In this episode, we talk about Women's History Month, recap the kickoff to the Authority's speaker series with Chief Revenue Officer Chryssa Westerlund, and we talked to Danielle Morgan, the Executive Staff Coordinator at DCA about her career at MWAA and what it's like managing an airport like DCA.
Learn more about Wings for All here: https://thearc.org/our-initiatives/travel/
Find details about this year's upcoming Honor Flight schedule here:
Have questions for us? We'd love to hear from you! Send us an email at info@thecapitalrunway.com
For more information, please visit our website at https://thecapitalrunway.com.
Staff:
Tanisha Lewis, VP of DISI
Jaimini Erskine, VP of Marketing & Concessions
Charles Wilson, Co-host/Co-producer
Amanda Ohbayashi, Co-host/Co-producer/Social media producer
Ryan Burdick, Editor/Co-producer
Bong Lee, Graphics
Brian McCoy, Digital Strategy/Co-producer
Sagia Depty, Marketing Lead/Co-producer
[00:00:04] Amanda: I'm Amanda.
[00:00:05] Charles: I'm Charles.
[00:00:06] Amanda: This is the Capital Runway Podcast.
[00:00:10] Charles: Hey, Amanda, guess what?
[00:00:12] Amanda: What?
[00:00:12] Charles: It's 70 degrees outside.
[00:00:13] Amanda: Woo.
[00:00:14] Charles: Yes. Spring is here.
[00:00:15] Amanda: Spring is here. My allergies have let me know.
[00:00:17] Charles: Yes. [laughs]. I'm glad we finally have more daylight in the daytime.
[00:00:22] Amanda: Yes.
[00:00:22] Charles: I'm going to soak up all those sun rays.
[00:00:24] Amanda: Yes. I'm very excited for cherry blossom season.
[00:00:27] Charles: Yes.
[00:00:27] Amanda: I love it. It's beautiful.
[00:00:29] Charles: Yes. We just celebrated my birthday in March.
[00:00:31] Amanda: Happy birthday.
[00:00:32] Charles: Yes. I'm a March birthday, so March is always a great month.
[00:00:37] Amanda: Yes.
[00:00:37] Charles: Plus, it's Women's History Month.
[00:00:39] Amanda: It's very true.
[00:00:40] Charles: Yes. My birthday on this year fell on International Women's Day.
[00:00:44] Amanda: Awesome.
[00:00:45] Charles: Yes. I'm glad that the airport is highlighting the achievements of our women employees and all the great things that they do and they'll continue to do at the airport.
[00:00:56] Amanda: Yes. We have a speaker series that kicked off this month, actually, featuring our executive vice president, Krista Westerlund.
[00:01:04] Charles: Yes.
[00:01:05] Amanda: That was really awesome. I believe there's going to be another one featuring Juanita Britton.
[00:01:10] Charles: Yes. She's a concessionaire at the airport.
[00:01:12] Amanda: Yes.
[00:01:12] Charles: Krista's conversation, I tuned in. It was great to hear her story about how she got started at the airport and all the work that she does to help the airport run.
[00:01:22] Amanda: Yes. I've had the great privilege of working with her on many projects, and she's really great to work with.
[00:01:28] Krista: In my time so far as Chief Revenue Officer, I've noticed several of the more highly paid positions have historically almost always been filled with external candidates. This was largely because they involve specialized skills that there was no internal path to develop. All of the revenue organization leaders have now been tasked with ensuring that every higher-level position has an internal development path.
[00:01:52] Charles: Yes. I really enjoyed the conversation. She really gave a lot of great advice to women who want to advance their careers, and how she was able to be successful. It was just a very inspiring story from where she started to where she is now.
[00:02:07] Amanda: Yes. I really liked the part where she was talking about how she had help at home. I think that that's really important because so many women think that they have to do it all. That's just impossible. To recognize the fact that she got to where she is because she had a great nanny at home, I think that was really awesome.
[00:02:28] Krista: First and foremost, I would say making sure that the people that you love are taken care of. For me, that meant hitting the jackpot with an incredible nanny. I was able to work every day knowing that my kids were getting amazing love and care. My youngest is 18 now and I am still friends with our former nanny. That just created a safe environment for them and a safe environment for me during the period I was at work to stay focused.
[00:02:54] Charles: Yes. We all need a support system.
[00:02:55] Amanda: Absolutely. Your birthday must be March 8th.
[00:02:58] Charles: Yes. March 8th.
[00:03:00] Amanda: Mine's April 8th.
[00:03:00] Charles: Wow. One month apart.
[00:03:01] Amanda: Look at us. Yes.
[00:03:04] Amanda: I actually have some very exciting travel coming up.
[00:03:07] Charles: Where are you going?
