Airport Business - 42

UNDER

JAMES CICARDO, JR., C.M.

J

ames Cicardo has aviation in his blood.
Growing up, he went to the airport
to watch airplanes takeoff and land. Most of
his family worked in the industry and all the
contact with airplanes and how it
all worked grabbed his interest.
"I can't really imagine doing
anything else," he said. "It's
a changing industry. There's
always different aircraft, different
regulations and there's always
different things coming out, so
you really need to adapt to those
things."
Cicardo is the chief operations supervisor
of construction and redevelopment at John
F. Kennedy International Airport ( JFK).
He provides day-to-day oversight for all
construction projects airside, landside and
terminal. He also serves as a liaison between
airport operations, maintenance, project
management, redevelopment and JFK resident
engineer's office of construction.
He oversaw the recently completed $355
million runway rehabilitation project at JFK.

Chief Operations Supervisor of Construction & Redevelopment, Port
Authority of NY & NJ at John F Kennedy International Airport

The project widened the runway to 200 feet,
added high-speed taxiways and modified fillets
to accommodate larger aircraft.
Cicardo plays a crucial role in implementing
and developing the JFK snow removal plan. As
a member of the snow committee, Cicardo
serves as a snow chief responsible for overseeing
all snow removal operations airside and
landside. He is continuously looking for ways
to improve efficiencies in snow removal.
In recent years, Cicardo and this team were
successful in increasing the snow removal fleet,
which has significantly reduced runway and
taxiway snow clearance times. This increase in
production has increased aircraft throughput
and provided customer service to airline
partners and the traveling public.
In 2016, Cicardo was named a "Pillar
of the Port Authority." Recipients of this
award demonstrate perseverance in the face
of adversity and an ability to adapt to changing
situations while continuing to perform at the
highest standard and with level-headedness in
times of increased pressure.
Before joining the Port Authority,

Cicardo worked at Sikorsky Memorial
Airport, Westchester County Airport and Fort
Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
He has a range of airport operations expertise,
including Part 139 Operations, aircraft rescue
and firefighting, construction management and
snow removal operations.
Alma Mater: Florida Institute of Technology;
Embry-Riddle
Fun fact about myself: I enjoy riding my
motorcycle
Favorite aircraft: Boeing 747
Are you a pilot?: No
Someone I look up to in the industry: Steve Ford,
former superindentent of operations, Sikorsky
Memorial Airport
My favorite thing about aviation is: The
challenge. JFK is a dynamic place to be
If I could change one thing about the aviation
industry: More sustainability

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MARY D. KERSTEIN, PE Project Manager, CHA Consulting, Inc.

A

s Project Manager for CHA Consulting
Inc., Mary D. Kerstein is responsible
for designing, permitting and constructing
coordination for many airport projects. She
was involved in the Evansville
Regional Airport Runway 4-22
RSA Improvements Program.
Kerstein and her team improved
the runway to comply with the
FAA Runway Safety Area standards.
"There is a broad range of
what I get to work on that keeps
things exciting. I'm working on
construction removal, wildlife
fence instillation, that is on the small side of
the projects and then also larger projects like
rehabilitation of runway," Kerstein said.
Kerstein was named the 2018 Young
Engineer of the Year by ACEC Indiana and
2019 National ACEC Young Professional of
the Year.
Kerstein went to the University of
Evansville where she obtained a bachelor's in
science in civil engineering. She had several
internships and trained in the FAA for airport

planning and design and project management.
Kerstein is passionate about encouraging
young women to pursue careers in engineering.
While she was a junior in high school, her
mom sent her to an engineering camp. Her
mom noticed her interest in math and science.
Kerstein is now an advocate for young
women whom she wants to encourage to
pursue careers in engineering. She also helps
raise funds to provide scholarships and other
opportunities. Kerstein serves as president of
the Women's Transportation Seminar (WTS)
of the Greater Indianapolis. She is on the
Young Professionals Committee for Aviation
Indiana and has been on the Education
Committee for ACEC Indiana where she was
the subcommittee chair for the Scholarship
committee. She currently sits on ACEC
Indiana's Workforce development committee.
"My driving factor is to encourage girls to
go into STEM fields," Kerstein said. "It was not
something that I was exposed to when I was
young and many other girls are not exposed
to engineering at a young age. When I was
growing up girls typically did not play with

42 \ AIRPORTBUSINESS / NOVEMBER 2019

Legos and we need to encourage those activities
in young girls."
Kerstein was part of the Education
Committee where she helped organize and
participate in the ACEC Indiana's annual
Engineer's Week activities. She would visit
local schools to help encourage careers in
engineering.
Alma Mater: University of Evansville
Are you a pilot?: No
Fun fact about myself: She has an identical twin sister
Favorite Aircraft: Boeing 777
Someone I look up to: Mike DeVoy
Favorite thing about aviation: A broad range of what
you can work on
Something that should be changed: Intrigued by
the concept of Uber Air and thinks that it can really
change the aviation industry

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Airport Business

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