With nearly 20 years of aviation experience with the Canadian carrier, WestJet Airlines, Gillean specializes in crisis management, trauma first-aid, and Special Assistance Teams. She has worked extensively with airport authorities around the world planning in executing disaster response exercises, corporate and airport drills, and tabletop exercises. Gillean has been activated for countless complex Special Assistance Team assignments throughout her career, both domestically and internationally. Having participated in all facets of the airline’s emergency response program, she has responded to aircraft incidents, serious passenger medicals, and responses involving team members or passenger deaths. She was a member of the response team that deployed to the Grand Riviera Princess Hotel in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, as a result of a natural gas explosion in 2010, for which her airline received a corporate humanitarian response award.

Gillean has also participated in highly successful aviation program audits by regulatory agencies, codeshare partners, and aviation organizations, and has worked with global community partners, including Transport Canada, Transportation Safety Board, National Transportation Safety Board, the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Red Cross.

Gillean is qualified to ensure a Special Assistance Team program maintains compliance with the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act (US) 1996 and the Foreign Air Carriers Family Assistance Act (US) 1997. She has attended numerous aviation conferences and events and is well-respected by her airline peers around the world. She is certified in grief counseling, trauma first aid; and is also a Red Cross Standard C First Aid & CPR Instructor. In addition to her response and humanitarian skills, Gillean is a skilled Doula who has assisted women of all ages, cultures, and religions through labor and delivery. Gillean resides in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, where she enjoys spending time with her family, riding horses, and enjoying the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

David started his aviation career in the construction of aircraft with British Aerospace, then made the transition into maintenance with Monarch Airlines. After many years in overalls, he moved into quality assurance with Lufthansa Technik and then into corporate safety with Cathay Pacific.

David joined IATA in 2010 and managed the ground services portfolio, including the production of the AHM and delivery of the annual IGHC conference. After moving into the safety department, he took over the ERP portfolio and worked extensively with ICAO on regulations for aerodrome safety and ERP.

David has degrees in humanities and business management and professional qualifications in maintenance, QA, Safety and OH&S. He is also a published author, and teaches yoga. David is bilingual in English and French and currently resides in Quebec, Canada.

David Rimmer is a veteran business aviation executive and entrepreneur. He is CEO of the AB Aviation Group and serves on the Board of Advisors at Hopscotch Air. Based in New York City, David is the former President of ExcelAire, Alerion and Talon Air, three prominent aircraft management, maintenance and charter providers.

He is a battle tested leader with an intense focus on high standards and safety. In 2006, David was one of seven survivors of a major midair accident between a Gol Airlines Boeing 737-800 and an Embraer Legacy 600 business jet. The accident was the deadliest in Brazilian aviation history at the time, killing 154 people on the airliner, while the occupants of the smaller jet landed safely.

As a result of the accident and its aftermath, he became a leading aviation safety proponent, speaking about his experience to groups around the world. David has also incorporated this experience into his professional responsibilities, serving as both an Emergency Response Manager and Accountable Executive.

Before beginning his aviation career, David was a media professional. He has served in programming and marketing positions at several national radio networks and local radio stations, including ABC, NBC, Sony and Bloomberg LP and has written for Business and Commercial Aviation, Resilient Aviation/Blue Sky News, Airliners, Airways and FORTUNE Custom Publishing.

David remains committed to personal and professional growth. He became an NBAA Certified Aviation Manager in 2020, is a Fellow at the Royal Aeronautical Society and previously served as Chairman of the NATA Air Charter Committee, on the Air Charter Safety Foundation Board of Governors, and as a member of the NBAA Corporate Aviation Management Committee.

David Bushman has 30+ years involved in safety, disaster preparedness, and response during his career in aerospace. Highlights include safety diver for underwater training of astronauts for space walks; safety engineer on the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor; Director of Engineering responsible for all safety and OSHA compliance for rocket testing; Mission Manager responsible for safety on test aircraft and research aircraft as well as crew wellness and safety on deployments; development of Next Generation Air Traffic Control System; and safety compliance for launch customers and aircraft operators at Spaceport America. David has served as the Safety Officer for two aerospace companies, and as an elected Airport Commissioner at a community airport.

