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From our first calendar to the launch of impactful projects like Inspire, Mentorship, the Elevate Aviation Learning Centre, and Workplace Culture Consulting, our mission has consistently centered on empowering women and other underrepresented groups while diversifying the aviation workforce. Over the years, we have expanded our initiatives, forged valuable partnerships, and secured significant funding to support our growth and enhance our offerings. Our story is one of dedication, community support, and a relentless drive to bridge gaps and create opportunities for those who are underrepresented within the aviation industry. We invite you to explore our timeline to see how Elevate Aviation has made a difference and continues to shape the future of aviation.
Kendra, an Air Traffic Controller, was seeking a meaningful way to give back and got involved with the Make-a-Wish Foundation. This led her to join a climb of Mt. Kilimanjaro for the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation. To raise funds for the climb, Kendra came up with the idea to create a fun calendar featuring her female Air Traffic Control coworkers. Her innovative idea raised $10,000, enabling her to complete the climb successfully. Little did she know it would eventually spark the idea for the creation of Elevate Aviation. Now Kendra is Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the ever growing organization.
Laura served 13 years in the army, eventually leading her to relocate to Edmonton, AB after releasing. Once settled in Edmonton, she decided to pursue a new career in Air Traffic Control, after previously meeting Kendra. Now, Laura is Elevate Aviation's Co-Founder, Chief Operating Officer, and Chief Financial Officer, assuming responsibility for all its projects, day-to-day operations, and finances.
In 2014, an opportunity arose to build a playground for children in Juayua, El Salvador. Kendra gathered a group of family and friends, including Laura, and formed a team called "Changing Stories." To fund this endeavour, Kendra once again thought of the concept of creating a calendar. This time, she expanded the project to feature women from various aviation careers, and enlisted Laura to help!
Kendra and Laura worked together to create a calendar featuring 12 women in various aviation careers. Kendra found the women to feature and recruited volunteers, while Laura handled the administrative and design work. Throughout the summer of 2014, photoshoots were conducted to produce the 2015 calendar. During this project, they witnessed firsthand the significant gender gap in the aviation industry. The calendar was launched at a small event held at Halo Lounge, a cocktail bar inside the Edmonton International Airport. About 50 attendees joined the event, and calendar sales were successful once again!
Elevate Aviation Ltd. was officially established and incorporated as a not-for-profit organization under Part 9 of the Alberta Companies Act on August 19, 2015! It was co-founded by Kendra and Laura.
In 2015, Kendra and Laura decided to create another calendar for 2016, but with a twist that would elevate the project! They expanded their efforts by producing video stories featuring each of the women in the upcoming edition. The 2016 calendar was launched at a larger event held in a ballroom at the Renaissance Edmonton Airport Hotel, welcoming over 250 guests! This expansion continued each year, selecting women from across the country and attracting more guests at each launch event.
Following the calendar's success, the team began to expand on the vision of Elevate Aviation. They created a website and social media accounts to kickstart their digital presence, and began brainstorming additional initiatives. Some of the women featured in the calendar expressed interest in further involvement after helping with the launch events.
Sophia joined Elevate Aviation in 2015 after being selected as a feature for the 2016 Elevate Calendar! Sophia took on a role in coordinating our calendar features (and now Inspire gala features). She currently serves as the Director of Mentorship and Volunteers.
The Mentorship Program began in 2016, connecting local women in aviation with others interested in touring the airport and Air Traffic Control center. Today, our Mentorship Program matches aspiring aviation professionals with Mentors across the country to facilitate career development.
Originally conducing one-on-one tours for girls interested in aviation, this evolved into the first group tour when Kendra brought a girl's baseball team around the airport for the day! This event sparked the creation of full-day tours, now known as the Cross Country Tour. Starting in Edmonton, Elevate Aviation’s annual Cross Country Tours expanded to Calgary, then to six cities, and eventually reaching 25 cities by 2024. These new initiatives garnered recognition in the news, on social media, and within the aviation community. More volunteers stepped up, and the most dedicated ones joined Kendra, Laura and Sophia to form the first Elevate Aviation Executive Committee.
