Jake Arthur - Manager of Corporate Partnerships, Dayton Dragons Col. (ret), Dr. Cassie Barlow - Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education James Brothers - University of Dayton Ed Chaffins, Vice President - Digital Engineering and Technical Services at COPELAND Shannon Cox - Montgomery County Educational Service Center Steve Duning - SRC, Inc. Mike Emoff - Boost Engagement JoAnn Erno - Air Force Institute of Technology Angela Fronista - BTAS Todd Gossett, President - Winsupply Equity Group Tami Hart Kirby, ExOfficio, Managing Partner - Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP Doug Hoy - Fox Lite Manufacturing Jackie Janning-Lask, CEO - Midwest Microelectronics Consortium Dr. Steven L. Johnson, President - Sinclair College Dr. Tom Lasley, Co-Founder - Director, Policy and Advocacy MCESC and L2ED Jeff Miller, Senior Vice President - Sinclair College Lt. Gen. (ret) Dick Reynolds, Co-founder - The VanFleet Group, LLC Honorable Judge Walter Rice - U.S. Dist. Court Southern District of Ohio Dr. Vince Russo, Co-founder - Aerospace Technologies Associates, LLC Joe Sciabica - The Dayton Foundation Chris Shaw, Commissioner - City of Dayton Maj. Gen. (ret), Dr. Todd Stewart - Air Force Institute of Technology (retired) Honorable Gov. Bob Taft, Distinguished Research Associate - University of Dayton Diane Vitas - Wright State University Al Wofford - CDO Technology Amanda Wright Lane - Wright Brothers Family Foundation

Dr. Vincent Russo — President and Co‑Founder Lt. Gen (Ret) Richard V. Reynolds — Secretary and Co‑Founder Dr. Thomas Lasley — Vice President and Co‑Founder Steve Duning — Treasurer and Finance Committee Chairperson Dr. Cassie Barlow — Strategic Planning Committee Chairperson and Executive Committee Member Mr. Mike Emoff — Marketing and Advertising Chairperson and Executive Committee Member Jake Arthur — Resource Development Committee Chairperson and Executive Committee Member Mr. Joe Sciabica — Educational Outreach Center Committee Co‑Chair and Executive Committee Member Dr. Jesse Steiner — Executive Director

Wing Commander ($50,000 and above)

Midwest Microelectronics Consortium Patrick McGohan The Schiewetz Foundation United Airlines

Check Pilot ($5,000 - $9,999)

AES Ohio Foundation Air & Space Forces Association Wright Memorial Chapter Air Force Museum Foundation Engineering and Science Foundation Glennon Family Foundation Iddings Foundation Lexis Nexis Lockwood Family Foundation National Order of Daedalians SRC, Inc.

Pilot in Command ($3,500 - $4,999)

Bettcher Fund CDO Technologies Ed and Susan Purvis Jackie and Joe Lask Jay Woodhull Matthew Diggs Order of Daedalians Frank P. Lahm Flight 9

About Air Camp

Rooted in Dayton, Soaring Toward the Future of STEM

Giving Kids the Confidence to Achieve

Helping Students Fly Higher

Air Camp is the vision of Dayton-area leaders who want to help young people nationwide achieve their potential, develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, and pursue further education and future careers in STEM-related fields, aviation, and aeronautics.

Air Camp Mission & Vision

Mission

Deliver an exciting and challenging hands-on adventure in aviation and aeronautics to inspire students and teachers to learn more about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) while promoting the values of scholarship, leadership and citizenship.

Air Camp middle school student flying a small plane with an instructor

Air Camp student looking through binoculars

Vision

We aim to inspire the next generation of technical leaders and impact our nation’s future.

Birthplace of Aviation

Why Dayton, Oh?

Dayton, Ohio is one of the most important places in the world for aviation and aerospace because it combines historic innovation with ongoing research and development. As the hometown of the Wright brothers, Dayton is the birthplace of powered flight and the foundation of modern aviation engineering. That legacy continues today at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, a major global center for aerospace research, testing, and engineering, and through the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, which preserves aviation history while inspiring future innovators.

The region also supports a strong aerospace and defense ecosystem made up of contractors, research labs, startups, and STEM-focused universities. This close collaboration between history, education, government, and industry sustains a culture of engineering and innovation, ensuring that Dayton is not only where aviation began, but where aerospace continues to advance.

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History of Air Camp

Inspiring STEM Since 2006

2006

A meeting of community leaders organized by Dr. Dave Ponitz, Retired President of Sinclair College, at the request of Dr. Vince Russo to discuss STEM learning for K-12.

2008

A meeting chaired by Dr. Tom Lasley and attended by Gen. Dick Reynolds, Dr. Vince Russo, Mr. Dan Sadlier, Ms. Amanda Lane Wright, and other community partners where a decision was made to “do something” using current Dayton Community assets and not pursue a dedicated physical facility.

2010

Launch of first Air Camp with Executive Director Ms. JoAnn Erno, with Executive Committee Dr. Lasley as President, Dr. Russo as Vice President, Gen. Reynolds as Secretary, and Mr. Sadlier as Treasurer.

2015

Launch of the first official Teachers Air Camp experience on September 25, 2015.

Please meet our

Faculty & Staff

From highly trained educators to dedicated volunteers.