[00:03:08] Amanda: I just wrapped up a trip to Costa Rica.
[00:03:11] Charles: Okay. Nice.
[00:03:12] Amanda: That was fun. My long-awaited trip to Japan is happening in April.
[00:03:18] Charles: Wow. That's going to be so much fun.
[00:03:19] Amanda: I'm stoked.
[00:03:20] Charles: Yes. I don't get to go to Japan. Chicago in the spring. I'll take that too.
[00:03:25] Amanda: They're a little different. I recommend both. If you ever get a chance to go to Japan, definitely take it.
[00:03:31] Charles: Great.
[00:03:32] Amanda: I'm also excited because my upcoming trips mean a visit to the Capital One Lounge. I'm not saying I'm more excited about that than the trip, but I'm very excited. Today, we are talking to Danielle Morgan. She is the Executive Staff Coordinator over at DCA.
I think she's going to have a lot of interesting perspective on her role at the airport. She came in without really an aviation degree or any kind of specific aviation interests, but really evolved that role and talks a lot about her interest and passion for aviation and how it's grown.
[00:04:11] Charles: Great. I look forward to that conversation.
[00:04:15] Amanda: Joining us today is Danielle Morgan. She is the Executive Staff Coordinator over at DCA. Welcome, Danielle.
[00:04:24] Danielle: Thanks, Amanda. Hey, Charles.
[00:04:26] Charles: How's it going? Welcome to the podcast.
[00:04:28] Danielle: Great. Thanks for inviting me. I'm excited to be here.
[00:04:31] Amanda: Yes. We're thrilled to have you. Why don't we start by just telling us a little bit about yourself and your career and how you came into this role at the airport.
[00:04:39] Danielle: Great. Happy to. My story may be a little bit different than what you expect in my position. I actually didn't study aviation. I actually didn't think about a career in aviation until I was an adult. I actually studied political science at American University in D.C. My intention at the time was to be in government.
Upon graduation, I decided to go and work for a nonprofit called the Close-Up Foundation. What they do is they teach Civics and Government to young people, mostly high school students. I worked there as a teacher, and then I worked in their community outreach department.
As part of my time there in community outreach, I actually got to travel across the globe to the Marianas Islands. There, I worked with students on identifying problems in their community and developing action plans on how to solve those problems.
After six years there, I actually saw a posting at the Airports Authority for a community outreach coordinator and thought that was right up my alley. I applied. I got the job. In that position, I actually worked largely with local schools doing outreach, talking about how airports operate, and inspiring kids to careers in aviation.
Another part of the job was I worked with the federal government on bringing aviation directors to our airports to see our airports, learn about what we do, and then take best practices back to their airports in their developing nations.
It was at that point that I really started to develop that love of operations and figuring that this is where I want to be. The people that were visiting weren't the only ones that were learning about aviation. That's really where I got my aviation schooling was through all the different presentations that we set up for these other groups.
I worked there for six years as well. Six is my lucky number. At that point, the Airports Authority posted a position as a customer service manager at Reagan National. I saw this as my ticket into operations. It was a brand-new position, which I think anybody who has an opportunity to take a job where it's the first of that position, it's fantastic because you really can develop that position into what you want.
I took the job. Most people, when I would say I worked in customer service, said, "Are you crazy? Why would you ever want to work in customer service at an airport?" It really was a very rewarding position. People don't understand airports.
When they complain, it's just, "Oh, Reagan National did blah, blah." My job, really, was to connect people with those that could actually affect their travel and make their travel experience better. Once again, I did that for six years. Then my current job opportunity came up as executive staff coordinator.
[00:07:59] Amanda: How long have you been in this role?
[00:08:00] Danielle: Six years.
[00:08:01] Amanda: Six years. Wow. It's time for something, time for a promotion.
[00:08:05] Danielle: We'll see. Anything's possible, but I really feel like right now I have the best position in the entire airport, or at least for the Airports Authority.
[00:08:16] Amanda: Yes, that's awesome.
[00:08:17] Charles: Great. What's a day in the life like for you?
[00:08:21] Danielle: My job title doesn't really describe too much as to what I do. The way I like to describe it is I'm really the Chief of Staff for the airport manager. Airports really are run like a city, like a mini city.
[00:08:39] Amanda: Yes, we've heard that a couple of times.
[00:08:40] Danielle: Yes. The airport manager is really like the mayor of the city. My job is really to support him in the running of the airport. Whatever he needs, I'm there to help fill in all the details. What that means is it could be attending meetings for him.
It's getting people in front of him to talk about the issues that are currently facing the airport so he can make informed decisions. It might be looking at how certain things impact the budget. It might be making sure that he hears from all different sides on a certain issue.
