Angelo Collins last week assumed the role of executive director of the Vertical Flight Society (VFS), after an extensive executive search that began last December. He is only the seventh leader in the organization’s 80-year history.
Collins said: “Ever since Mike first took on the role of Managing Editor of Vertiflite in 1999, this Society saw a beneficial momentum shift that only continued to improve during his 12 years as the Executive Director.
“Mike made VFS a healthier and more vibrant organization, primed for even greater success in the future. I felt emboldened to answer the call and am humbled to have been selected as the seventh Executive Director of the Society in its 80-year history.”
He added that the burdens that accompany this role present unique challenges that require the executive director’s full attention to ensure that VFS, founded in 1943 as the American Helicopter Society, continues to thrive while he is at its helm.
A member of VFS since 2008, one of his fondest memories was as the administrative chair of the Transformative Vertical Flight (TVF) Workshop in 2014. This was the world’s first meeting of the emerging electric VTOL pioneers and is now held annually as the VFS eVTOL Symposium.
Among various publications, he received the then-AHS best paper award with Dr Gordon Leishman in the Forum 67 history session for his paper, ‘The Aeronautical Exploits of Jacob Ellehammer’.
While in Arlington, he engaged with several local nonprofits and community organizations, and served as president of his homeowners association (HOA), as an executive board member of our neighborhood civic associations, and on the Arlington County Parks and Recreation Commission.
He continued: “I also volunteer my time as a Red Coat for the Arlington County Chapter of the Knights of Columbus (KoC), and as a member of the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Society (AHEPA), in affiliation with the Greek Orthodox Church.”
In April, the VFS announced the selected participants for this year’s DiversiFlite Scholars program, part of an initiative to promote science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers for the future VTOL aviation workforce.
