Jes Lopez

Dr. Jes Lopez began her aviation career at the US Air Force Academy where she earned her PPL in 2003 as she progressed towards graduating in 2004. She went onto Joint Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training at Vance AFB, Oklahoma where she earned her Air Force wings in 2006. Following Pilot Training she flew the C-17 out of Charleston AFB, South Carolina, McChord AFB, Washington, and McGuire AFB, New Jersey to locations all around the world to include all 7 continents. She also spent time at McGuire in the Contingency Response Wing supporting various missions throughout Airfield operations to include air operations center planning/execution, bare base opening/closing, humanitarian aid, and disaster relief. 

In 2015 Dr. Lopez returned to the US Air Force Academy as an English Instructor in the Dean of Faculty and Instructor Pilot in the 557th Flying Training Squadron instructing in the T-53 (an Air Force version of the Cirrus SR-20). Two years later she started her PhD program at Michigan State University which she completed in 2020 with a degree in English and graduate certificate in Digital Humanities. At the end of 2020 she returned to the US Air Force Academy where she taught English courses and flew the T-53 with Academy cadets as well as Instructor Pilots in training to instruct them in various aviation programs to include mountain flying. 

Additionally, in 2022 Dr. Lopez flew the E-11 (an Air Force version of the Bombardier Global Express) on a six-month deployment to Saudi Arabia which allowed her to get more familiar with civilian flying as she earned her type rating and ATP through a more traditional FAA path at CAE in Dallas, Texas. Furthermore, she translated her Air Force instructor flight experiences throughout her career and holds a CFI, CFII, and MEI.

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jes-lopez04