Our Board of Directors

Ron Salyer is a West Point graduate, retired Army aviator, and aerospace engineer with over three decades of military and defense industry service. A former AH-64 Apache helicopter pilot, Ron brings firsthand operational flying experience to his leadership of WASP.

He holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the United States Military Academy and an M.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. His career spans leadership roles at Army Futures Command, the Army Capabilities Integration Center, TRADOC, NASA Langley Research Center, and most recently as Vice President of Army Futures and Aviation Development at JHNA.

A longtime WASP volunteer, Ron previously served as Director of Recruitment before stepping into the role of President. He currently mentors two students in the Class of 2026 and remains deeply committed to opening doors to aviation for young people in the Williamsburg community.

Before I can remember, I wanted to fly. I started flying lessons in 1974 at age 16, and eventually became a Private Pilot. After college, I entered US Air Force pilot training and graduated into an F-16 assignment.

I flew the F-16 for 25 years, and then was again fortunate to transition into the F-22 Raptor for my last year and a half of service. Since retiring with 27 years in both the active duty and Air National Guard, I continue to fly light aircraft for enjoyment.

I hope to encourage today's youth to follow in my path and become pilots for life. With more than 4,600 flight hours logged across more than four decades in the cockpit, I'm not ready to stop flying yet.

Travis grew up in North Carolina and received an Army commission through North Carolina State University. Throughout his Army career he flew UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters, with most of his experience and hours coming from deployments to Iraq.

He recently retired after a 24-year career, finishing at Fort Eustis as a Maintenance Training Battalion Commander. He now supports an Army directorate that conducts science and technology research on future aviation capabilities.

Travis has been in Williamsburg for five years and is proud to support the Army and the people pursuing their aviation dreams through WASP.

My interest in aviation started at a young age, when I occasionally got the opportunity to accompany my father to his reserve squadron meetings at NAS Willow Grove, PA. This not only gave me a front-row view to the “glamour” of piloting military jets but to all that came with flying in a military squadron — the maintenance office, the bustling flight line, the smell of jet fuel and exhaust. What I found most fascinating was the ongoing maintenance in the hangars where I could observe aircraft in mid-assembly and repair. I specifically recall the amount of teamwork required; actual flying was only a small part. Who woulda thunk?

In 1988 I enlisted in the US Navy and worked as an Avionics Technician aboard the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower. If you think naval aviation is cool in the movies, you should see it close up. While in the Navy I obtained a bachelor's degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and that paired with my military training prepared me for a path in aviation maintenance.

After the military, I traveled all over the US and overseas working as an avionics technician in a variety of maintenance facilities, including production and assembly, modifications, and flight-line maintenance for the military, commercial, and corporate sectors on both airplanes and helicopters.

I later obtained a private pilot's license flying helicopters and also my FAA Airframe & Powerplant license. Since then I've held positions not just “wrenching” on aircraft but also in maintenance planning and scheduling and logistics and parts procurement. I finally settled here in Hampton Roads, Virginia, where I've spent the last four years working as a mechanic on US Army aircraft at Fort Eustis.

I love all things aviation, and through volunteering with the Williamsburg Aviation Scholarship Program I feel I can share the many career opportunities available in the aviation industry.

As a young teenager I was a babysitter for an American Airlines and Marine Corps Reserve pilot. He invited me to a military Change of Command ceremony where he showed me an F-18 with his name on it. I knew at that point — before high school — what I was going to do.

Fast forward 25+ years, and my two most favorite jobs in life so far have been as an aircraft refueler at the local FBO where I grew up in Texas, and flying the F-15E Strike Eagle as a Weapons Systems Officer for 12 years in the USAF. In 2017 I hung up my Air Force g-suit and helmet, and I get my airtime now in a 1969 Cessna 172K at KJGG — still living the fast-jet life alongside my husband, an F-22 pilot for the Virginia Air National Guard.

There are so many pathways to so many different aviation careers, and organizations like the Williamsburg Aviation Scholarship Program and the Ninety-Nines International Organization of Women Pilots are great examples of vital groups that keep communities informed and ensure the flying dream stays alive — and affordable — for all ages. I'm truly thrilled to be part of these groups.

Joey served in the US Navy, going through flight school in Pensacola, Florida before joining an F-14 Tomcat squadron and flying off the USS Nimitz. He earned a Master's in Aeronautical Engineering at Virginia Tech while serving as an NROTC instructor there.

Today Joey works in commercial construction with Ritchie-Curbow Construction, and flies for both business and recreation. He is a part owner in a Diamond DA40 based out of Williamsburg and is also a certified flight instructor.

Joey joined the WASP board to give local students a chance to get into the aviation world through learning to fly.

Rich grew up in an Air Force family and is a 1978 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, where he earned his commission and a Bachelor of Science degree. He received a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Northern Colorado in 1982.

Rich attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Williams AFB near Phoenix, Arizona. He became a First Assignment Instructor Pilot in the T-37 at Williams AFB from 1979–1983. He transitioned to the F-15 Eagle at Langley AFB, Virginia from 1983–1986, and his next assignment was as an F-15 Instructor Pilot at Luke AFB, Arizona until 1989.

His military career assignments included mission-ready instructor pilot, command, and staff positions in Air Combat Command, Air Education and Training Command, and U.S. Joint Forces Command. Rich's combat assignments included duty in the Combined Air and Space Operations Center in Southwest Asia and as Assistant Vice Commander, U.S. Air Forces Central during Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He has flown over 2,200 military hours in the F-15, T-37, and T-38.

After transitioning to the Air Force Reserve in 1989, Rich flew with a major airline in the Boeing 737, McDonnell-Douglas DC-9, and Airbus A320 until his retirement in 2007. He later served as a government civil servant specializing in joint command and control under U.S. Joint Forces Command in Norfolk, Virginia, retiring in 2014. Rich also retired in 2014 as a Major General in the Air Force Reserve after more than thirty-six years of total Air Force service.

In 2015, Rich joined GE Aviation — Military Systems as a Senior Manager for USAF Customer Programs, serving as the company's lead representative at Headquarters Air Combat Command and Headquarters Air Education and Training Command.

He and his wife Margie live in Yorktown, Virginia. They are proud parents of four adult children and love to spoil their four grandchildren. Rich supports multiple local non-profit organizations and currently serves as President of the York Foundation for Public Education and President of the Greater Hampton Roads Chapter within the National Defense Industrial Association. He is President Emeritus for the Air Force Association's Langley Chapter as well as the First Fighter Association. In his spare time, Rich enjoys golfing with friends and working in the yard.

Charley is a lifelong aviator and community leader. Together with Tuck McAtee, he began discussions in 2013 about creating an aviation scholarship program for local youth, and was instrumental in WASP's founding in 2014 and its continued operations ever since.

A decorated combat pilot, test pilot, and the driving force behind WASP's founding, Tuck believed deeply in the future of aviation and the young people who would carry it forward. His legacy lives on in every student who earns their wings.