Holding Short

Episode 45- Tonya Yearwood of The Black Aviation Professionals Network

Episode 45 is out today with guest Tonya Yearwood!

Tonya Yearwood was born in Toronto, Ontario to natives of Trinidad & Tobago. She worked in both Canada and the United States in a variety of careers; Finance, Fitness, Postal Service, and Automotive until she found herself in Aviation & Aerospace within the IT space. Working in the industry allowed Tonya to have a newfound appreciation for air transportation but quickly learned that diversity in Aviation & Aerospace was non-existent compared to her previous professional experiences. Seeing the need for change, Tonya founded the Black Aviation Professionals Network (BAPN), a non-profit organisation to help her fellow colleagues and the next generation of leaders and aviators in the sector. BAPN promotes Aviation, showcases that the industry is more than pilots and flight attendants, and appeals to the Black community showing the variety of careers available and supplying the resources to thrive. There are Aviation Professionals and professionals in Aviation, and together, they are BAPN!

BAPN can be found on their website www.thebapn.ca, instagram @the.BAPN, and linkedin.

Episode 44- Anna Julia

Episode 44 is out today with guest Anna Julia!

Anna Julia found her way towards aviation when she finally began to listen to her inner voice. "There was never really any sign or indication to follow a career in aviation, I just travelled a lot. It felt like I was raised on an airplane and would always find a sense of comfort when I would watch the flight attendants". She followed the “expected” path of going to university after high school. Though she followed that path, she still wanted something interesting and exciting. Having graduated with a bachelor's degree from UofT in Human Evolution, and Archeology, she found herself dreaming about travel. “Whenever I would go on archeological excavations, I was more excited for the plane ride and new destination. I figured I was meant to be in the sky." She left Archeology and applied to be a flight attendant. Only to find herself back in school at Georgian College working towards the Aviation Management program. “It just made sense; school makes sense to me.”  Fast forward a few years later, Anna Julia now works in Airport Operations. 

Anna can be found on instagram @annajulia.xo and on linkedin as Anna Julia S.

Episode 43- Karly Baker

Episode 43 is out today with guest Karly Barker!

​​As the daughter of an original 'Super Commuter', the aviation bug hit early for Karly Barker. Growing up, she was able to watch float planes and water bombers touch down on the lake at her childhood home, as well as attend the Shearwater International Airshow year after year. As a teenager, she tweaked an overseas flight reservation just to 'fly on the Queen of the Skies'.

As a creative, during her time studying in Visual Arts and Graphic Design, Karly set her goals early on to become a visual storyteller utilising her skills in design and photography, and to work her way into the aviation industry. 

Starting with illustrating aircraft as a hobby, she invested in a super-telephoto lens and began photographing aircraft. Today, she regularly photographs aircraft and operations for the PAL Group of Companies. At the time of recording Karly worked as a marketing designer at CarteNav, a PAL Aerospace company. We'd like to congratulate Karly on her new position with Air Canada as a Senior Designer and Art Director. 

Karly can be found on instagram @Karliaa, twitter @karliaa_b, and on linkedin. 

Episode 42- Dorothy Andrusiak

Episode 42 is out today with guest Dorothy Andrusiak!

Dorothy Andrusiak is a First Officer on the Twin Otter and flies with Air Inuit. Dorothy became interested in aeronautics at a young age after travelling and seeing airshows. Her interest continued when she was in the Army cadets, and she later decided to make flying her career. Before committing to aviation, she studied Jazz Voice at Vanier College and music remains a big part of her life. Today, Dorothy spends most of her time in Nunavik, Canada.

Dorothy can be found on Instagram @dot_and_inuk, or on her Facebook page Dorothy Andrusiak.

Episode 41- Ashwin Sagar

Episode 41 is out today with guest Ashwin Sagar!

Growing up in the Middle East, Ashwin Sagar lived near some of the biggest and busiest airports in the world. From a young age he would go plane-spotting and made sure to visit the flight deck every time he travelled. For 21 years the dream of flying remained just that: a dream. 

He moved to Canada to pursue a business degree and in his final year of university he truly started to consider a career in aviation. From then on, there was no stopping him. He enrolled in the Brampton Flight Centre’s Professional Pilot Diploma program, becoming a flight instructor there after completing his training. After this, he moved to Northern Canada to work for Perimeter Aviation as a first officer on Metroliner 3 and later on a Dash 8. At the age of 25, he landed his dream job of flying the Boeing 757 & 767 for Cargojet. 

Ashwin can be found on Instagram @ash.sagar or on Linkedin.

Episode 40- Wintta Ghebreiyesus

Episode 40 is out today with guest Wintta Ghebreiyesus!

The space shuttle Columbia disaster of 2003 claimed the lives of all seven astronauts. As a young girl, Wintta Ghebreiyesus saw this tragic event on TV and knew that she wanted to be part of the generation to follow that would improve the vehicle’s design to prevent human tragedy. This led her to attend Ryerson University’s Aerospace Engineering program.

In her undergrad, she specialized in avionics and control systems. After earning her Master’s, she has continued her research on aircraft cabin interior noise control. Today, Wintta is a PhD candidate at Ryerson. Her daily work focuses on reducing aircraft cabin noise at the passenger level using an integrated active noise control system.

During her internship at AeroVelo, she worked on and piloted Atlas, a human-powered helicopter and winner of the Sikorsky prize. Wintta has also served as Vice-President of Ryerson’s Rocketry Club for two years. She was a research advisor for the Ryerson Hyperloop Pod Team, drawing heavily from her previous role with the team as an electronics member. 

