America
Indian American oversees US regional aviation ops
Washington, Feb 25
An Indian American has been
named to a key leadership position in the Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) responsible for oversight and execution of
operations in nine US regions.
As Executive Director for Regions
and Centre Operations (ARC) at the FAA, Ravi Chaudhary, a former US Air
Force officer, is also responsible for executing a $288 million
operating budget and leading over 2,100 federal employees.
As
second-in-command to the Deputy Assistant Administrator for ARC, he
among other things looks after congressional outreach, emergency
readiness, facilities management, and centralised support for the
National Aerospace System.
Appointed to his present job in
December 2014, Choudhary, a C-17 Pilot, completed 21 years of service
at the Air Force District of Washington, Andrews Air Force base,
according to his official profile.
He has also served at the
Pentagon as a speechwriter and strategic planner in the Secretary of
the Air Force Executive Action Group and Deputy Chief of Staff for Air
Force Strategic Plans and Programmes.
In May last year, Chaudhary
was appointed by President Barack Obama as a member of the President's
Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.
In
this role, he advises the President on executive branch efforts to
improve economic and community development, public and private sector
collaboration, health, education and veterans support for the AAPI
community.
Chaudhary holds a BS in Aeronautical Engineering from
the Air Force Academy, MA in Operational Arts and Science from Air
University, and an MS in Industrial Engineering from St. Mary's
University as a NASA graduate fellow.
He has published numerous articles in Future Strategy, Aircraft Design, Business Transformation, and Space Operations.
Chaudhary
is currently conducting research in Executive Leadership and
Innovation in the Georgetown University Doctor of Liberal Studies
programme.