AMAC ALC Fireside Chat

Back by popular demand, the AMAC Airport Leadership Collective (ALC) presents the Fireside Chat speaker series. In 2022, we launched the series featuring dynamic women speakers, including former and previous Airport Directors, Deputy Directors, CEOs, Emerging Leaders and C-Suite leaders from the aviation industry. This series continues to support women in navigating their careers and providing recommendations for elevating their careers to senior-level opportunities within the aviation industry. Come prepared to hear from our speakers and participate in an interactive Q&A!

MODERATOR

Karen Ellis
At-Large Director, AMAC Board of Directors
Chair, AMAC Conference Planning Committee
Chief Customer Experience Officer, San Antonio Airport System

Karen W. Ellis serves as the Chief Customer Experience Officer for the San Antonio International Airport System (SAAS), which comprises the San Antonio International Airport and Stinson Municipal Airport. Karen has over 20 years of leadership and customer service experience in the aviation industry by serving with the following airports: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Houston Airport System and now SAAS.

Karen holds a Master of Science Degree in Human Resources Management from Troy University and a Bachelor of Science Degree from Jacksonville State University. In conjunction with her educational background, Karen is a Certified Customer Care Manager by the Customer Service Institute and a certified Customer Service Manager by the Customer Service Institute of America. She is also a Certified Customer Experience Specialist by Airport Council International (ACI). Through Toastmasters International, Karen has achieved the status of Competent Toastmaster, Advanced Toastmaster Bronze and Competent Leader with Toastmasters International and served as President of the International Customer Service Association Georgia Chapter. She currently serves as the Co-Chair of the Customer Experience Working Group for ACI and is the past Chair of the Training Committee for the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).

PANEL

Pauline Armbrust
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
Areas USA

Pauline Armbrust is Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Areas, a global leader in the travel hospitality industry. She is also a member of the Executive Committee at Areas USA, involved with critical decisions impacting the company’s future direction. Pauline is responsible for elevating the Areas brand and expanding its visibility within the industry and throughout the broader hospitality space. Many in the airport concessions industry know her as the Founder and CEO of Airport Revenue News, now Airport Experience News. For nearly 20 years, Pauline built the publication and conference into a leading information and networking resource for the industry. Pauline has been happily married and is proud of her two entrepreneurial daughters, who operate their corporate event-planning business. She spends much of her free time frustrated by her golf game but still loves it.

Andrella Kenner
Director, AMAC Foundation Board of Directors
Founder & President, CI² Aviation, Inc.

Ms. Andrella Kenner is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CI² Aviation Inc., an award-winning Aerospace, Engineering, and Information Technology provider, delivering a full range of aviation, technology, management, and administrative support services to a global audience of public and private agencies. Founded in 1993 and headquartered in Atlanta, GA, with multiple offices throughout the U.S., CI² Aviation is the nation’s only minority-owned, woman-owned business engaged in providing Air Traffic Control Tower services to the Federal Government.

Ms. Kenner has over 38 years of comprehensive senior-level management experience in Finance, Marketing, Sales, and Information Technology. She has maintained the same steadfast work ethic, contributing to CI² Aviation’s continued success as an Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP). Since 1997 CI² Aviation has managed and operated Airport Traffic Control Towers supporting the Federal Aviation Administration’s Federal Contract Tower Program (FCT) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Military- supporting weather reconnaissance and Coast Guard operations. CI² Aviation is responsible for 21 Airport Air Traffic Control Towers at airports in the United States, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. CI² Aviation’s most outstanding accomplishment has been and continues to be over 45 million aircraft operations over 24 years with no fatalities due to controller error.

Under Ms. Kenner’s leadership, CI² Aviation’s excellent work ethic and commitment to integrity have led to numerous accolades and resulted in groundbreaking successes for the company’s clients, teaming partners and employees. CI² Aviation has garnered multiple industry-respected awards in an array of categories within the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA) and is a Pilot’s Choice award winner for multiple years. In 2020, CI² Aviation was recognized as one of the top 3 businesses in the state of Georgia in the Sustainable Business category with the Cox Family Business Enterprise.

