Based in Washington, Jen managed Aviation Week’s worldwide defense, space and security coverage from 2013 to January 2024.
Prior to taking on the Executive Editor role, Jen was Aviation Week's Congressional Editor. Jen came to Aviation Week in March 2011 from Politico, where she covered the intersection of defense and politics. She also worked as a reporter and editor for Defense Daily, Inside the Army, The Other Paper and The Columbus Dispatch.
Jen received a Master’s degree in journalism as a Kiplinger Fellow at the Ohio State University. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in history and journalism from the University of Michigan.
NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman has risen to the top of the list of contenders to replace Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. Hersman has an important source of support in Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. She served as a staff member on the panel from 1999 to 2004, and before that worked for West Virginia Democrat Rep. Bob Wise. Rep. Tom Latham (R-Iowa), chairman of the House Appropriations aviation subcommittee, says, “All I’ve heard are good things about her.”
If former Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) emerges from an extremely contentious confirmation hearing as the next U.S. defense secretary, he may enter the Pentagon weakened at a time when the military's top civilian needs cooperation more than ever. The Pentagon, which scaled back its fiscal expectations dramatically in early 2012, is facing the prospect of $500 billion in across-the-board budget reductions. It is in the midst of drawing down the war in Afghanistan, guarding against continued tension in the Middle East and pivoting forces to the Pacific.
One day after President Barack Obama offered a proposal for avoiding devastating across-the-board cuts to government spending, Republican lawmakers are making a counterproposal. The Down Payment to Protect National Security Act of 2013 would cut the federal workforce by 10% through attrition — including at the Pentagon. And it would freeze the pay of every member of Congress. The bill offers $85 billion in savings, which its authors call a down payment on sequestration for the entire government through September.