Wintta can be found on Linkedin or on instagram @wghebrei. The Ryerson Rocketry Club can be found on instagram @ryersonrocketry, and on youtube by searching “Ryerson Rocketry”. For those interested in learning more about the Canadian Hyperloop Conference, visit their website at www.cahyperloop.ca or sign up for their newsletter on their contact page at www.cahyperloop.ca/contact-us

Episode 39- Holding Short‘s 2021 Year End Q&A

Hi All!

Thank you for a fabulous first year! Thank you to all of the friends that joined us on the show, and to everyone that tuned in!

By popular request in our DMs, we’re taking a couple minutes to answer a few questions, and have a little fun before taking a few weeks off to get started on our next year of content. Keep an eye on our feed in late January for the start of the next year of shows. 

Happy Holidays, and a Happy New Year to all!

Laura and Cam.

Episode 38-NORAD Tracks Santa with Lieutenant Sable Brown

We have wanted to make this episode happen since the very beginning of Holding Short. NORAD Tracks Santa has been a part of our holiday traditions since we were both small. Cameron remembers gathering around the family computer with his family waiting for the dial up internet to load Santa’s schedule for the night and Laura’s mum decreed we HAD to have NORAD on.

Join Laura as she learns about how the program keeps jolly old Saint Nick safe, and how it all started with a phone call 65 years ago.

Our guest, United States Air Force 1st Lieutenant Sable Brown is currently serving as a Public Affairs Officer at North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) Public Affairs, and NORAD Tracks Santa, at Peterson Space Force Base, Colorado.

Sable grew up in Mascoutah, IL just a few miles away from Scott Air Force Base. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications TV and Radio Broadcasting from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in 2015.

In 2017, Sable commissioned from Air Force Officer Training School as a 2nd Lieutenant. After commissioning she was assigned to the 12th Training Squadron at Randolph AFB, TX. She crossed into Public Affairs, completing Defense Information School training in March 2019. She previously served as the Chief of Media operations for 20th Fighter Wing PA at Shaw AFB, South Carolina until September 2020.

To learn more about NORAD Tracks Santa, and to track Santa this year, visit their website at www.noradsanta.org/en/, find them on social media on Facebook @noradsanta, Twitter @noradsanta, and Instagram @noradtrackssanta_official, or download the NORAD Tracks Santa App!

Episode 37- Phil Ralph of Wounded Warriors Canada

Episode 37 is out today! This episode was hosted by our producer Cameron in Laura's stead.

 

This episode involves discussions around Trauma, Mental Health and Mental Healthcare. We recognize that this topic may be difficult for many listeners. If you are not up for that conversation, for any reason, please take a moment to click away. 

 

Phil Ralph, CD, Captain (Ret'd), currently serves as the Director of Health Services for Wounded Warriors Canada and has served in various capacities throughout the organization’s history, including serving as Chair for two years. As Director of Health Services, he oversees the implementation of a robust and exciting slate of transformative culturally appropriate group-based interventions that are clinically facilitated and grounded in evidence that draws upon leading trauma research benefiting veterans, first responders, and their families.

For over a quarter century until releasing from the Canadian Armed Forces in 2016, Phil served our nation as the Regimental Chaplain to the 32 Combat Engineer Regiment (formerly the 2nd Field Engineer Regiment). In that capacity, he was exposed to the challenges and needs of today’s veterans. Having seen firsthand the effects of deployments on our veterans he has a passion to contribute to assisting today’s veterans towards wholeness and healing. As the son of a firefighter whose family's service extends back into the 1800’s he has also witnessed first-hand the challenges that face first responders and their families.

Padre Ralph has served as Directing Staff at the Canadian Forces Chaplains School and Centre located within Canadian Forces Base Borden on several occasions. He has also served as the Senior Chaplain at Blackdown Cadet Training Centre, supervising his staff as they cared for a Camp of 3,000 personnel including up to 2,500 young people.

Phil holds a Bachelor of Theology degree from Ontario Bible College and a Master of Divinity degree from Ontario Theological Seminary. Beyond military and congregational ministry, Phil has been active in the wider community by serving on the Boards of several agencies dedicated to assisting those in need. For his work in the community, he was awarded the Canada 125 Medal, given for “Significant Contributions to Canada.” and the Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal. He is also the recipient of the Canadian Forces Decoration.

 

For more information on Wounded Warriors Canada, please visit their website at www.woundedwarriors.ca or find them on social media. They can be found on instagram @woundedwarriorscanada, facebook @woundedwarriorscanada, and on twitter @woundedwarriorCA. Phil can be found on instagram @ralph_phil. 

Episode 36- Michelle Matte-Stotyn of the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association

Episode 36 is out today with guest Michelle Matte-Stotyn!

Becoming a skydiver was never part of her life plan, but when Michelle Matte-Stotyn did her first tandem jump she was hooked. In the middle of completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Ottawa in Leisure Studies, Michelle drastically turned her focus from studying recreation in indigenous cultures to finishing her degree studying the gender barriers in extreme sports. In the process of her studies she joined the Women’s Initiatives Committee of CSPA as a volunteer member looking to increase female involvement in skydiving. During that time, she completed a graduate diploma in Sport Business Management from Algonquin College and in 2013, became the Executive Director of CSPA. She continued her studies part-time while working for the association and just recently finished an Accounting Diploma, to complete a tertiary qualification of sport, business, and accounting.

Michelle has been a certified skydiver for over 10 years, with a D license, and multiple coach, instructor and examiner ratings. She holds four Canadian skydiving records and has competed in both indoor and outdoor skydiving competitions. When she’s not skydiving, she can be found on the golf course in the summers and actively skiing in the winters.

For anyone interested in finding out more about the Canadian Sport Parachuting Association, please visit their website at www.cspa.ca or find them on facebook @canadianskydiving.