Naor and Huff Join Executive Board, Officers Re-elected and New Advisory Board Formed
Washington, DC, July 23, 2021 — Following its July 15 Board of Governors meeting, the Air Charter Safety Foundation is pleased to announce changes to its Board of Governors and Executive Board, as well as the new addition of an Advisory Board.
At the meeting, the ACSF Board of Governors elected Jessica Naor and Tom Huff to its Executive Board, which is responsible for overseeing all fiduciary and governance functions. Additionally, the Board extended its officers’ terms for a second year. Those officers include: Robert J. Rufli, Chair; Bryan Burns, President; Todd Weeber, Vice Chair; Joseph Salata, Treasurer; and Richard Gomez, Secretary.
It was also decided that the Board should reduce in its number of members in order to become more nimble and effective. Relatedly, the ACSF has established an Advisory Board to advance the objectives, vision and mission of the ACSF. The Advisory Board members will work with one or more ACSF staff liaisons, providing constructive guidance and direction.
ACSF Executive Board Changes
ACSF President Bryan Burns praised the addition of Naor and Huff to the Executive Board. “Since Jessie and Tom joined our Board of Governors, we’ve seen them bring a new prospective to our leadership team. They’re both highly respected aviation professionals within the industry, and they’re using their background and knowledge to help us reshape our Foundation for the future. We’re looking to their guidance to bring more innovation to the ACSF and help us succeed in our vision and mission.”
Jessica Naor is the Chief Operating Officer of the Maryland-based GrandView Aviation. She is a member of FAA’s Duty & Rest Aviation Rulemaking Committee and is Vice Chair of the NATA’s (National Air Transportation Association) Part 135 Committee. Naor is the recipient of the NATA Industry Excellence award, and was honored as a “Top 40 Under 40” by the National Business Aviation Association. She earned an associate’s degree in Air Traffic Control (Summa Cum Laude), from Community College of Baltimore County in Catonsville, Maryland, followed by a BA in Aviation Business Administration (Cum Laude) from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. She went on to earn an MBA in Management & Finance from The Johns Hopkins University Carey Business School in Baltimore, Maryland.
Tom Huff is the Aviation Safety Officer for the Georgia-based Gulfstream Aerospace, where he provides independent safety oversight and facilitates the firm’s safety management system. He recently chaired both the Flight Test Safety and NBAA Safety Committees, and is now the chair of the Flight Safety Foundation Business Advisory Committee, a member of the Society of Flight Test Engineers and an Associate Fellow in the Society of Experimental Test Pilots. Huff retired from the U.S. Navy after 28 years, having commanded an operational FA-18 squadron, U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and integrated Test Wing. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy with a BS in Engineering, and later earned an MS in Aviation Systems from the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tennessee, as well as an MA in National Defense from the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island. Huff is type-rated in the Gulfstream GV, G450 and G550.
Click to view a complete list of the ACSF’s Board of Governors and Advisory Board. Click to view the Executive Board.
About the ACSF
The Air Charter Safety Foundation is a non-profit organization with 260 member companies. Its mission is to lead and support the advancement of the highest safety standards available; to enable the business, charter and fractional ownership industry to offer the safest air transportation products in the world; and to provide objective information about these standards and services to the public. In accordance with its mission, the ACSF developed the Industry Audit Standard for Part 135 and 91K operators, which serves as a detailed gap analysis of an operator’s management practices. The ACSF also administers the Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP), in partnership with the Federal Aviation Authority. The ASAP, which has more than 200 participants, makes use of member employee input to identify significant safety concerns and issues, operational deficiencies, non-compliance with regulations, deviations from company policies and procedures, and unusual events. Every year in March, the ACSF hosts an annual Air Charter Safety Symposium.
