KCIA recruiting aspiring aviation enthusiasts
King County International Airport - Boeing Field (KCIA) is seeking six new interns for the 2023-24 school year. There are four undergraduate positions, open to students enrolled in a four-year college, university or community college, and two internships open to graduate students. All the internships are paid positions. The positions are hybrid (online and in-person). Applicants should live in Washington state and be able to work on site at the airport some days.
The internship program includes tours, site visits and other in-person work, along with building the “cohort experience,” or networking with other interns.
 Interns at KCIA benefit from many networking opportunities. Above, last summer, KCIA hosted a tour for interns from airports around the region, including Sea-Tac, Auburn and Arlington airports.
“I started as an intern at King County with Metro and I found it a very valuable experience, it really launched my career at King County,” said Kevin Nuechterlein, coordinator of the program. “I want to help pay it forward and create a really good internship experience so that others can see themselves in a place like this.”
KCIA currently has four employees who started as interns at the airport, including deputy director David Decoteau and two of the intern supervisors.
“It is clear that an internship at the airport will take you places,” Nuechterlein said.
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Airport operations
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External relations
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Innovation
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Engineering
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Environmental scientist
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Public administration
Applications are due by March 27.
Matthew Sykora earns accreditation
Airport Business Manager Matthew Sykora has been awarded the distinction of Accredited Airport Executive (A.A.E.) by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE). He received the accreditation in Salt Lake City on February 8. Congratulations!
To qualify for his distinction, Matthew had to successfully complete three phases of the accreditation process:
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pass a 180-item multiple-choice examination,
- fulfill a writing requirement, and
- demonstrate, in the final interview by a panel of A.A.E.s, his knowledge of airport management, business administration, and general transportation economics.
Sykora’s achievement attests to his ability to meet these stringent requirements and his experience in managing a public airport. By fulfilling all the requirements leading to the title of Accredited Airport Executive, Sykora joins a select group of individuals who have earned the designation in the six plus decades of the accreditation program’s existence. At present, fewer than eight percent of AAAE’s members throughout the country are active accredited airport executives.
Sykora has worked at the airport since 2017 and focuses on airport business development and long-range planning. During his tenure at the airport, he has worked on master plans, leases, through-the-fence agreements, special event permits, and large airport redevelopment projects. His section oversees tenant and public outreach and plays a vital role in communicating airport development projects to community members, government agencies, and airport user groups. Before taking on the role of Airport Business Manager, he worked in Airport Operations for Boeing Field and the Salt Lake City Department of Airports.
Sykora graduated from Westminster College in Salt Lake City with a B.S. in Aviation Management. In addition to the A.A.E. accreditation, he is an ACE (Airport Certified Employee).
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Sandi Trevino promoted to Maintenance Crew Chief
Two new Maintenance crew chiefs start this month at the airport: Sandi Trevino, a 19-year airport employee, and Ryan Johnson, now a Roads Maintenance Worker II in the Department of Local Services.
“I am super excited to work with them as our new crew chiefs,” said Raleigh Salazar, Maintenance Supervisor.
“Combining her 20 years of airport experience with his 15 years of road paving experience is going to take our Maintenance group to another level,” Salazar added. “It’s going to be a really good partnership.”
Sandi Trevino becomes a Maintenance Crew Chief starting March 5. She was promoted from a Utility Worker II. Congratulations!
“As crew chief, we set up projects for the crew, we dispatch their work, and we oversee whatever projects are going on,” Trevino said.
“I’m up for the challenge and I’m looking forward to it,” she added “Luckily I’ve been working with this crew ever since I got here.”
Trevino started at the airport in 2004, moving from Roads, where she also was a Utility Worker II. She worked at Roads for eight years, starting in the north end and then moving to Renton, where she was on the concrete crew.
“Eventually I was trying to get closer to home,” said Trevino, who went to Cleveland High School, less than two miles from the airport. “My commute went from 30 miles to 10 miles to now four miles.”
With her experience with both the work and the people, there’s still lots to learn, Trevino said. There are also quite a few new employees in Maintenance.
“I’m excited and looking forward to seeing all the newness of this,” she added. “I have a good support team, so that makes me feel a lot more confident.”
Above, Sandi Trevino, left, with Col. Merryl Tengesdal (Ret.) at the Women in Aviation Conference in February. Col. Tengesdal is the first and only Black woman to pilot the U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft.
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Ryan Johnson flies to airport for a job
Ryan Johnson will be moving from Local Services on March 7 to partner with Trevino.
In addition to paving experience, Johnson brings a variety of roads and maintenance experience, along with a passion for flying.
“I started as a road maintenance worker,” Johnson said. “I’ve moved around to maintenance, paving crew, drainage, rivers. I volunteer for everything to get more experience.”
