.png)
| Brad Nojaim FABA President General Manager | Reliance Aviation Brad Nojaim currently serves as the President and Board Member of the Florida Aviation Business Association (FABA). He is the President and General Manager of Reliance Aviation Miami LLC, an FBO located at Miami Executive Airport, a position he has held since 2009. Prior to joining Reliance Aviation Miami LLC, he was the Real Estate Manager at AA Acquisitions, LLC at Opa Locka Airport. Mr. Nojaim began his career as a commercial real estate agent with ComReal Miami. Mr. Nojaim graduated from Florida International University with degrees in Finance, Management Information Systems, and Real Estate. He resides in Miami with his wife and two daughters.
|
| Mike Quinn FABA Vice President Mike Quinn served in the 82nd Airborne Division in the United States Army as a Petroleum Supply Specialist. He is actively the General Manager of Atlas Aviation's two locations at Peter O' Knight Airport in Tampa Florida and the Plant City Airport, Plant City Florida overseeing FBO, Flight School, and Commercial Maintenance operations. He has been a part of FABA for 15 years on the board for 3 years. Mike has worked with jet fuel since 1996 with 20 years of General Aviation experience. Mike is originally from Oklahoma and has been living in Florida since 2000. He also holds a Private Pilot Certificate.
|
| Sue Folkringa, CPA FABA Treasurer Aviation CPAs Sue Folkringa is a Certified Public Accountant and has been specializing in 'Aviation Taxology' since 2008. She is a licensed pilot and proud owner-pilot of a Piper Comanche aircraft and flies gliders in her spare time. Sure completed her Masters of Taxation from Florida Atlantic University in 2015, and also hold an MBA - Accounting and Finance and a BBA - Accounting from Grand Valley State University. Additionally, Sue is an FAA CFI Certified Flight Instructor and FAA CFII Certified Instrument Instructor and provides training and endorsements to aspiring pilots. Sue has been a longstanding member of FABA and is excited to be on the Board of Directors. She brings a unique perspective to the organization's issues given her vast experience in aviation tax and accounting issues. She is also a member of the NBAA Tax Committee and is a member of AOPA, EAA, AIPCA, FICPA, SFBAA and CalCPA. She is a frequent presenter at NBAA Tax Conferences and other industry events.
|
FABA Board Members and Committee Chairs
| Chris Rosensteel FABA Past President Area Director | Signature Flight Support
|
| Richard L. Richards FABA Past President Aviation Law | Richards Legal Group Richard L. Richards, Esq. is an attorney partner with the Richards Legal Group and serves as Past-President and Board Member of FABA. Mr. Richards is an aviation law expert who is board certified by the Florida Bar in aviation law. The representative clients of the Richards Legal Group include FBO’s, aircraft owners, aircraft dealers, aircraft lessees, aircraft fuelers, and aircraft/engine repair stations in all aspects of aviation law including leases, sales contracts, liens, and lawsuits/FAA actions. Mr. Richards has over 26 years of experience in aviation law including private practice, vice president/general counsel for an airline, and airport counsel for an airport authority. Mr. Richards regularly lectures at aviation conferences and is an instructor of the aviation law board certification course for the Florida Bar. Mr. Richards is also very active in his community by being Scoutmaster of a local scout troop and serving on the boards of Kiwanis and his local church.
|
| Wesley Earl FABA Director Sales Director | World Fuel Services, Inc. Wesley Earl is Sales Director, Bulk Fuels, Business & General Aviation, for World Fuel Services, headquartered in Doral, Florida. Prior to World Fuels Services, Wesley managed the aviation fuel sales for The Hiller Group Inc., a Chevron and Phillips 66 aviation fuel distributor, based in Tampa, Florida. In December 2010, World Fuel Services acquired The Hiller Group, Inc. Wesley has over 30-years sales and management experience as a fuel supplier to the Commercial, Business, and General Aviation industry. Wesley grew up in West Palm Beach and lives in Tampa, Florida. He earned his B.S. (1989) and M.B.A (1999) degrees at the University of Tampa and served in United States Marine Corps from 1983-1987. He previously served on the Executive Advisory Council, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University FBO Management Certificate Program and has been a board member of the Florida Business Aviation Association (FABA) since 2016.
