On February 4, 2025, the Aviation Emergency Response Organization (AERO) held its annual meeting in Washington, DC and elected the newest executive board members for the 2025-2026 year. I am so pleased we have such a strong bench of emergency preparedness members upon which to draw our candidates.
Let me introduce them to you.
Salvador Velasco – Vice Chairman. Sal is the Director of Emergency Response for Frontier Airlines and has more than two decades of experience in this area.
John McDonald – Secretary. John is the Founder of Caeli Communications and has four decades of communications leadership experience.
David Nicewinter – Treasurer. David is the Director of Emergency Operations at Raleigh Durham International Airport and has more than 25 years’ experience in airport operations and emergency management.
Frank Ciaccio- Chairman. I am honored to serve a second term as Chair and am the current Director of Public Safety and Emergency Management for the Houston Airport System (HAS). I have more than 30 years’ experience in emergency response working multiple aviation disasters both domestic and internationally.
Congratulations to our newest executive board members.
I also like to thank our previous board executives Penni Chambers and Stephanie Smith for a job well done and for devoting their time and talents to the board and for making AERO the organization it is today. They are deeply appreciated continuing members on our board.
I would encourage you and your organization to join AERO! We are focused on informing, educating, and providing a forum of sharing for emergency response professionals from all aspects of the aviation industry, worldwide.
Until our next gathering, stay safe.
-Frank Ciaccio, Chairman
