DOT appoints Vaughn’s Pres.
Devivo is Chair of YIATF
Vaughn College President
Dr. Sharon B. DeVivo was appointed
chair of the Department
of Transportation’s
Youth Access to American
Jobs in Aviation Task Force
(YIATF) by U.S. Transportation
Secretary Elaine L. Chao.
The objective of YIATF is to
encourage high school students
to pursue in-demand careers
in aviation.
“We are at a pivotal moment
to reach out and develop
the next generation of aviation
and aerospace leadership,”
said DeVivo. “By bringing together
a diverse group of industry
and education leaders,
we have a unique opportunity
to create a set of recommendations
that ensures a long-term
pipeline of qualified talent
while also prioritizing a pathway
for traditionally underrepresented
groups.”
The 20 task force members
appointed by Secretary Chao
represent a diverse range of
backgrounds and expertise
in aviation and education, including
those from air carriers;
aircraft, powerplant,
and avionics manufacturers;
aircraft repair stations; local
educational agencies or
10 AIRPORT VOICE, AUGUST 2020
high schools; and institutions
of higher education, including
four-year institutions like
Vaughn, community colleges
and aviation trade schools.
“We warmly welcome these
task force members who share
our commitment to encouraging
young men and women to
pursue aviation careers and
identifying and developing
pathways for them to enter the
workforce,” said Chao.
YIATF will develop and
provide independent recommendations
and strategies to
the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) to:
Facilitate and encourage
high school students in the
United States to enroll in and
complete career and technical
education courses, including
science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM);
Facilitate and encourage
these students to enroll in a
course of study related to an
aviation career, including aviation
manufacturing, engineering
and maintenance;
Identify and develop pathways
for students to secure
registered apprenticeships,
workforce development programs,
or careers in the aviation
industry of the United
States.
Dr. DeVivo has been with
Vaughn College since 1996
and president since 2014. She
is the seventh president of
the institution and the first
woman to hold that position.
She is heavily involved in the
aviation and education industries,
serving on the board
of The Wings Club, Cradle of
Aviation Museum, Council for
Higher Education Accreditation
and International Aviation
Women’s Association
Advisory Board, among others.
Her degrees include an
associate from the University
of Maryland in Munich, Germany,
a bachelor’s from the
State University of New York
at Albany, a master’s from
Fordham University and a
doctorate from the University
of Pennsylvania.
Vaughn was ranked as the
number one institution in the
nation in upward mobility –
the best at moving students
from the bottom 40 percent to
the top 40 percent in income
– in a 2017 study published in
The New York Times. With its
master’s, bachelor’s and associate
degree programs, as well
as its pre-college programs for
middle and high school students,
the institution has a
long history of training qualified,
passionate students for
lifelong professional success
in careers in engineering and
technology, management and
aviation. Ninety-nine percent
of Vaughn graduates are employed
or continue their education
within one year of graduation,
83 percent in their field
of study.
Summer STEM Grads
2nd annual student program
Sponsored for a second
year by the Port Authority,
LaGuardia Gateway
Partners and Delta Air
Lines, the STEM program
was conducted remotely
due to COVID-19 safety
concerns
The summer program is
an investment in students
from communities near
LaGuardia Airport, preparing
them for careers in
aviation, sciences or technology
The PANYNJ announced
that 80 students
celebrated completion
of the second annual La-
Guardia Airport Redevelopment
Summer STEM
program with a virtual ceremony
that included a message
to students from retired
NASA Astronaut and
Queens native Ellen Baker,
who lauded the students as
the “scientists, engineers
and problem solvers of the
future.”
This year, due to safety
concerns related to COVID
19, the Summer STEM
Program went forward virtually,
with 80 students
entering grades 6 - 8 who
participated remotely in
aviation-focused Science,
Technology, Engineering,
and Math activities.
During the three-week
program students learned
about planes, kites, rockets,
weather and satellites, climate
change, sustainable
energy, and more. Each lesson
included a hands-on,
interactive, educational activity.
“What you’ve done in
showing an interest in science
and technology and
engineering and math
puts you in a good position
to continue your education
and … be the problem
solvers of the future,” said
Baker, who attended PS 41,
JHS 158 and Bayside High
School.
TSA checkpoint scans
Minimizes fraudulence
Transportation Security
Administration officers at
John F. Kennedy International
and LaGuardia Airports
are using new technology
at checkpoints that
validates a traveler’s identification
and confirms their
flight information in near
real time.
TSA at JFK International
Airport has 22 credential
authentication technology
(CAT) units in use
and LaGuardia Airport has
18 of them in operation.
“The credential authentication
technology units
improve upon TSA’s capabilities
to detect and identify
fraudulent identification
documents such as driver’s
licenses and passports at
checkpoints and increases
efficiency by automatically
verifying passenger identification,”
said John Bambury,
TSA’s Federal Security Director
for JFK International
Airport. “In addition to enhancing
detection capabilities
for identifying fake IDs,
the credential system is able
to confirm a passenger’s
flight status in near real
time through a secured connection,”
said Robert Duffy,
TSA’s Federal Security Director
for LaGuardia Airport.
When a traveler hands
the TSA officer their ID,
the officer places it in the
CAT unit, which scans the
ID and informs the TSA officer
whether the ID is valid.
In some locations, the units
are positioned to allow passengers
to insert their ID
into the units. In most cases,
travelers who approach the
TSA travel document checking
podium do not have to
show their boarding pass
because the CAT unit verifies
that the traveler is prescreened
to travel out of the
airport for a flight that day;
however, one may be requested
for travelers under
the age of 18 and/or those
with ID issues. Even with
TSA’s use of CAT, travelers
still need to check-in with
their airline in advance and
bring their boarding pass to
their gate agent to show the
airline representative before
boarding their flight.
CAT units authenticate
several thousand types of
IDs including passports,
military common access
cards, retired military ID
cards, Department of Homeland
Security Trusted Traveler
ID cards, uniformed
services ID cards, permanent
resident cards, U.S. visas
and driver’s licenses and
photo IDs issued by state
motor vehicle departments.
A CAT unit consists of
the passport reader, an ID
card reader, a Federal personal
identity verification
ID card reader, a monitor, a
stand and a UV light. Each
unit costs a little less than
$30,000.
A CAT unit reads a driver’s
license that was inserted
into the unit and indicates
that this license has
expired and is no longer
valid for passage through
the checkpoint. (TSA photo)
In addition, it is critical
that travelers have their
REAL ID-compliant driver’s
licenses or other acceptable
form of identification by the
Oct. 1, 2021, deadline. The
CAT units will not accept a
driver’s license after Oct. 1,
2021, if it is not REAL IDcompliant.
Passed by Congress in
2005, the REAL ID Act enacted
the 9/11 Commission’s
recommendation that the
federal government “set
standards for the issuance
of sources of identification,
such as driver’s licenses.”
The Act and implementing
regulations establishes minimum
security standards for
state-issued driver’s licenses
and identification cards and
prohibits federal agencies,
like TSA, from accepting
driver’s licenses and identification
cards from states that
do not meet these standards
for official purposes, such as
getting through the airport
security checkpoint to board
a plane.