Dr. Jesse Steiner

Executive Director

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Shannon Coblentz

Director of Operations

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Kimberly Hume

Operations Manager

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Amanda Coomer

Manager of Finance

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Christina Davis

Manager of Educational Programming

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Jonetta White

Development Director

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Ben Rivet

Creative Director

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Jake Arthur - Manager of Corporate Partnerships, Dayton Dragons
Col. (ret), Dr. Cassie Barlow - Strategic Ohio Council for Higher Education
James Brothers - University of Dayton
Ed Chaffins, Vice President - Digital Engineering and Technical Services at COPELAND
Shannon Cox - Montgomery County Educational Service Center
Steve Duning - SRC, Inc.
Mike Emoff - Boost Engagement
JoAnn Erno - Air Force Institute of Technology
Angela Fronista - BTAS
Todd Gossett, President - Winsupply Equity Group
Tami Hart Kirby, ExOfficio, Managing Partner - Porter Wright Morris & Arthur LLP
Doug Hoy - Fox Lite Manufacturing
Jackie Janning-Lask, CEO - Midwest Microelectronics Consortium
Dr. Steven L. Johnson, President - Sinclair College
Dr. Tom Lasley, Co-Founder - Director, Policy and Advocacy MCESC and L2ED
Jeff Miller, Senior Vice President - Sinclair College
Lt. Gen. (ret) Dick Reynolds, Co-founder - The VanFleet Group, LLC
Honorable Judge Walter Rice - U.S. Dist. Court Southern District of Ohio
Dr. Vince Russo, Co-founder - Aerospace Technologies Associates, LLC
Joe Sciabica - The Dayton Foundation
Chris Shaw, Commissioner - City of Dayton
Maj. Gen. (ret), Dr. Todd Stewart - Air Force Institute of Technology (retired)
Honorable Gov. Bob Taft, Distinguished Research Associate - University of Dayton
Diane Vitas - Wright State University
Al Wofford - CDO Technology
Amanda Wright Lane - Wright Brothers Family Foundation

Dr. Vincent Russo — President and Co‑Founder
Lt. Gen (Ret) Richard V. Reynolds — Secretary and Co‑Founder
Dr. Thomas Lasley — Vice President and Co‑Founder
Steve Duning — Treasurer and Finance Committee Chairperson
Dr. Cassie Barlow — Strategic Planning Committee Chairperson and Executive Committee Member
Mr. Mike Emoff — Marketing and Advertising Chairperson and Executive Committee Member
Jake Arthur — Resource Development Committee Chairperson and Executive Committee Member
Mr. Joe Sciabica — Educational Outreach Center Committee Co‑Chair and Executive Committee Member
Dr. Jesse Steiner — Executive Director

Thank You To Our Partners & Donors

Every dollar counts, click below to see how your donation could affect our organization.

Make A Donation Today

Berry Family Foundation

Charles D. Berry Foundation

Debra Edelman

Grismer Tire Company

Jack & Debra Edelman Foundation

Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust

Fifth Third Bank, N.A., Trustee

Louise Kramer Foundation

Mathile Family Foundation

Montgomery County Educational Service Center

National Aviation Heritage Alliance

Rafi’s Amigos

Rick and Jane Schwartz

Sinclair College

University of Dayton

White Allen

Women in Defense

Wright State University

AFMETCAL

Angela Fronista

Capstone Research Corporation

Casa Nunez Catering

Chaffins Family

Christopher Danis

David Church

Dr. Jesse Steiner

Fran Duntz

Jack Blackhurst

Janet and Mike Bednarek

JoAnn Erno

John Young

Lockheed Martin Corporation

Mike and Anita Emoff

Modern Technology Solutions, Inc.

Pratt & Whitney

R. Daniel Sadlier

Raytheon Technologies Corp.

Richard Reynolds

Robert Taft

Sierra Nevada Corporation

St. Marys Rotary Club

Tami Kirby

The Robert Callahan Scholarship

Thomas Lasley

Tiger 2 Productions

UES Inc.

Vincent Russo

Aleta Harris

Alexandria BIrk

Amanda Wright Lane

American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Amy Woodrow

Anonymous

Bobby Magee

Cassie Barlow

Cathy Mitchum

Daniel Carroll

Dayton International Airport

Donald Wright

Doug Hoy

In Memory of Tom Severyn

Jacob Arthur

James and Anita Brothers

Jeffrey Levine

Joe Sciabica

Judge Walter H. Rice

Rachel Goodspeed

Scott Martin

Shannon and Michael Cox

Stephen Duning

Terrence Slaybaugh

Todd Gossett

Todd Stewart

Veterans Of Foreign Wars of Ohio

Vita Eonta

WE ARE PROUD TO BE SUPPORTED BY OUR EDUCATIONAL PARTNERS

SINCLAIR COMMUNITY COLLEGE

UNIVERSITY OF DAYTON

WRIGHT STATE UNIVERSITY

Learn about

Rafi's Amigos

Now in its ninth year, the Rafi's Amigos Golf Outing continues to grow in both participation and impact, reflecting a community-wide commitment to developing future leaders. Organizers say the continued partnership with the Wright Memorial Chapter 212 of the Air & Space Forces Association and the generosity of local supporters will ensure that dozens more JROTC cadets have the opportunity to experience aviation, leadership, and personal growth through Air Camp for years to come. Check out this video of this year's outing!