november-december 2021 - 47

Age: 37
Hometown: Lawrenceville,
Illinois
Alma Mater: Vincennes
University and Southern
Illinois University
Carbondale
Fun fact about yourself: I
have a CFII certificate and
took an aerobatic class in
college
Someone I look up to in
the industry: Brian Payne,
airport director at Columbus
Municipal Airport
Matthew Brown, CM
Matthew Brown grew up near an airport, leading him to develop
an interest in aviation early on in his life. Planning to become
a pilot, Brown enrolled in Vincennes University, receiving an
associates degree in aviation flight technology and earned up
to his CFII certification. He then went on to Southern Illinois
University for a bachelor's in aviation management.
And from there, Brown " accidently " found his way into airports.
" I was just doing a pretty generic job search for aviation management
degrees and came across the operations specialist
at Philadelphia International Airport. So, my first job out of
college was in airport operations at a large hub airport, "
Brown recalled.
Brown said the job at the Philadelphia International Airport
gave him a great " introductory course " to the world of airport
operations. He has also worked at Lambert St. Louis International
and Evansville Regional Airport. Brown obtained his
American Association of Airport Executives Certified Member
Accreditation in 2019.
Today, Brown serves as the assistant airport manager for the
Columbus Municipal Airport, bringing many innovative ideas
to the airport board and administration over the past year and
a half since his hiring.
Before Brown's arrival to Columbus, the airport had all paper
records from FAA Part 139 compliance to the leasing system. He
took on the task of moving away from paper to a more efficient
electronic system. He spent many hours transitioning lighting,
sign and airfield data from paper to their VEOCI electronic
software. The transition took multiple months of planning and
coordination between Brown, the operations and compliance
specialist, and the FAA.
" During winter operations, I like when we make a plan and,
when that plan gets executed just right. When you watch
that first airplane takeoff and then they come on the radio
afterwards and say, 'thank you so much. You did a great job.'
That's just a really cool feeling, " Brown said.
In addition to his responsibilities with the airport, Brown is serving
in many positions within the community. He is the chairman
of Aviation Indiana's Membership Committee and a member
to the Columbus Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
(CAMPO). Brown also serves as an adjunct professor for the Ivy
Tech Community College aviation program, teaching a number
of aviation and airport management classes to students.
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Thierry D. Sarr, CM
The opportunity to leave a lasting legacy and to work on
outstanding programs and projects that will impact billions
of people for years and decades to come is what Thierry Sarr
said he enjoys most about the work he does.
" I find it very helpful to project myself in future users' shoes
to do my best to plan the best experiences possible utilizing
all available resources, " he said.
Age: 37
Hometown: Dakar, Senegal
Alma Mater: Florida
Institute of Technology -
College of Aeronautics
Fun fact about yourself: In
2016, I made an appearance
on Japanese television as a
guest for a documentary with
a 2-hour special on airports.
Someone I look up to
in the industry: Mr. Fin
Bonset, director of aviation
aervices at VHB.
Sarr's career in aviation began at home, in Senegal, working
two internships - one for the Airport Authority of Senegal and
Dakar and the other with Air Senegal. Since then, his aviation
career has taken him to many different airports around the
world. Currently, he is the senior aviation planner/division
manager in the Corporate Strategy and Affairs Group for the
Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA).
After graduating from the Florida Institute of Technology
College of Aeronautics with a Bachelor of Science in Aviation
Management, Sarr has dedicated his career to the aviation
industry. Prior to joining the public sector, he worked for three
aviation planning and engineering firms namely: CH2M (acquired
by Jacobs), Michael Baker International and Berg and
Associates. At CH2M, Sarr worked on several airport master
plans, airport layout plan sets, and other aviation planning
analyses for civil and military airfields in the United States
and overseas. He was an augmented staff in Mumbai as part
of the program management team overseeing the Chhatrapati
Shivaji International Airport Expansion (CSIA / BOM) and
Renovation Program.
Sarr then spent several years working at Chicago International
Airport (ORD) on the O'Hare Modernization Program (OMP)
as a member of the Master Civil Engineering team. He also
was involved the program definition phase of the Philadelphia
International Airport (PHL) Capacity Enhancement Program.
I find it very helpful to project myself
in future users' shoes to do my best
to plan the best experiences possible.
During his tenure at Michael Baker International, Sarr worked
as an augmented staff / aviation planning subject matter expert
in the aviation planning division of the Port Authority of New
York and New Jersey (PANYNJ). .
At Berg and Associates, Sarr acted as a project manager as
part of the team responsible for planning, and overseeing
the implementation of LAX-it the taxi and ride app pickup lot.
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november-december 2021

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