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Creation Date
2019
Bio
Dr. Ruth Stilwell is the Executive Director of Aerospace Policy Solutions LLC, an adjunct professor at Norwich University, and Senior Nonresident Scholar at the Space Policy Institute of George Washington University. She is one of the world’s leading authorities on integrated space and aviation policy and governance.
A 25-year air traffic controller, experienced labor leader and policy expert, Dr. Stilwell is also an accomplished researcher and lecturer. Her numerous publications and presentations, which cover a wide range of space and aviation, public safety, human factor, administration, financing, and industry reform topics. In addition to her publications, she is a contributing author to McGill University’s Global Space Governance: An International Study. Dr. Stilwell’s specific areas of expertise include: integrating commercial space operations in civil airspace; projecting air traffic controller retirement and staffing requirements; FAA funding and financing structures; workers’ rights and more.
Dr. Stilwell served from 2010-2015 as the industry expert representing air traffic controllers on the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Air Navigation Commission in Montreal. Her air traffic control experience includes 25 years of operational duty at the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center, two years as liaison to the FAA Requirements Service, and six years as Executive Vice President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.
The founding chairperson of the Air Traffic Services Committee of the International Transport Workers Federation, a position she held for four years, Dr. Stilwell currently serves on the Technical Committee on Human Spaceflight Safety of the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety, which is working to develop safety guidelines for human commercial spaceflight.
Dr. Stilwell earned her BA in Labor Studies at the National Labor College and her MPA and DPA at the University of Baltimore. A resident of Florida, she enjoys skiing, long-distance running, and spending quality time with her stepson.