|
| Steven Popilek FABA Director
|
| Colleen Conklin FABA Director Education Committee Chair Director | Gaetz Aerospace Institute - ERAU Dr. Colleen Conklin is an Associate Professor of Aeronautical Science as well as the Executive Director of the Gaetz Aerospace Institute at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. As Executive Director of the Institute, Dr. Conklin is responsible for the overall management and administration of programming. This past year 150 Secondary Schools, 261 teachers, and over 8,000 students participated in Gaetz programming. In total, the program has reached more than 30,000 students, including 16,000+ dual-enrolled students, since our program started in 2004. The Institute provides rigorous aerospace-based STEM-related courses that prepare students for college and careers in emerging industries such as Flight, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Robotics, Global Navigation Systems, and Commercial Space Operations. Professor Conklin has over 29 years in public education as a classroom teacher from the inner-city streets of Washington Heights and the South Bronx to the rural fields of Bunnell, Florida. She holds a doctoral degree in Organizational Leadership with a minor in Brain-Based Learning. Outside of her role at Embry-Riddle, she is the Vice-Chair of the Flagler County School Board, where she was first elected in 2000 to today where she continues to serve the children and citizens of Flagler County. She is married to Christopher Conklin for the past 23 years and has two sons Patrick (22) and Ryan (20).
|
| Brett Fay FABA Director Brett is the Director of General Aviation at Tampa International Airport and is responsible for directing the operations, maintenance, and business initiatives of the Aviation Authority’s three General Aviation airports which include Plant City, Peter O. Knight, and Tampa Executive Airport. Brett has worked in airport management for over 15 years and has previously held positions at Lakeland Linder International Airport and Aspen Pitkin County Airport. He is responsible for Advanced Air Mobility for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority and Chairs their Advanced Aviation Technology Committee. Brett is a Certified Member of the American Association of Airport Executives and holds a B.S. in Aerospace Administration from Middle Tennessee State University. |
| Doug Joest FABA Director Doug serves as a Senior Consultant at Aviation Management Consulting Group (AMCG). He has approximately 35 years of aviation management experience, which includes management positions of FBO Treasurer and Chief Administrative Officer, Airport Authority Board Member, Airport CFO, and Airport Executive Director. In addition, he has substantial financial and accounting experience outside of the aviation industry. Doug is past president and board member of Aviation Indiana and a member of AAAE. He previously served on the Indiana Governor’s Blue Ribbon Transportation Infrastructure Panel and was the 2015 Executive in Residence at the Romain College of Business at the University of Southern Indiana. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Southern Indiana and is an instrument rated private pilot. |
 | Joe Taravella FABA Director Joe Taravella is a 3rd generation Fort Lauderdale native who graduated from the University of North Florida with a Bachelors Degree in Graphic Design. He has worked alongside various Fortune 50 companies developing marketing and sales funnels through A/B Testing and Conversion Rate Optimization strategies. Between 2017 and 2021, Joe worked in Charter Sales and Management with Jet 1 Charter in Naples, FL. He currently serves as one of Avfuel’s two Area Managers in the Southeastern US.
|
Legislative Lobbyist |
| Eric D. Prutsman FABA Legislative Lobbyist Eric has three decades of experience in the political arena of Tallahassee, and has held positions in the executive and legislative branches of state government. After earning his law degree from Florida State University, he served as Assistant General Counsel for the Florida Department of State and the Florida Elections Commission. He later joined the Florida Senate as an attorney for the Committee on Commerce, where he was responsible for drafting major legislation in health care, workers’ compensation, corporations, and insurance. After many years of government service he entered the private sector to practice administrative and legislative law and has represented the Florida Aviation Business Association before the Florida Legislature and state agencies for the past eighteen years. |