He spent a season installing and maintaining roads and markings, and ran a “button truck,” putting down the raised buttons on pavement. He earned his Commercial Drivers License last January, with no restrictions.
Why move from Local Services to the airport?
“I actually fly and landed at the airport. I was practicing touch and goes. I’m still in the process of getting my pilots license,” Johnson explained.
He flew into King County International Airport for the first time last October.
“We came in and it was a beautiful sunny day. I love the airfield. (I thought) this is King County and I could get a job here!” Johnson said. He started looking for jobs at the airport and applied in December.
“I’m excited to work at the airport,” he said. “I love being around aviation and planes so working at the airport is perfect for me.”
Above, Ryan Johnson joins the airport from the Department of Local Services on March 7.
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Employees earn IACE designation
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Several KCIA employees recently completed the International Aerodrome Certified Employee (IACE) training through the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).
The IACE provides airport operators and employees with a well-rounded knowledge of airport operations and safety standards. Key topics covered include Safety Management Systems, environmental considerations related to airport operations, and airfield maintenance and operations.
The following King County employees have successfully completed the training:
- Timothy Carner
- Manny Cruz
- Anoop Dhillon
- Benjamin Johnson
- Donald McClendon
- Scott Muirhead
From left, Donald McClendon, Maintenance Supervisor; Anoop Dhillon, Airport Badging Specialist and Manny Cruz, Airport Duty Manager.
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Returning inspired to lead women in aviation
After attending the Women in Aviation International Conference in February, Vanessa Chin, Innovation Section Manager, and Sandi Trevino, incoming Maintenance Crew Chief, came back inspired. So much so that Chin is reaching out to Women in Aviation International to see about starting a chapter in Seattle.
“It was absolutely an incredible learning experience,” Chin said. “We met so many exceptional women in aviation.”
Among them was Patricia Beckman from The Boeing Company. Beckman is a founding member of the Women in Aviation International Conference based in Auburn, WA. She also was the first woman to qualify as a crewmember in the F-15 and the first American woman to qualify as a crewmember in the F/A-18.
Chin also met Maya Ghazal, the first female Syrian refugee pilot and a Goodwill Ambassador for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
They both met Col. Merryl Tengesdal, USAF (ret.), the first and only Black woman to pilot the U-2 Dragon Lady reconnaissance aircraft.
“They had women that were mechanics to people that were at the top of their positions, CEOS, one of the speakers was heading a NASA project,” Trevino said. “It was my first conference. It was so inspiring.”
Women in Aviation International held one of its largest and most successful annual gatherings during the 34th Annual Women in Aviation International Conference at Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, California, February 23-25. More than 4,500 people attended, including 136 international representatives from 32 countries.
Above, left to right, Sandi Trevino, incoming Maintenance Crew Chief; Patricia Beckman, founding member of the Women in Aviation International Conference and Vanessa Chin, Innovation Section Manager.
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Crews respond to snow and slush
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With snow in the forecast over the last week, the airport activated its snow response plans. The "Snow Desk" activated on Saturday, February 25 and issued periodic reports about the severe weather response and the status of the airport. Runways remained open over the weekend.
At right, a snow broom clears slush from taxiways on Sunday, February 26.
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Airport recognizes new ARFF members, accomplishments
Adam Currey
Congratulations to Adam Currey, who graduated from the South King County fire academy in January.
He joined the Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting unit in June 2022. Prior to joining ARFF, Currey served as a patrol deputy and Master Police Officer in the city of Burien. He began his law enforcement career with the King County Sheriff’s Office in 2014.
“I’m excited to start a new chapter in my career by learning a completely new skillset,” Currey said. “This is a unique opportunity that not many people in the country have. How many people get to say they’re a firefighter and cop?"
Currey is a native of western Washington and a Western Washington University graduate. After serving in the Marine Corps, he returned to the area in 2014.
Currey hopes to be a good addition to the unit by being positive, continuing to learn the ins and outs of the airport, and further develop his skills as a firefighter/EMT.
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Lee Lim
Lee Lim joined Aircraft Rescue and Firefighting and started the Fire Academy in February. Lim has been a deputy sheriff with the King County Sheriff’s Office since 2018 and began his law enforcement career with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department in 2014.
“I’m just as excited for this new opportunity as when I started my career in law enforcement,” Lim said. “The small team of deputies here strive for excellence and seem to be well supported in their development. I’m honored to have been selected to be a part of it.”
As a deputy sheriff, Lim worked in Sound Transit and north unincorporated King County. As an officer in Las Vegas, he worked primarily west of Downtown Las Vegas. He has a bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering from Cal State Long Beach.
Lim and his wife moved to Seattle for their special needs daughter.
“When we visited the Seattle area, we could envision our daughter thriving here,” Lim said. “It’s amazing what a 7 lb. 8 oz. mini-me can make you do!”
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