International Collaboration in Advanced Air Mobility
Agenda
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Anne Aylward
Director, U.S. DOT Volpe Center
Annie Petsonk
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, U.S. DOT
Featured Speakers
Lirio Liu
Executive Director, Aircraft Certification Service, FAA
Chris Carter
Director, Asia Pacific Region, FAA
Recap and recording available now.
*The views of the speakers may not represent the views of U.S. DOT.
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About the Speakers
Annie Petsonk
Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs, U.S. DOT
Annie Petsonk serves as the Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International Affairs at U.S. DOT. A recognized expert on international aviation and climate change, she previously served in the U.S. government, including the Office of the United States Trade Representative in the Executive Office of the President, and the Department of Justice; in the United Nations; as international counsel for the Environmental Defense Fund; in the private bar; and as an adjunct professor at the George Washington University Law School.
Lirio Liu
Executive Director for Aircraft Certification Service, FAA
Lirio Liu is the Executive Director of the FAA’s Aircraft Certification Service (AIR), where she is responsible for type certification, production approval, airworthiness certification, and continued airworthiness of the U.S. civil aircraft fleet, including commercial and general aviation activities. She oversees a professional workforce of more than 1,400 employees working in FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., 35 field offices across the U.S., and two international offices located in Belgium and Singapore.
Prior to being named AIR’s Executive Director, Liu was the Executive Director for the Office for International Affairs, where she provided executive leadership and guidance in the development of international policy across the various disciplines of the FAA and was responsible for the FAA’s international offices in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.
She has also served as the Executive Director for Operational Safety in the Commercial Space Transportation Office where she provided executive leadership for the compliance and coordination of the requirements to authorize commercial space launch and reentry operators and site approvals.
Liu has also served in a variety of executive leadership roles within the Office of Aviation Safety. As the Executive Director for Rulemaking, she provided oversight for the FAA’s rulemaking process and served as the Designated Federal Officer for the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee where she collaborated with industry, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and other international civil authorities, such as the European Aviation Safety Authority and Transport Canada in an effort to harmonize regulations. She also served in roles as the Special Technical Assistant to the Associate Administrator for Aviation Safety and to the Director of Aircraft Certification Service.
Liu provided horizontal integration across the FAA lines of business when working as the Deputy Regional Administrator for the Western-Pacific Region. She worked with external stakeholders to address community concerns, and acted as the FAA Congressional Liaison, working closely with local state government and elected officials. Liu also served as the FAA Senior Representative located in Paris, France, where she represented the FAA for 18 countries in Western Europe and North Africa on overarching policy issues.
She began her FAA career in the Los Angeles Aircraft Certification Office as a structural engineer working on type certification and supplemental type certification programs for rotorcraft, large transport, and small airplanes. Liu then worked as the Manager of the Seattle Aircraft Certification Office, which was responsible for the type certification and continued operational safety of the Boeing aircraft fleet.
She holds a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Arlington and a Master of Science in Aviation and Aerospace Sustainability from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Liu is a member of Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Honor Society) and Sigma Gamma Tau (National Aerospace Engineering Honor Society).
Chris Carter
Director, Asia Pacific Region, FAA
Chris Carter has served as the Director of FAA Asia-Pacific Region, located in Singapore, since June 2021. In this role, he provides leadership and promotes U.S. interests advancing civil aviation safety and efficiency in the Asia-Pacific Region. Carter leads a staff of twenty people located in offices in Beijing, New Delhi, and Tokyo, as well as Singapore and Washington, D.C. His office acts as liaison to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Prior to this appointment, Carter served as the Deputy Executive Director for Strategic Initiatives in the Aircraft Certification Service (AIR) of the FAA’s Aviation Safety (AVS) Line of Business. In that role, he oversaw a transformation of AIR that included a complete reorganization of a workforce of 1,300 employees as well as an improvement in the aircraft certification process. Carter also collaborated with industry stakeholders, international regulators and across AVS to more fully integrate the certification and operational aspects of an aircraft lifecycle.
Carter joined FAA in 2004 as a manager in the Aircraft Engineering Division. Prior to joining FAA, he spent 18 years in the aviation industry, starting as an aircraft technician in the UK. After earning his engineering degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), Carter worked as an engineer and a Designated Engineering Representative (DER) for several years. He has held various management positions in the aircraft modification and interior completions sector of the industry where he managed programs; negotiated supplier agreements and oversaw regulatory and safety compliance. Carter also holds an MBA from Webster University and a Professional Engineers License.
This series will be moderated by U.S. DOT Volpe Center Director Anne Aylward.
Anne Aylward
Director, U.S. DOT Volpe Center
Anne D. Aylward has served as director of the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in Cambridge, MA since 2016. The U.S. DOT Volpe Center is a unique fee-for-service federal organization that conducts more than $230 million annually in transportation technology and innovation projects.
As director, she steers the work of more than 580 engineers, scientists, and analysts engaged in a portfolio of projects carried out on behalf of all U.S. DOT modal administrations, numerous other federal agencies such as the Departments of Defense and Interior, state and local governments, as well as international, academic, private, and non-profit organizations facing transportation challenges.
Prior to serving in this role, Aylward was the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s deputy director for Research and Technology. She has more than 30 years of experience in transportation planning, operations, and program management, and she is a nationally recognized expert in freight and intermodal transportation planning, policy analysis, and operations.
Aylward began her career in public service with the Massachusetts Port Authority and served for 10 years as director of the Port of Boston. She began her federal career in 2006 as the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s chief of Transportation Planning.