisations, including the Southern California Aviation Association and Eco Aviation International. At the latter, she served as executive director, driving growth and engagement within the aviation industry. A private pilot in the Cirrus SR20 and actively involved in the aviation community, Carpenter has served as a board member of Women in Corporate Aviation and member of the NBAA Local and Regional Leadership Committee.

Going forward, the Foundation with continue its annual Safety Symposium and current roster of programmes, which includes Flight Data Monitoring, the SMS Tool, Industry Audit Standard and the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP). Incidentally, for the ASAP, the ACSF currently manages more than 60 per cent of all ASAP reports filed within the aviation industry.