The Civil Air Patrol Foundation has added four new trustees — leaders in education, aviation, and the defense industry, including a former CAP national commander/CEO and a member of the organization’s governing body, the Board of Governors.
The foundation’s chairman, Col. Rajesh Kothari, welcomed Maj. Gen. Mark Smith, Sharon DeVivo, Dan Drohan, and Tripp Adams to the board, which convened Sept. 9.
“Strengthening the board with the expanded skills, experiences and networks of our new members will allow us to enhance how the foundation can contribute to the success of CAP’s programs and members,” Kothari said.
Smith, national commander/CEO of CAP from August 2017-August 2021, is an adjunct professor with the doctoral program of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kansas. In addition to conducting leadership and motivation seminars nationwide, he’s also an instructor for CAP’s Volunteer University.
After his tenure as national commander, the annual Maj. Gen. Mark Smith JanEX Prize was created in 2022 in his name to recognize the most forward-thinking innovations in CAP.
A retired U.S. Air Force colonel and 1974 Air Force Academy graduate, Smith holds a master’s degree in aviation management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a doctorate of education in ethical leadership from Olivet Nazarene University.
“I am delighted to have the opportunity to serve on the CAP Foundation Board of Trustees,” Smith said. “I am passionate about philanthropy; the foundation helps our youth have opportunities that would otherwise not be available to them.
“Opening a door to future possibilities can help our youth to pursue their dreams.”
DeVivo is president and CEO of Vaughn College in Flushing, New York, which offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in aviation, engineering, management, and technology to students who are mostly first-generation Americans and first-generation college students.
A Board of Governors member since June 1, 2021, in 2022 she was appointed by the U.S. secretary of transportation to chair the Youth Access to American Aviation Jobs Task Force, which provided Congress with recommendations on how to connect youth to aviation and aerospace.
Among the many boards DeVivo serves on are the Federal Aviation Administration’s Management Advisory Council and the International Aviation Women’s Association Advisory Board.
She holds an associate’s degrees from the University of Maryland in Munich, Germany; a bachelor’s in communications from the State University of New York at Albany; a master’s in public communications from Fordham University; and a doctorate in higher education management from the University of Pennsylvania.
“It has been such an honor to work with the CAP Board of Governors and regularly watch the incredible progress of the foundation,” DeVivo said. “I look forward to contributing to CAP in this new role and supporting the ongoing efforts to fund its great work.”
Drohan, founder and CEO of aircraft management firm Solarius Aviation and an air-transport-rated pilot, has been involved with the aviation industry more than 35 years. When he was 12 a family friend took him for a ride in his Super Decathlon, igniting a love for flight that ultimately led to a career owning and operating successful aviation companies, culminating in 2009 in the creation of Solarius, which serves clients around the globe with a fleet of more than 330 aircraft.
An active philanthropist residing in California, Drohan is an advocate for the business aviation industry and received the 2023 Living Legends of Aviation Kenn Ricci Lifetime Aviation Entrepreneur Award.
“As a parent of three former CAP cadets and a lifelong aviator and aviation entrepreneur, I am a firm believer in the importance and purpose of CAP’s mission and impact,” Drohan said. “I am honored to be part of ensuring a strong foundation to continue the incredible things CAP makes happens every day all over the U.S.”
Adams has worn many hats — corporate attorney, management consultant, CEO, and interim president and CEO of the Truman Center for National Policy and the Truman National Security Project — but helping youth find their place in life ranks as one of his most important pursuits. He has more than 20 years of leadership experience in several diverse industries and over 25 years of active and reserve military service in both the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army.
He serves as an Army Reserve deputy brigade commander in Michigan in addition to helping organizations in transition with legal, financial, and organizational design advice through his consulting firm, DHZ Adami LLC. A 2000 graduate of the Naval Academy with a bachelor’s in aerospace engineering, Adams also earned a law degree from the University of Michigan Law School and a master’s in economics from Old Dominion University. He resides in Vancouver, Canada, where he is studying artificial intelligence at the University of British Columbia.
“Some of the best leaders I’ve encountered during my military career were CAP alumni,” Adams said. “I am excited to support Civil Air Patrol’s programs and mission to develop future leaders and save lives.”
CAP Foundation trustees are appointed to three-year terms and help provide general support for CAP’s programs and missions and financial support for CAP’s operations, cadet scholarships, and aerospace education.
Anyone interested in learning more about setting up a permanent scholarship or endowment fund, or establishing a fund for a specific CAP activity, program, squadron, or wing should contact Kristina Jones, the foundation’s president/executive officer, at [email protected]._____Julia MartinContributing Writer