Dina Jammaz, an Air Traffic Controller, joined the Elevate Aviation team in 2017. Originally joining as a volunteer attending airshows and other community events, Dina quickly became an integral part of the team. Now through her role as Director of Community Engagement at Elevate Aviation, Dina continues to work with underrepresented groups to introduce them to careers in aviation. From airshows to educational workshops, to mentoring others entering a career in aviation, she ensures the continued growth of a thriving aviation community.
In 2018, we applied for a government funding opportunity from Status of Women Canada (now known as Women and Gender Equality Canada, or WAGE) to conduct a three-year research project aimed at uncovering the barriers women face when entering aviation careers. Our goal was to create an action plan in collaboration with industry partners across the country to attract more women to the field. We won! Elevate Aviation was thrilled to be awarded $426,000 to support and complete this important project. From there, Our very first employee, Meg Gaze, was hired as the Project Administrator. Our research provided valuable insights to guide our efforts in creating more inclusive and supportive pathways into aviation.
A partnership with the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) was established with the help of Alexia Hannam, a former Elevate Calendar feature. The partnership was created with the intention of RCAF members having full support and approval from the RCAF Commander in order to participate in Elevate Aviation's growing programs.
After winning two more grants in 2018 and 2019, we were enabled to launch the Aviation Career Exploration (ACE) Program. These grants were provided through the Government of Alberta’s Labour Market Partnerships to launch programs in Edmonton and Calgary. At the time, this program was called the Elevate Aviation Learning Centre, and the Edmonton International Airport provided us with a classroom and office in one of their buildings to run the program. Now, ACE offers individuals aged 11 and older hands-on, immersive tours of aviation facilities, exposing them to various aviation careers.
In 2019, the Elevate Calendar was retired and that program was rebranded as "Inspire," which has since become our longest-running initiative. Inspire is a cocktail-style event that showcases eight incredible women in aviation while raising funds to support our other programs, including bursaries, mentorship, and the Elevate Aviation Learning Centre.
In 2020, after an impactful career working with organizations including Canada 3000 Airlines, Edmonton Airports, Edmonton Economic Development, and Women Building Futures, Nova Andrews was brought on to manage the Aviation Career Exploration (ACE) Program. Shortly after Nova joined, the pandemic shut everything down and we needed to pivot. Quickly shifting gears, we turned the ACE Program into a series of online videos, launched Air Time webinars, and focused our efforts on industry recovery. During her time with Elevate Aviation, Nova has held several key positions and now serves as our Chief Strategy Officer.
As the pandemic continued on, the EALC began to restructure to encompass a Kindergarten to Career approach with the creation of Junior Jets; further development of Aviation Career Exploration, planning of Aviation Readiness Training courses, and professional development programming called Elevate U.
Emily joined the Elevate Aviation team after initially participating as a subject matter expert on an Air Time webinar. With her educational background in interdisciplinary studies, her expertise and contributions during the session made a strong impression, leading to her formal involvement with the team soon after. Now, Emily has taken on a role as our Director of Industry Culture Development, ensuring the success of our diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. With over a decade of experience in the aviation sector, both in the public and military spheres, she brings a wealth of knowledge to her role.
In 2021, recognizing the aviation industry's critical state due to the pandemic, the Government of Alberta prioritized efforts to support its recovery. Our COVID Recovery Project, funded by the Government of Alberta’s Ministry of Jobs, Economy, and Trade, was launched as a research initiative aimed at assessing the needs of aviation organizations in Alberta. Its goal was to gain a deeper understanding of the sector's challenges and requirements, enabling the development of targeted support and recovery strategies.
