Panel Moderators

Captain Joanne Whitlock

Captain Joanne M. Whitlock is the Operations Officer and an Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC), Detachment 002, California State University, San Bernardino. In this capacity, she is directly responsible for the training, education and development of officer candidates into Air Force commissioned officers through a comprehensive college program.

Captain Whitlock was born and raised in Manila Philippines and commissioned through Officer Training School in 2013 after serving as a Forensic Investigator in the civilian sector. Prior to her current assignment, Captain Whitlock was the Operations Officer for the 628th Logistics Readiness Squadron in Joint Base Charleston where she was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the most diverse squadron on base and assisted the Commander in managing the dynamic and varied mission requirements in support of Air Mobility Command’s busiest installation and home of 41 C-17s. She has also served as the Chief of Mission Support for the AFCENT Air Warfare Center (AAWC), Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates where she was aligned under the U.S. Embassy. Capt Whitlock has served in a variety of positions at base level and staff to include OIC, Flight Commander and two-time Executive Officer. In addition, Captain Whitlock was deployed to Niger, Africa where she served as the first ever Logistics Readiness Flight Commander at the 724 Expeditionary Air Base Squadron, the DoD’s newest ISR air base and largest troop labor project in Air Force history.

In addition to her military duties, Captain Whitlock is a passionate and staunch advocate for DEI efforts especially empowerment of the AAPI community and women. She is an Executive Board member for the Asian Culture and Media Alliance and a collaborator with the Women Who Boss Up book series. Her book, “Inspiring Women Professionals Who Boss Up” is now available for purchase.

Kaori Paris

Kaori Paris is the Vice-President of PAPA and a 777 First Officer at United Airlines based in Washington Dulles. She is a member of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) where she also volunteers as part of the National Membership Committee. Kaori started her career in aviation as a Flight Attendant for United Airlines in 1998 as a Japanese Language Speaker, based in JFK. Being inspired by the United pilots she worked with, Kaori decided to start flight training in 2000 while still at United. Upon completion of her training, she left her job in 2002, hoping to return as a pilot one day. She received her first job in the airlines as a First Officer at Mesa Airlines on the CRJ in 2005.

While at Mesa, Kaori was elected to be an ALPA union representative and volunteered her time for the pilot group. Her work at ALPA still continues today, and she volunteers numerous hours for the organization by participating in many events including OBAP, WAI, NGPA and Oshkosh. Kaori began working at United Airlines in 2015 on the Airbus. In 2019 she was awarded 777 fleet, where she was able to accomplish her dream of flying to Tokyo as an airline pilot.

Though born in Japan, her father’s career took her family in different countries throughout her life, including Nairobi, Kenya, and Taipei, Taiwan. After graduating high school in Taichung, she attended the University of California at Davis where she majored in Economics. She loves her work as a Vice President of PAPA. She is a program advisory committee member of United Aviate Academy, representing PAPA, and her past volunteering activities include being a contributing member of the FAA’s Rule Making Committee and DOT Task Force.

Kaori lives in Northern Virginia with her husband, who’s also in the industry, and her two children, John and Lauren. Q