It could be putting together presentations for his boss, the CEO. It could just be as simple as walking around the airport and just observing what's going on and talking to people because a lot of this job is making sure when a problem happens that you know who are the people that the airport manager needs to speak to solve that problem.
[00:09:37] Amanda: Absolutely. What are some of the standout moments of your career in aviation or at the Airports Authority in general so far?
[00:09:45] Danielle: I think my favorite accomplishment here at the Airports Authority is really starting the Wings for All program. When I was in customer service, my counterpart and I from Dulles, we went to this airport conference on customer service.
There was a speaker, a woman who had arranged to go to Disney World with her family. She had one child with autism and one without. When they got to the airport for their vacation that they were all looking so forward to, her one child with autism was not able to get on the airplane.
The husband took the child without autism to Disney and she stayed home with her other child. She swore to the community, to herself, that she was going to do something that enabled other families to not have to go through what she did. Her story really resonated with me. She had started this Wings for-- It was Wings for Autism and then it's been expanded to Wings for All.
It's for families that have any disability in their family. It's basically a day where they come to the airport and practice the steps on getting on a flight. Really was proud to bring that to Reagan National. Then I'd say also probably one of the other biggest highlights of my career so far has really been just getting through Project Journey construction.
[00:11:16] Amanda: Goodbye 35X.
[00:11:17] Danielle: Exactly. As customer service manager, saying goodbye to Gate 35X was huge. It was definitely a relief, and seeing Concourse E open up, which is absolutely beautiful. Everybody loves Reagan National. What I always hear from people is, "That's such a great airport." I don't want to be part of the team that messes up Reagan National because of construction.
We worked really hard to minimize impacts, whether it's putting construction at night or listening to noise levels of construction, or making sure the messaging to the customer is appropriate and paths around the construction were feasible. That piece of the construction is done. We've gotten fairly good feedback from it. Glad to say that we got through that piece of construction with-
[00:12:10] Amanda: Just in time for more construction.
[00:12:11] Danielle: Just in time for more, yes. That's the thing I'm looking forward to now, is just now we got the construction of the hold rooms and the new concessions coming in that'll really just add to the experience even more.
[00:12:24] Amanda: Yes.
[00:12:24] Charles: Danielle, you have a fun job. What's your favorite thing about working at the airport?
[00:12:31] Danielle: I think my favorite thing is just that every day is different. So many people travel through Reagan National Airport, and each person has their own story, has their own reason for being here. I get to sit in a position that really just sees the big picture of everything that's going on in the airport. I'm never bored. It's never a job where I sit and say, "What am I going to do today?" Work just hits me in the face when I get here.
[00:13:04] Amanda: Yes. DCA has changed a lot during your time here. What are some of your personal favorite changes that you've seen?
[00:13:13] Danielle: Yes. Certainly, I've been here 17 years now, so there have been a lot of changes. I think two things that really strike me is, one, it's just the change of the experience of the airport. Nowadays, we're looking to make the customer experience more comfortable. You see restaurants that have more local flavor, just creating a sense of place in the airports, which I don't think was around when I first started here.
The other big significant change, I think, is the technology changes that we've seen in my time, especially when it comes to communicating with the customer. When I first started in customer service, it was pamphlets, brochures that customers filled out for their customer comments. We did snail mail back to the customer. Certainly, we've come a long way to then go into email and then social media.
That was one of my first things for the Airports Authority was I did Twitter when Twitter first started, along with a zillion other things. Today now, it's grown so much. There's so many other digital channels that it needed to move to a whole other department to handle that communication. We've really just seen, with the increase in changes in technology, just a greater ability to communicate with our customers in the moment.
[00:14:48] Amanda: Yes.
[00:14:49] Charles: Great. I know we have a listener today who's saying, "You know what, when I grow up, I want to be like Danielle." If you could give any advice to anyone out there who's looking to start a career at the airport or in aviation, what advice would you give them?
[00:15:04] Danielle: I would just tell them to go for it. There are so many careers out there at airports or even related to aviation. Last year, we determined there were about 20,000 different jobs that were related to working at Reagan National.
There's so many different ways that you can touch aviation without necessarily doing what you normally think of as aviation. There are a lot of people that just love airplanes and love the idea of being in such a dynamic environment that's so vibrant and changing every day.
I would say just go for it and, maybe one of your interests is something that you can easily get a job here. Once you get in the door, you learn more of what's at the airport and you talk to people about other opportunities that are available. It's definitely good to get your foot in the door and go from there.
[00:16:01] Amanda: Aviation is pretty male-driven world here, but it is Women's History Month and we're seeing more and more women entering aviation. I think JetBlue just hired their first or the first woman CEO, so that is really exciting. What do you think the future looks like for women in aviation?
