november-december 2021 - 45

Age: 39
Hometown: A lot of places!
But the two that feel like
hometowns are Queens,
New York, & Houston, Texas.
Alma Mater: Texas A&M University
(Bachelor of Science
degree in Civil Engineering)
and University of Dallas (MBA
in Project Management/Corporate
Finance)
Someone I look up to
in the industry: Chellie
Cameron
Api Appulingam, PE
Api Appulingam, P.E., was born in Malaysia, a country native
to neither of her parents. She credits her parents, who often
traveled, for her love of traveling and exploring world cultures,
which ultimately led her to say " yes " to a career in aviation.
" I love the experience of airports, " Appulingam said. " I feel like
a kid in a candy store - even today - even though I work at an
airport. I love people watching. " She " builds a story " about
the people in her mind. " I just love to sit there and, I guess,
daydream. I love watching the planes take off. I love sitting in
an airplane and experiencing the takeoff and looking at the
airfield. As an engineer, I geek out looking at the airfield and
the geometry of the taxiways and runways. I just love aviation. "
As an engineering student, she hadn't thought about working
in aviation until the idea was presented to her at a college
career fair.
Today Appulingam, is deputy director of aviation, capital
development, for the City of Philadelphia Division of Aviation.
That means she oversees a multi-billion-dollar program
tasked with making critical improvements and developing
new infrastructure at Philadelphia International Airport and
the Northeast Philadelphia Airport through architectural, engineering,
environmental, planning and sustainability projects.
For her work, in 2017 Appulingam was recognized by the
Society of Women Engineers as a " Woman Engineer You
Should Know. " She is active in several organizations. She
serves as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) Committee
chair for the Northeast Chapter of American Association of
Airport Executives. She serves as the Philadelphia Chapter
president-elect for Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS), an
international organization dedicated to creating a more diverse,
inclusive and equitable transportation industry through the
advancement of women. She also mentors girls ages 13 to
18 as part of the WTS Transportation YOU program, which
provides a hands-on, interactive introduction to a wide variety
of transportation careers.
Ultimately, she is responsible for bringing innovation to the
airfield, terminals and roadways at both airports.
She manages a staff of nearly 100 team members composed
of engineers, planners, architects, scientists and managers.
She believes in teamwork and said she has a great team. Appulingam
began in her current role in 2019 but became familiar
with the airport before then as the Philadelphia office leader
for RS&H Inc., an architecture, engineering and consulting firm.
www.AviationPros.com/21238432
Philadelphia International Airport Congratulates
Api Appulingam
DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF AVIATION
CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT
TOP 40 UNDER 40
www.phl.org
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UNDER
http://www.AviationPros.com/21238432 http://www.phl.org https://gspairport.com/ http://www.AVIATIONPROS.COM
november-december 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of november-december 2021
