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 whipped up a Thanksgiving dinner analogy to describe the shuffling of safety areas on the board's annual “Most Wanted” list of 10 transportation safety improvements. The NTSB has bumped three aviation items off the list—professionalism of pilots and air traffic controllers, human fatigue and preventive safety efforts—due in part to improvements made. But it kept two others that have not improved—general aviation safety and airport surface operations (previously called runway safety).
The Senate shot down another attempt to shore up the nation's cyber defenses legislatively last week. Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), the top Republican on the Senate Homeland Security Committee and others insisted that the bill included important information-sharing provisions that went beyond what can be done through executive order, a version of which was signed in October. The bill's failure opens the door for that order to move forward.
The House has approved a bill to extend for two years an indemnification program allowing the government to share the cost with industry of injuries or property damage suffered by the public in a commercial space launch. Industry had sought a longer extension, but just ensuring the program remains alive is also critical, says Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.), who leads the Science, Space and Technology Committee's space subcommittee.
