In the next installment of our “Women Who Soar” campaign, we are proud to highlight two incredible women with decades of aviation experience between them. They are both on our Analytics team and bring vast industry knowledge and expertise to the Jet Midwest team. Congratulations to Cathy Liu and Jeri Poulin on being our February #womenwhosoar! #25by2025 Cathy Liu has been working with Jet Midwest since 2009 and began in the role of Director of Marketing, Asia Pacific region. She started at Jet Midwest working on acquisition opportunities in the Chinese market, and then transitioned into an aircraft/engine sales role while still managing Chinese market for last 11 years. She took on additional roles when she created the data and analytics reporting system for Jet Midwest. Cathy has continued to expand her reach in the company by also transitioning into supply chain management all while still helping with the company’s market development in China.

Having been in the aviation industry for the last 23 years, Cathy’s previous roles ranged from operations control for airlines, strategic planning for MRO facilities, executive sales for an OEM distributor, and logistics/account management for parts brokers. Her varied and vast aviation knowledge and experience is an incredible asset to the entire Jet Midwest team

We asked Cathy about the best advice she could give to the next generation of women in aviation. She said, “Be persistent with what you believe is the right path forward and always be patient. It takes time, but if you are persistent and dedicated and you contribute to the team, your hard work and efforts will pay off. Having no fear for overcoming difficulties has been the key to my path of growth and success in this industry.”

The aviation industry is certainly one with challenges for women in the USA and around the globe. Cathy says, “I could see that women in the USA have fewer difficulties in dealing with glass ceiling career issues and career development compared with Chinese women. I’m grateful for the opportunities that I’ve created and capitalized on here in the USA to get me to the level of success I’ve achieved today in my aviation career.”

Jeri Poulin is Jet Midwest’s Manager FP&A and has enjoyed a 36-year career in the aviation industry. She began her career as a designer for an FAA design alteration station that generated STCs. Her career journey saw her hold positions in technical publications, budget planning and building, visual reporting and statistical analysis in the areas of Supply Chain, Engineering, Customer Service and Sales, and Logistics and Accounting. She now finds herself in her third year with Jet Midwest as the Manager of FP&A.

When asked about the best advice she could give the next generation of women in aviation, Jeri says, “Never stop learning. Find someone around you who has knowledge, a skill or traits that you admire and learn from them. When I started in this industry, there were very few women…unless they were secretaries or on the factory floor. Most of my mentors were men. A lot has changed. Women need to be mindful not to set themselves apart from their male counterparts. All of us (male and female) are professionals who have important roles to play and contributions to make in our industry…and to be mentors.”

Jeri plays a key role on the Analytics Team at Jet Midwest, and we wanted to know what she loves most about her position here. “It hasn’t been boring…for sure! I love the fact that I feel like I am able to make a difference and contribute to the growth and evolution of Jet Midwest. This is an exciting time where we have an opportunity to build even more robust processes that will propel us forward…I’m excited to be part of that.”