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My Lifelong Passion for Aerospace
Like many of us in the aerospace industry , I grew up fascinated by airplanes and flying . My dad was a member of an Air National Guard unit that flew F16s . The sound of those jets darting overhead and the patterns of contrails that lingered across the blue skies after they passed made indelible marks in my memory . I reveled in going to summer air shows where I could climb into the cockpit of any number of planes and imagine I was at the helm soaring through the air . As a teenage girl in the 1980s , the release of the original “ Top Gun ” movie , complete with surround sound , rocked my world .
Staci Nelson Executive Director , INWAC Principal , Nelson Stevenson Consulting https :// inwac . org
And yet , it was my brothers who pursued aviation careers . While they navigated B-1s and F-15s for the Air Force , I followed my heart into the nonprofit world . I worked in communications , public relations and development for healthcare and educational organizations across the Pacific Northwest , working to improve the quality of life for those we served and the communities in which we operated . Compelling missions and community leaders who willingly gave their time and energy to important causes became two of the most rewarding aspects of my work .
Over time , I developed a knack for successfully working with nonprofit boards led by visionary , community-minded business executives . Harnessing their collective ideas , spurring them into action , and working side by side to make a positive impact proved to be a challenging , yet powerful process — one that I loved choreographing .
52 NORTHWEST AEROSPACE NEWS