Join the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Women in Aerospace for a free screening of the film Fly Girls: Breaking Barriers in the Sky. The film, which is just under an hour in length, will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 28 at the Beckman Institute auditorium, 405 N. Mathews Ave.in Urbana.
You’ll learn more about the more than 1,000 female pilots who were trained to ferry aircraft, test planes, instruct male pilots, even tow targets for anti-aircraft artillery practice during World War II.
After the film, panelists will share some of their experiences as women in aerospace and aviation. The panelists and moderator are:
Chy-Amari Finley is in her second year as an aerospace engineering student at Illinois. She has already earned her pilot license and is working on her instrument rating and ground instructor certifications.
She has been involved in aviation and aerospace outreach since high school working primarily with students from underrepresented communities. Her most notable outreach has ties with several Tuskegee Airmen and Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals chapters.
Finley plans to work with human spaceflight and use her extensive aeronautical knowledge to help solve more complex space-related problems.
Samantha McCue earned her bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from UIUC in 2013 and is currently a system engineering manager, XQ-58A Flight test lead at 5-D Systems, Inc. a KRATOS company.
McCue holds a private pilot certificate with Instrument rating from the Institute of Aviation. She later earned an MS in systems engineering management from Texas A&M. She has worked for Cimarron and Boeing based in Houston, where she worked as a systems, instrumentation, and test engineer on the Boeing CST-100 Starliner program.
In 2016, she began working with 5-D Systems and has served in the roles of systems engineer, test director, and program manager.
Christine Oksas graduated from Illinois in 2016 with degrees in molecular and cellular biology, and anthropology. She is a first officer with SkyWest Airlines.
Oksas was in the health tech industry for two years before moving west to continue her flight education. She received her instrument rating, single and multi-engine commercial certificates, and flight instructor certificates in 2019.
She worked as a contract ferry pilot, a medevac pilot on a King Air 200, and a flight instructor before transitioning to the airlines where she now flies the CRJ 700 for SkyWest Airlines at SFO. Still passionate about flight training, she continues to instruct in her local pilot community and was one of AOPAs 2021-2022 Distinguished Flight Instructors. She also runs a mentorship program for commercial pilots through the Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots.
Lisa Taylor is the executive director of the Women Airforce Service Pilots WWII Museum in Sweetwater, Texas.
During her tenure at the Museum, Taylor led and completed an expansion initiative that doubled campus facilities, expanded exhibits, and established school-age programs. Working with the Museum’s key leadership team, she facilitated the creation of a first-class visitor experience for families and school groups as they learn about the WASP, their legacy pilots, aircraft, and STEM careers.
Prior to her museum role, Taylor worked for the Chamber of Commerce and taught in both the private and public-school sectors. She has always fought for the underdog and has enjoyed raising money for her schools and churches.
She holds a BS in Marketing from Texas Tech University and an MAT in Education from Texas Woman’s University.
Robyn Woollands, is an assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and also holds a pilot license.
Prior to joining Illinois, she worked for almost 4 years as a Mission Design Engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Her research interests are in astrodynamics, trajectory optimization, Picard-Chebyshev methods and space mission design.
She is a recipient of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research Young Investigator Award for 2024. Woollands graduated with her PhD in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2016. She is a recipient of the Distinguished Graduate Student Doctoral Award for Excellence in Research at Texas A&M University.
The panel will be moderated by Laura Gerhold, who is also a pilot and worked as a flight instructor and adviser for the UIUC aviation program. She has a BS from the College of ACES.
She joined the Department of Aerospace Engineering in March of 2012 as an academic adviser to undergraduates in aerospace engineering. Outside of work, she enjoys giving back to her community and is a member of various local organizations including the Junior League of Champaign-Urbana, The Family Room, the Education Justice Project, and the Executive Club of Champaign County.
A reception will follow the panel discussion. Metered parking spaces are available near Beckman: on Wright Street, in the circle drive, and across Mathews in the campus parking deck.
Registration is requested at https://forms.illinois.edu/sec/20226920.
For more information about the event, visit https://calendars.illinois.edu/detail/4338?eventId=33482062.