Based in Washington, Jen manages Aviation Week’s worldwide defense, space and security coverage.
Prior to taking on her current role, Jen was Aviation Week's Congressional Editor. Jen came to Aviation Week in March 2011 from Politico, where she covered the intersection of defense and politics. She also worked as a reporter and editor for Defense Daily, Inside the Army, The Other Paper and The Columbus Dispatch.
Jen received a Master’s degree in journalism as a Kiplinger Fellow at the Ohio State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Michigan.
In the midst of the political and financial uncertainty of the last five years, aerospace companies increased spending in one key area: Washington lobbyists. The air transport industry spent $51.6 million on lobbying in 2005, but by 2010, that amount shot up to $88.7 million. Similarly, the defense aerospace industry went from spending $32.2 million in 2005 on lobbying to $59.4 million by the end of the decade.
The fight over whether cargo pilots should be exempt from new fatigue rules wages on. National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman sent a letter to Capitol Hill earlier this week encouraging one set of standards, and on Thursday the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) joined the NTSB in supporting standard regulations across all airlines.
The chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has provided ammunition to proponents of sleep regulations for flight crews. NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman questioned several provisions outlawing sleep regulations in the FAA reauthorization bill, calling one “detrimental to the safety of flight crews, medical personnel, patients on board and persons on the ground.”