[00:16:24] Danielle: I think the future is very promising. Certainly, since I've been here, I've seen more women take leadership positions across the airport, which is definitely very promising and very important for the industry. We've also seen a greater commitment of organizations to promoting STEM and aviation careers to girls in schools.
Each fall, Signature Flight Support hosts a big girls in aviation program down at their hangar and invites the airport community and hundreds of local girls, come to that event. I'd like to think that all that future investment in the future will pay off with more girls in aviation developing into leaders in aviation.
[00:17:14] Charles: Do you have a favorite spot in the airport, and if so, what is it or where is it?
[00:17:19] Danielle: It's hard not to say looking out the windows on National Hall. To be able to look out the windows and see the airfield and the operations of the airport with the nation's capital in the background, you can't beat it. We're probably the only airport that has that.
At this time of year, I'd also have to say going into an honor flight. Honor flights are starting up here in April. To be able to see the veterans coming into this airport to view their monuments and to witness customers who were just minding their own business, going on their own journey start applauding when the honor flight's announced and they're entering into the terminal, and to see the veterans, get all emotional from the response of just passengers recognizing them and their service is really wonderful.
[00:18:16] Charles: For those who are unaware, what is an honor flight?
[00:18:19] Danielle: An honor flight is when there's a nonprofit that organizes veterans from across the country to fly into DC to go down to their monuments. For instance, Vietnam veterans will come in on a flight.
When they arrive here in DC, the fire department will greet them with a water arch over top of the airplane, and then they'll come in. There's usually an announcement, so everyone in the terminal will know that they're arriving. You'll usually see customers standing up and applauding.
Sometimes we'll have bands to greet them, the group, the Honor Flight Network that organizes it. They'll sometimes bring in school groups from the local area, and then the veterans are bused down to see their monument, and then they return. Sometimes it's the same day, and sometimes they'll stay overnight, but it's pretty impactful to witness.
[00:19:21] Amanda: Yes, it's a cool experience. If you've never been to one, you should check it out. [00:19:26] Charles: Great, I will.
[00:19:26] Amanda: There's a schedule online. This is our last question, but we do like to ask everybody who is on our podcast, but where are you flying to next?
[00:19:34] Danielle: No exotic trips to the Marianas Islands right now. As a mom of two young kids, we're planning a trip to Disney this summer, so we'll be headed to Orlando.
[00:19:49] Charles: Are there any parting words you want to leave the audience?
[00:19:52] Danielle: Yes. I would just say that, even as somebody who works at an airport, navigating airports can be challenging. My suggestion would be, anybody that's traveling through an airport, make sure that they leave plenty of time to get to the airport, especially any working moms out there. I know you've got a lot going on.
You never know what your kid's going to tuck in their carry-on bag at the last minute. You want to make sure you leave time in case there are hiccups at the checkpoint. One of the things we often will see here is, kids want to walk along with their stuffy in the airport.
My suggestion is, keep the stuffy in the bag until you're in a fixed location. Overall, hopefully, just encourage girls and women to explore their interests, and hopefully, we'll see you at the airport sometime.
[00:20:57] Amanda: Great. Thank you so much for joining us, Danielle. This has been awesome.
[00:20:59] Danielle: Thanks for having me.
[00:21:05] Charles: That was a great conversation.
[00:21:06] Amanda: It was so great.
[00:21:08] Charles: Yes, the fact that she described her job, she's the chief of staff for the mayor of the airport.
[00:21:13] Amanda: I know, right?
[00:21:14] Charles: Yes, that was cool.
[00:21:15] Amanda: A fun way to describe it. She does so much, too. I didn't realize how much her job had really changed over the years.
[00:21:22] Charles: Yes.
[00:21:23] Amanda: That's really cool.
[00:21:24] Charles: The fact that she started out with an interest in politics and now is doing more customer service, I think it relates in a way.
[00:21:33] Amanda: There's a lot of politics involved at this airport, so yes, I think it's very relevant.
[00:21:38] Charles: Yes. The spring edition of Fly Washington Magazine is coming out soon. My understanding is, on the cover, is Naomi Campbell.
[00:21:47] Amanda: Ooh.
[00:21:47] Charles: Yes.
[00:21:49] Amanda: Fancy.
[00:21:49] Charles: That'll be interesting to see what her story is.
[00:21:52] Amanda: Yes, I'm excited for that. Look for it in the airports. You can find it at both DCA and IAAD, in different locations throughout the airport. Pick one up. If you are also interested in the Honor Flight info that Danielle was talking about, we'll have a link in the show notes that goes to the website that she was referencing. Well, that is all we have for today. If you have any questions, feel free to drop us an email at info at thecapitolrunway.com.
[00:22:24] Charles: That's a wrap.
[00:22:30] [END OF AUDIO]