David has also volunteered with the American Red Cross for 10+ years and participated in shelter management for fires in California, Utah, and New Mexico. He has participated in the performance evaluation of first responders on an aircraft crash simulation at the Norma Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, and served on the public relations team in a weeklong statewide pandemic outbreak drill in New Mexico. In addition, David has served on a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) in New Mexico, and in the City of San Jose, California. He was also a bilingual instructor of Emergency Preparedness for the City of San Jose, California. David developed a course for the Department of Homeland Security to train incident responders to properly select and use PPE for chemical, biological, and radiological events.

David has served as a certified instructor for the American Heart Association for retraining medical personnel in basic first aid and life support, and is certified as a Wilderness First Responder. He holds a Mechanical Engineering degree and an MBA.

Charlie Miller brings decades of global experience helping major companies and organisations across more than 40 markets to successfully navigate reputation issues, challenges, and crises.

A highly regarded communications professional and award-winning journalist, he has been involved in the response to a significant number of crises around the world including airline accidents, engineering issues, and business challenges.

He has exceptional experience in the fields of media relations, reputation and issues management, and crisis communications.

Charlie previously led aerospace giant Boeing’s highly diverse global communications team with the mission to support global business growth and protect the company by optimising reputation and mitigating risk with comprehensive issues and crisis management.

Prior to Boeing, Charlie jointly led Corporate Media Relations as Head of News at Europe’s biggest defence company BAE Systems.

Charlie forged a successful 20-year career as a journalist, primarily covering Foreign Affairs and Defence for the UK national news agency, the Press Association. He reported extensively from conflict zones, including the 1991 Gulf War and the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. He was awarded “UK Scoop of the Year” for breaking the news of the death of Princess Diana in 1997.

Charlie is based in Chicago and speaks English and French.

With over 10 years’ experience in Emergency Response Planning and Crisis Support, Amy has worked with clients in the aviation, maritime, energy, rail, retail, healthcare, and manufacturing industries. Amy’s areas of expertise include Emergency Preparedness and Family Assistance, with her core strength being in Call Center Operations. Previously, as Vice President, Client Services & Call Center Operations for a disaster response company, Amy managed call center services for many US Fortune 100-500 level clients, overseeing 500+ call center agents, training clients on software, creating customized phone scripts, conducting emergency exercises, managing the technical side of call center operations, and leading countless call center activations. She has held a leadership role in numerous responses including aviation accidents, cruise ship incidents, train derailments, oil/gas fires & explosions, natural disasters, mass shootings, tour/excursion incidents, employee injuries & deaths, piracy/hijackings, criminal acts, and business disruptions.

Amy holds a BS in both Psychology & Sociology and previously held trainer certifications in Care Team Response and QPR Suicide Prevention. She currently resides in Atlanta, GA.

Mike Plottel is an experienced senior leader with over 40 years’ experience in the aviation industry. His career as a pilot, manager and executive has spanned government, corporate and airline operations. Since 1995, Mike has specialized in aviation safety, focusing on safety management systems, fatigue risk management, human factors and safety leadership.

Mike has held positions with the British Columbia Government Air Services, Air BC Airlines, Transport Canada, the British Columbia Air Ambulance Service, WestJet Airlines and the Qantas Group. As WestJet’s Director of Safety Services, Mike was responsible for the development and implementation of several major programs including the airline’s Safety Management System, which comprised risk management, quality assurance, investigation, oversight, training and emergency response components. At the Qantas Group, Mike held positions as Head of Safety for Domestic and International operations, Head of Safety for QantasLink Regional Airlines and special advisor to the Qantas Group Safety Transformation Project.

Mike holds a diploma in Aviation Technology from Selkirk College, an undergraduate degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of British Columbia, and a graduate degree in Public Administration from the University of Victoria. He is based in Calgary, Canada.

Blakely Webster has over 15 years of business operations experience. She has spent the past 10 years in operations management overseeing analytics, HR coordination, bookkeeping and accounting. She has always taken great pride in looking after the wellbeing of her team and has taken numerous courses in family assistance training over the past 13 years.

Throughout her roles in business, she has excelled in the creative aspects of presentation and training design, template creation, social media management, web design, and music creation and video editing. She participates in a weekly podcast promoting women’s golf, with accompanying social media to support it. Blakely obtained a degree in Business Administration (General Management) from Mount Royal University in Calgary, Alberta in 2015 and a Business Administration diploma with a focus in Entrepreneurship from SAIT Polytechnic in 2013. She is a community volunteer, having been a mentor for Big Brothers and Big Sisters for three years, and assisted in the response to major flooding in Calgary in 2013. She was also instrumental in assisting Spirit Airlines during their evacuation response to the 2017/2018 hurricane season