We received funding for our "Reimagine Your Future" project in 2021 from the Government of Alberta. This campaign utilizes VR technology to showcase how commonly recognized careers can be reimagined as career opportunities in aviation through immersive experiences. Using VR headsets, learners could hear the stories of 5 women who made a career change to join the aviation industry, and experience a day in their lives, sparking interest in aviation and aerospace. The VR experience was offered to the public for the first time at our 2023 Inspire gala! People can experience it at most of our community events, school engagements or career fairs.
The Elevate Aviation Learning Centre became our hub for providing multiple aviation training programs. Based at the Edmonton International Airport, the EALC provides a variety of free programs to women and underrepresented groups that equip them with the knowledge and skills they need to become successful through careers in aviation. In 2022, Nova became the first Director of Elevate Aviation Learning Centre, and we expanded to hired a team which included a Program Manager, Facilitators, an Assessment Advisor, and various administrative roles.
Using Nova's in-depth experience in skills development training, we applied for and were honoured to receive $2.27 million in funding from Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) in 2022! This allowed for the creation of our Women’s Employment Skills Training (WEST) Program, marking the first course launched under the Aviation Readiness Training program umbrella and allowed us to open a full-sized facility at the Edmonton International Airport, officially putting the Elevate Aviation Learning Centre (EALC) on the map!
Growing up immersed in aviation, Christine developed a deep admiration for the industry. Throughout her career, she held various roles with different airlines and became the first Station Manager for Swissport at Edmonton International Airport. Always eager to expand her skills, Christine recently enhanced her analytical and leadership abilities as a Data Collection Manager with Statistics Canada. In 2022, we were thrilled to welcome Christine to the Elevate Aviation team as the WEST Program Manager. Today, she serves as Director of the Elevate Aviation Learning Centre and is a key member of our Senior Leadership Team. Christine's passion for aviation, commitment to introducing others to the industry, and dedication to helping learners succeed make her a vital member of our organization.
In 2022, we secured funding from WAGE to launch our Allies in the Workplace program, receiving $490,000 for this initiative. This program provides Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) expertise to aviation organizations through both modular content and in-person facilitation. It enhances our other initiatives by ensuring that positive and inclusive work environments are available for the diverse individuals we aim to attract to the aviation industry.
We were awarded an incredible $5m by the Government of Alberta in 2023 to expand the Elevate Aviation Learning Centre by launching the Aircraft Service Technician (AST), Foundational Aviation Skills Training (FAST), and Aviation Fundamentals training programs. Programs include WEST, Aviation Service Technician (AST), and a library of Foundational Aviation Skills Training (FAST) courses offering streams such as Flight Attendant, Ramp Agent, Customer Service, Private Pilot Ground School, and RPAS certification. This exciting growth also led to expanding our EALC space by over 10,000 square feet.
Colonel Maggie Jacula came from a military family, joining the Canadian Forces after graduating from the Royal Military College of Canada in 2001 with a Bachelor of Chemical and Material Engineering. After two decades in various leadership roles, she retired from the Regular Force and joined the RCAF 2024 Centennial Campaign team, celebrating the history of the RCAF and inspiring people across Canada. Maggie was featured at our 2023 Inspire gala, after which she officially joined Elevate Aviation as our Director of Military Relations, acting as a liaison between us and the RCAF after Alexia Hannam stepped down.
In 2024, we received $900,000 from the Government of Alberta for our new Virtual Reality (VR) project, which will be a supplement to the Aircraft Service Technician (AST) Program. We are currently in the development phase of this project, but it will enhance theoretical training for learners by allowing them to learn through virtually completing AST tasks such as tire changes, walk around inspections, and much more!
As we look back on our journey, we are incredibly proud of the milestones we’ve achieved and the positive impact we’ve made in the aviation industry. Our continued growth and success are a testament to the dedication of our team, the support of our partners, and the resilience of the aviation community. Moving forward, we remain committed to our mission. We are excited about the future and the opportunities it holds for expanding our programs and reaching even more individuals across Canada and beyond.