Last week Center of Excellence Executive Director Jason Petrait had the pleasure of sitting down with Justin Ellixson-Andrews, Executive Director of the National Gay Pilots Association. Justin and Jason talked through what the NGPA does, what Justin’s goals are in his new role, and why advocacy matters now more than ever. Read on:
Jason Petrait: What is the history of the NGPA? What were the reasons it formed, and what were the issues the LGBTQ+ aviation community faced at that time?
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: NGPA, the National Gay Pilots Association was founded in 1990. At the time, being openly gay meant you could be fired from your job or dishonorably discharged from the military. Our founding members organized the first meet up in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and identified themselves to each other by wearing t-shirts that depicted an airplane. Members only shared first names to limit any negative impact on employment and families. That handful of gay pilots has since grown to nearly 5,000 LGBTQ+ members across the entire aviation industry in North America, Europe, and Australia. It’s been an incredible growth period over 30+ years.
In 1998 we launched our education fund, and awarded two scholarships totaling $4,000. Annual award amounts have grown exponentially since then, to where we’ve now awarded over $1M dollars in scholarships to students across the entire aviation field—from the flight training side to aircraft maintenance and other support industries—and become the largest LGBTQ+ aviation community worldwide.
Jason Petrait: Speaking of 30-plus years, a lot has happened both positive and negative since those days. What are the issues the LGBTQ+ aviation community faces now and how does the NGPA tackle those issues?
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: It’s really cyclical. And it’s interesting to see how today’s political climate is repeating provocations of the past.
Two of the pillars of NGPA are visibility and fighting homophobia and transphobia in the workplace. One of the things that’s most important to our members is simply being able to present and live authentically and that’s what NGPA advocates for both on the flight deck and in the halls of corporate America. It’s the most basic human dignity of existing and being able to live a life free from fear and retribution with the support of employers.
Visibility is a key component of NGPA. We have an advocacy committee that helps to shape the narrative and decide on which issues the organization wants to tackle. We look to our partners to help move the needle forward on a plethora of different issues surrounding DEI in the workplace. For example, inclusive language and checklists. Many checklists still refer to captains as “he” and flight attendants as “she” and we know it doesn’t matter what gender you identify with to fly an airplane. We work with the FAA and our airline partners to update seemingly small things that are very meaningful to our members: pronoun usage, inclusive uniforms, etc.
It’s important for our members to be their entire selves when they show up to work, and it comes down to safety: good crew resource management (CRM) in the flight deck. When both pilots work together (putting aside any personal differences) they can carry out their mission in a safe manner versus flying with the fear of having to hide a part of oneself and negatively impacting the safety of the flight.
There are many larger issues that we bring up to our partners, different pilot unions, and even the FAA. An example of that is life-saving medications that people outside of aviation may never think about, yet can be disqualifying for pilots. There’s quite a bit of work to be done, and it moves incrementally as information evolves. We’re fortunate that we’ve grown strong partnerships in the industry over these last 30-plus years, and we’re moving the needle in the right direction.
Jason Petrait: You’re new in your role, though not new in aviation. What are your goals for the organization in your first year as you settle into the job?
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: My first goal is to try not to rock the boat too much as I get my bearings. I’ve been a member of the organization for several years and in the industry for my entire career. I went to college for aviation and never left. I’d like to see this organization continue to advocate for the community in and outside of the flight deck. Pilots will always be our focus but there are others that are part of the industry that also need representation, and are equally as important to the safe operation of flight. It takes a lot of different people and a lot of different careers to go from point A to point B.
I look forward to the organization continuing to promote careers in aviation to our youth. Representation matters and being able to identify with someone in a job makes that job seem attainable. We want to break that stigma going back to captains only being male and flight attendants only being female. That’s not the reality any longer. We also want to open doors for underrepresented communities because there are substantial shortages for maintenance technicians and pilots. Promoting these highly lucrative, highly rewarding careers to our youth can address the shortage problem.
Jason Petrait: You hit on the role of working with youth and making sure that people can see themselves in these occupations, which is so important. Are there other ways that the NGPA is taking on building the aviation workforce?
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: One of our initiatives is to source from within. Some of us leave other careers to join the aviation community. For many, we start in the aviation workforce and never leave. And starting in one role doesn’t dictate an entire career. We see a lot of our members in the flight attendant profession transition to pilots. They’ve seen the lifestyle, they like the schedule and benefits, and gender plays a less prominent role in defining the position. Why not move to the flight deck? We’re starting to see careers transition from cabin crew to flight deck and that’s only going to continue.
Maintenance is the same way. We’ve seen ground crew who like being outside move from manual positions to the tech field as the next level of a career that supports themselves and their families.
Jason Petrait: I know that bringing people together is at the center of the NGPA’s mission. What events are coming up, and how do events drive the mission of the NGPA?