Ms. Kenner has received countless individual awards and honors. In 2021, she was inducted into the Atlanta Business League’s Hall of Fame and received an AMAC Catalyst Award. Most recently, in 2022, Ms. Kenner was the proud recipient of the AMAC Chairman’s Award, the ATCA Annual Outstanding Achievement Award for Small Business, and the AAAE Leadership Award. Other awards and honors include:

• White House Expert Panelist for The Women in Transportation Initiative
• National Black Coalition of FAA Employees “Bessie Coleman” Award
• Conference of Minority Transportation Officials “Women Who Move the Nation” Honoree
• Delta Sigma Theta Sorority “Trailblazers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM)

Ms. Kenner also led CI² Aviation as part of a team on a 19-year contract to support the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) IFMS Data Center. The IT team built and maintained a secure IFMS data center that supports the FAA’s Telecommunications Infrastructure (FTI) program office.

Ms. Kenner is a Policy Board Member for the American Association of Airport Executives/ United States Contract Tower Association (AAAE/ USCTA). She is a Board member of the Airport Minority Advisory Council Foundation (AMAC). She is a Corporate Committee Voting Member with the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). Ms. Kenner is the Chair-Elect of the Board for the Atlanta Business League (ABL). She is also a member of the Conference of Minority Transportation Officials (COMTO), a member of the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC), and a member of the Air Traffic Control Association (ATCA). Ms. Kenner is also a former Board member of GRTA (Georgia Regional Transportation Authority). She also is a former member of the DeKalb County Pension Board.

Ms. Kenner is a huge proponent of bringing awareness to and encouraging women to enter male-dominated industries. As a woman-owned business in a male-dominated arena, Ms. Kenner is involved in an array of committees and events that bring together a community of women entrepreneurs and leaders to provide leadership development opportunities and strategic partnerships to propel women business owners and leaders in male-dominated genres into greater economic, social, and political spheres of power.

Ms. Kenner, a native of Nashville, TN, is a proud graduate of Tennessee State University, where she earned her Bachelor of Science degree. While at TSU, she pledged to the Alpha Chi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Ms. Kenner earned her Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Finance from Roosevelt University, Chicago, Illinois.

Tarryn Little, PE
Aviation Engineer, RS&H

An engineering graduate of North Carolina State University, Tarryn Little now serves as one of North Carolina’s leading aviation design and construction project managers. With 15 years of experience at RS&H, Inc., Tarryn manages many facets of aviation engineering, including runways, taxiways, aprons, access roads, terminals, and Air Traffic Control Tower projects.

Tarryn serves as the Airport Consultants Council (ACC) Engineering Committee Vice-Chair and is an AMAC Emerging Leaders member. Tarryn is a guest lecturer in airfield pavement design at North Carolina State University. She is a North Carolina Airports Association member and was the Engineering Track YP Co-Host for the 2020 ACC/AAAE Symposium.

Liliana L. Rambo, IAP, CM, CAPP
Chief Terminal Management Officer, Houston Airport System

Liliana is the Chief Terminal Management Officer for Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) and William P. Hobby Airport (HOU), managing over 56M passengers annually. The Terminal Management Division plans and implements strategic policy and provides day-to-day guidance and direction to assure passengers traveling through the terminals at both commercial airports experience a five-star quality of service, including every touchpoint: the ticketing counters, security checkpoint, hold rooms, concessions, FIS, baggage claim, and restrooms. Liliana is also responsible for the HAS purchasing division, over 500 service delivery team members, and an annual budget of over $100M, including all terminal projects. The Terminal Management Division is the central coordinating body tasked with working with each Division in the HAS, providing direct contribution, service or action to achieve HAS’s vision to become a Five-Star global air service gateway where the magic of flight is celebrated. The goal of being a Skytrax 5-Star rated airport was accomplished in January 2022 when William P. Hobby became the first airport in North America to receive this distinction. In addition, Liliana manages the SCM division, which procures all goods, contracts and services for all three airports and administration for the Houston Airport System. Liliana also oversees the Office of Business Opportunities, the new International Terminal ORAT team. She is currently serving as the interim deputy director for Workforce, Innovation and Development with the following units (Training and Development, Employee Engagement, Workforce Management and Administration).

Before joining HAS as General Manager for Hobby Airport, Liliana was Winpark’s President and was responsible for overseeing Class-A office tower, retail, mixed-use, and medical parking facilities in Houston, San Francisco, Dallas, Sacramento, Phoenix and Austin. She has a strong background in the transportation industry and over thirty years of experience in this field. Liliana is an AAAE Certified Member with the IAP certification and designation from ACI and ICAO. She is a Certified Administrator of Public Parking (CAPP) and holds positions on some local, industry related and national boards of directors.

In her spare time, Liliana enjoys working out, reading, scrapbooking and spending time with her family and two daughters.