Aviation changemakers: Elevate Aviation and its pursuit to recruit more women into the industry

^{Written by: Kendra Kincade}

In Canada, women represent approximately seven per cent of pilots, approximately 17 per cent of air traffic controllers, and approximately two to three per cent of aircraft mechanical engineers. That’s why in 2015, Kendra Kincade and Laura Sinclair chose to fill the growing gap of women in the aviation and aerospace sectors by creating the not-for-profit Elevate Aviation.

Kendra Kincade, Edmonton terminal controller, understood that air traffic control is mysterious to many and began dreaming of ways to expose more Canadians to different aviation careers. This started with showcasing women in air traffic control, which then grew to an annual behind-the-scenes tour of aviation careers for kids across Canada. Later, this turned into a full learning centre for career awareness and training programs that teach essential aviation skills, and most recently led to the development of the “Only Up” documentary.

 “Elevate Aviation provides a place where women, underrepresented groups, and youth can thrive,” says Kincade.

The Senior Leadership Team consists of Laura Sinclair, Co-founder, COO & CFO; Nova Andrews, VP of Workforce & Corporate Transformation; Sophia Wells, Director of Mentorship & Volunteers; Christine Merrick, Director of the Elevate Aviation Learning Centre; Emily Reiman, Director of Diversity Equity and Inclusion; Dina Jammaz, Director of Community Engagement and Indigenous Partnerships; and Maggie Jacula, Director of Military Relations, alongside Kincade. Many of these women manage their roles at Elevate Aviation on top of their full-time jobs as flight instructors, air traffic controllers, and members of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Their efforts have led to key research initiatives identifying the barriers to entry into aviation, mentorship programs, bursaries, speaking engagements, in-class field trips, a Junior Jets program for children in grades one through five, and more.

The organization is also responsible for an annual Cross-Country Tour that stretches across 29 Canadian cities to connect young people with industry leaders. The goal is to create an immersive and impactful experience that empowers youth to envision a future career in aviation. COPA National regularly partners with Elevate Aviation for the Cross-Country Tours and provides presentations on general aviation topics.

In spring 2024, COPA National joined Elevate Aviation at its Parliament Hill event in Ottawa to engage elected officials about the importance of supporting aviation groups like COPA National and Elevate Aviation.

While the work to introduce more communities to aviation never stops, the success of Kendra’s documentary, aptly named Only Up, proves there’s an appetite for more representation of women in the aviation industry. Only Up is one hour and 32 minutes of passionate and life-changing stories. It follows multiple women in a variety of aviation-related jobs at various points in their careers — including Captain Judy Cameron, Air Canada’s first female pilot; Captain Rosella Bjornson, Canada’s first airline jet pilot; Melissa Haney, Air Inuit’s first female Inuk Captain; Joyce Carter, Halifax Airport’s CEO; and many other inspiring women.

The documentary was years in the making and one that came to fruition out of divine happenstance. Elevate Aviation was conducting research to gain insights within the aviation industry and the level of awareness people have about it.  Feedback from this research project suggested creating a documentary to help increase awareness. At first, it seemed impossible.

Then in 2018, Kincade hopped on a flight and sparked a passionate conversation with the person sitting next to her about her dream of creating the Only Up documentary. As fate would have it, Kincade was sitting next to Don McDonald, the CEO of Superchannel. To her surprise, he said, “It’s your lucky day.” McDonald gave Kincade some funding and a broadcasting licence to make her dream a reality.

However, creating the documentary didn’t come without roadblocks and difficulty. When the world shut down for COVID-19, so did filming for Only Up. Once filming was able to resume, Kincade and Andrews attended each shoot, all while Kincade continued to work as a full-time air traffic controller.

When the Elevate Aviation team behind Only Up was asked what their favourite part about making this documentary was, Kincade said, “I have so many favourite parts! But I’d have to say it was travelling around with the crew — Nova and the team. And being able to follow these women and hear their stories. They trusted me, but some of them were pretty nervous. Having their complete trust and being able to share their stories in this way was really cool.”

Nova Andrews, VP of Workforce & Corporate Transformation shared, “It was meeting these women who were in fields I’d never explored before. Seeing the joy on their faces when they talked about what they do with such pride. And knowing people would see these stories and learn from them.”

It’d be easy to think Kincade always knew this was her calling. But believe it or not, she didn’t grow up looking to the sky waiting for airplanes to pass by, dreaming of one day working behind the scenes as an air traffic controller. No, she was actually toying around with the idea of being a reporter.

It was somebody else who introduced her to her now very successful career. “I walked into the room, looked at the radar screens, and loved what I saw. It was then that I knew,” said Kincade.

With the launch of Only Up at the start of 2024, you may be wondering… “What’s next?” Well, Kincade told COPA National “It would be my dream to make another documentary, I have a couple of ideas, so we’ll see.”

If you’re interested in supporting Elevate Aviation and its mission, the women behind the organization say watching the Only Up documentary is a great place to start. Better yet, host a watching party with your local COPA Flight. You can visit their website at elevateaviation.ca.

Or, get inspired at the annual Inspire Gala — Elevate Aviation’s annual aviation-themed fundraiser. Every year, this event brings together aviation enthusiasts and celebrates notable women in the aviation industry. This year’s event will take place on October 19, 2024, in Edmonton, AB.