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: Events are really the cornerstone and the foundation of NGPA. From that very first meeting in Provincetown, members wanted community. Many LGBTQ+ people who come out to their families simultaneously break up with their families. Here they are at a crossroads: do they love who they love and present how they how they present or do they live in fear and hiding for the sake of not being alone? It takes a lot of courage to arrive at that fork in the road and say, “I am who I am, you’re either going to love me for it or not it.” We all have our coming out stories and for many of our members the NGPA is their chosen family. We are fortunate to have a strong mentorship program that affirms it’s okay to be who you are. It doesn’t have to affect your ability to live out your dreams and work in aviation.
Events are like a homecoming. An NGPA event is unlike other events in the industry, and they’re a lot of fun. We combine a professional aspect with a social aspect and we have several flagship events throughout the year. Our largest event happens every February in Palm Springs. That’s our Winter Warm-Up and Industry Expo, where we hold one of the largest job fairs in the industry. This May, we have our annual Transgender and Non-Binary Committee Social, an annual event that, quite frankly, came out of a life or death need for some of our members. The transgender community has one of the highest suicide rates and that committee does incredible work with regards to medical issues, working with designated pilot examiners (DPEs), and basic accommodations so people can go to work safely. Our socials are a great time for transgender members to come together. Some members present authentically for the very first time in these safe spaces provided by the organization with the help of our great partners that open their hangers and offer tours, etc.
This June, we have our Wings Over Florida event, combining social events with advocacy during pride weekend in Ft. Lauderdale. We stand in solidarity with not only our members in Ft. Lauderdale but also the larger LGBQT+ Florida community against the anti-LGBQT+ homophobic and transphobic legislation across the south as well as in 45 other states.
Our Cape Cod Classic is every September. That’s our P’town event that started it all and has been going on for 33 years. At NGPA.org/events you can find all of the events that we do throughout the year.
Another way we build upon our mission to BUILD, SUPPORT, and UNITE the LGBTQ+ aviation community is through local chapters. I believe we are up to 27 local chapters across the country, each with their own events. I attended the Dallas chapter social last week where the FAA opened up the Fort Worth center for us and guided a tour for members. Local chapter events are a great way to get involved on a smaller scale. If coming to Palm Springs with its 2,000+ attendees isn’t in the cards for you right now, or if that might be overwhelming, a local chapter social is a great way to get the flavor in a much more manageable way.
Jason Petrait: To travel to a state where you don’t feel welcome seems like a moral quandary. Many organizations decide to avoid states, for example recently Texas and Georgia. What was your thinking in deciding to go to Florida?
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: Our belief is that queer presence in the face of queer prosecution is the very definition of advocacy. The pinnacle of LGBTQ+ civil rights began as a riot, and we share that same spirit. Change doesn’t occur by doing the same thing over and over again, and running away from a problem doesn’t solve a problem. We felt very strongly that going to Florida was the right thing to do. I’m not implying that all of our members were immediately on board with the idea. Some shared their concerns and we learned a lot. We put several protections in place, and we changed some of our policies on a national level to ensure that we are making meaningful change when we go to these places. We have in the contract with our host property that they agree to not discriminate against different identities, including sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in their hiring practices and employment policies. While we may not be able to change the legislature, we can influence the local level and start to grow from there. Grassroots organizing has always been the way to affect meaningful change and going to Florida is a way to do that.
Jason Petrait: What did we miss? Are there other initiatives or growth areas you’d like to touch on?
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: We are focused on growing our University chapters right now. We have about two dozen university chapters at major aviation institutions and flight schools across the country and eyeing our first maintenance school chapter as well. I believe that universities are really the lifeline of the organization and our future. Today’s university chapter members are tomorrow’s committee volunteers and the next decade’s board members. So we have a stake in providing opportunities to those chapter members to advance their careers: not only resume prep, interview prep, and professionalism skills, but also using our clout and political capital as a national organization to go to our sponsors and say we would like scholarships that are inclusive of careers across the industry, on whatever path our members find themselves. University initiatives are the pinnacle of our 5-year strategic plan. My alma mater started its NGPA chapter only a few years ago. I would have loved to be part of it when I was in college. I’m excited that I can support it from a national level.
Jason Petrait: I think that’s a great place to end it. Often university students don’t know what it means to be part of a membership organization or be in a school organization or what it’s like to be a board member or go to a conference, and as future professionals they will hopefully be doing that stuff anyway.
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: Exactly! Visibility matters. If you can see yourself in a leadership position in an organization like the NGPA, hopefully, that means you can see yourself in a leadership position at a major airline, or any career you choose.
Jason Petrait: Thank you so much for this.
Justin Ellixson-Andrews: Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity. This has been really great to share.