The Association of Independent Aviation Security Professionals was formed in 2009 as an organization of aviation security experts with over a century of experience working for the Federal government, airlines, in airports and with technology developers. We have no direct financial stake in any equipment sales.
Founding Members:
Steve Wolff - former VP Product Development, InVision Technologies, Inc. For the past 8 years, Steve Wolff is President of Wolff Consulting Services with 25 years experience developing & worldwide marketing of advanced aviation and homeland security detection systems, Mr. Wolff was a cofounder and V.P. of Marketing & Product Engineering for InVision Technologies (now Morpho), developing advanced detection systems including the successful CTX-5000 hold baggage explosives detection system. Earlier, Mr. Wolff worked on security technology for SAIC.
R. Adm. Cathal “Irish” Flynn - former FAA Associate Administrator for Security. From 1993 to 2000, RDML Flynn was the Associate Administrator for Civil Aviation Security in the FAA. He has served on committees of the National Research Council and the Defense Science Board. He has 30 years active service in the U.S. Navy, predominantly in naval special warfare, measures to combat terrorism, and international security affairs. Following his Navy retirement, RDML Flynn worked at Science Applications International Corporation until he joined the FAA. Now retired.
Douglas R. Laird, former Director of Security for Northwest Airlines. Following a 20 year career as a U.S. Secret Service agent, Mr. Laird served as the security director for Northwest Airlines, where he played a pivotal role in the development of a security profiling system (CAPPS) and was responsible for ensuring the security of 1,200 international and domestic flights every day. Since retiring from Northwest Airlines Mr. Laird has provided aviation security consulting services to governments and private companies around the world.
Jim Welna - Former Airport Police Chief at Minneapolis Airport, ACI Security Committee Chair. Jim Welna served as the Chief of Police at the Mpls-St. Paul Airport for 17 years. During that time he served as both the Chair of the ACI-NA and ACI-International Security Committees. He also served as the ACI liaison to Interpol. He worked for TSA in the Senior Executive Service for 4 years. He currently works with New Age Security Solutions, providing aviation security consulting services. His most recent security work included leading a team at Reagan, Dulles and San Francisco Airports
Peter Reiss - Former IFALPA Security Chairman, International Civil Aviation Organization Panel Representative. Retired NWA Captain. Peter Reiss, a retired 747-400 captain, has been involved in aviation security since 1967. Previously Chairman of the IFALPA Security Committee, he has been active with ICAO, serving on the AVSEC Panel for 7 years, the Facilitation Panel, and a number of Working Groups. He has been an aviation security and safety consultant since 2002.
Larry Johnson - Former CIA, State Department. Larry Johnson served as Deputy Director for Transportation Security and Anti-Terrorism Assistance at the State Department's Office of Counter Terrorism under President George H.W. Bush and President William J. Clinton and was directly involved in supporting the investigation of Pan Am 103. Previously he served as an analyst at the CIA under Presidents Reagan and Bush. He has spent the past 15 years training US special operations forces for counterterrorism missions.
Art Kosatka - Former TSA Project Director. Art Kosatka is CEO of TranSecure. He was previously Director of Safety & Security at the Airports Council International and after 9/11, was in TSA's Aviation Security Policy Office where he developed TSA’s guidebook, “Recommended Security Guidelines for Airport Planning, Design and Construction”. In private industry he has been lead on over 35 airport security projects and consultant to TSA’s 20-airport access control pilot. TranSecure recently completed security design proposals for all 27 commercial airports in Saudi Arabia. Art also writes a monthly column on aviation security for Airport Business Magazine.
Leo T. (Tom) Powell Jr. - Former DOT, FAA Division Manager – Tom served as Chief of Security, Office of Intelligence and Security in the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Transportation, retiring in 1994. Before that he was FAA Division Manager of the Security Technology Division at the FAA Technical Center in Atlantic City, N. J. where he was aviation security liaison officer to the National Academy of Sciences. After retirement, Tom worked for several aviation security technology consulting firms, and was retained by a New York law firm on issues related to the 9/11/2001 incident. He has been in aviation security for eighteen years.
Elected Members:
John Huey - Former Director of Sales for EG&G Astrophysics. John Huey is a Security Sales and Government Relations consultant with 28 years selling technologies and training end users. He co-founded a security equipment distribution business in Moscow, Russia, certificating and introducing various passenger screening technologies. Prior to consulting he was, Director of Sales for EG&G Astrophysics (now part of L-3 Detection Systems) until 1999.
Peter W. Harris - President, Yankee Foxtrot, Inc. Mr. Harris has been around aviation all his life. Whether as a private pilot, Commanding Officer of a Navy Attack Squadron or as an aviation security industry expert, he travels continuously and has made aviation security his career. In the early 1990’s, Mr. Harris got involved with the investigation of Pan Am 103. That started a business career in aviation security including senior executive positions at high technology companies including American Science & Engineering (AS&E), Rapor and Analogic. Intimately familiar with all aspects of explosive detection equipment deployed at airports, he started Yankee Foxtrot, Inc., a security management consulting company in 2009.
Dr. Timothy Rayner, President Bagtronics, Ltd.: Prior to forming Bagtronics Ltd., Dr. Rayner was Director of Advanced Technology for Rapiscan Systems in the UK. Prior to this position he held a number of senior technical positions with Daylight Solutions, QRSciences, General Electric, InVision Technologies and Quantum Magnetics, all in the US. Dr. Rayner has twenty-two years experience in the security business, developing technologies and sensors for various applications based on transmission x-ray, CT, QR, MR and mid-IR absorption spectroscopy. Dr. Rayner holds a BS and PhD degrees from King’s College, University of London in Physical Chemistry.
Maxim Andreyevich Soldatkin, BPROASCO LLC. General Director. Mr. Soldatkin started his aviation security career in 1993 as a US air carrier passenger profiler. Prior to starting his own consulting business in 2007 he was Chief of the Security Technology and Engineering Department at Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport. Mr. Soldatkin is an ICAO Certified AVSEC Instructor and has been involved in training of airline and airport security staff in the former Soviet Union since 1997. He is directly involved in development of transportation security standards and technologies in Russia, performing vulnerability assessment studies according to Russia's Federal legislation for subjects of transportation infrastructure of all kinds of transport. Clients include Moscow, Yekaterinburg, Sochi, Kasnodar and Samara airports.
John M. Edwards - Management Consultant and Trainer
John has over 36 years experience in commercial aviation with British Caledonian Airways, British Airways and IATA. He has expertise in aviation security and risk management. During his time with BA Corporate Security, John pioneered air cargo supply chain security before it was regulated and significantly enhanced the Aviation Security Program and audits. At IATA, as Head, Cargo Security, developing and implementing Secure Freight and leading the Checkpoint of the Future (Smart Security). John was then responsible for security projects and policy development, delivering industry assistance and capacity building program and the first Dashboard to measure performance and outcomes from SeMS. He left IATA in January and is now an independent management consultant and trainer.