MEET OUR TEAM

Natalia Cimpean

CEO

ncimpean@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Natalia joined Hillsboro Aero Academy, formerly Hillsboro Aviation, in 2008. Prior to working at Hillsboro, she held various management positions, including Executive Director for a start-up company and Business Manager for a construction company. Natalia holds a bachelor’s degree in math and a Master of Business Administration from George Fox University.

She began her career at Hillsboro as a member of the accounting team and has been consistently promoted over time to CFO and GM, COO, and now CEO. Natalia has a passion for the aviation industry and for people who are part of it.

Houston Hickenbottom

Operations

houston@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Houston started at Hillsboro Aviation in 1996 and has held multiple positions in the company, including over eight years as the School Director.  After more than 15 years working in the school, Houston went to work for the Port of Portland at Portland International Airport (PDX).  In 2019, Houston returned to Hillsboro Aero Academy to support the training and operations teams.

Houston is a graduate of San Jose State University and holds an airplane Private Pilot Certificate.

Craig Hall

Controller

chall@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Craig began his career at Hillsboro Aero Academy in 2019. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Oregon and an MBA from Portland State University. He is new to the aviation industry but has extensive experience in accounting and operations garnered through various roles in the distribution and logistics industries.

Craig oversees the day-to-day activities in the accounting department and is responsible for the timely and accurate reporting of the company’s operational results. If you don’t find him combing through a spreadsheet, you will likely find him somewhere in the outdoors where he likes to spend his free time.

Though not a pilot yet, some of Craig’s fondest memories as a youth were spent flying with his grandfather, a former Air Force pilot, in his twin-engine Baron.

Brett Hart

Director of Business Development

bhart@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Brett started at Hillsboro Aero Academy in 2016. He received both his bachelor’s degree in public administration and marketing and his master’s in public administration from the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida. Prior to joining Hillsboro Aero Academy, Brett spent several years leading the admissions team for a flight school in Florida. As Director of Business Development and Partner Relations, Brett is responsible for the recruiting new student groups and supporting our partners including collegiate partners, industry operators, and international representatives.

Brett is planning on starting his private pilot training in 2017.

Amy Smith

Director of Sales and Marketing

asmith@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Amy started at Hillsboro Aero Academy, formerly Hillsboro Aviation, in 2009. She holds both a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in business administration from Gonzaga University. Prior to joining Hillsboro Aero Academy, Amy worked in marketing for non-profit and financial service companies. As the Director of Sales and Marketing, she is responsible for all marketing communications, digital strategy, and brand management in addition to overseeing our admissions team in the recruitment of new students from across the globe.

Nik Kresse

Director of Flight Training & China Program Manager

nkresse@flyhaa.com
1.541.362.5644

Nik began flight training at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana where he completed his multi-engine commercial training. In 2011, Nik moved home to Portland and began training at Hillsboro to complete his Certified Flight Instructor Rating. He has held positions such as China Program Ground Instructor prior to moving to Central Oregon and becoming Chief Instructor of Prineville and Redmond campuses. Due to his success running our China Program, he was promoted to Director of Flight Training and now oversees all of our airplane operations at the Hillsboro, Redmond and Las Vegas campuses.

Chuck Hagele

Director of Maintenance

chagele@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Chuck started his aviation career in 1988 while in high school learning to fly and work on aircraft. On his 16th birthday, he completed his first solo flight. Chuck is an instrument-rated airplane private pilot. He completed his flight training in 2002 at Hillsboro Aero Academy, formerly Hillsboro Aviation. With a primarily maintenance-focused career, Chuck is an A&P mechanic with inspection authorization. Before coming to Hillsboro Aero Academy in 2015, Chuck held the Chief Inspector position for five years at a part 145 repair station and the Director of Maintenance position for three years at a part 135 EMS operator where he worked for 12 years. Chuck holds an associate’s degree in aviation science from Eastern New Mexico University.

Blake Segoria

Director of Standardization

bsegoria@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Blake began flight training at Pacific Union College in Angwin, CA in 2005 and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in aviation and his Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) Rating and Multi-Engine Instructor (MEI) Rating. Blake joined Hillsboro Aero Academy, formerly Hillsboro Aviation, in 2011 and worked extensively with our China program in Troutdale as a ground instructor and then as the Airplane Assistant Chief Instructor. In 2015, he accepted the China Program Manager position overseeing all aspects of our Chinese training program at each campus and then accepted the position of Chief Instructor for the Troutdale Campus. Blake’s extensive experience overseeing our airplane training operations makes him the perfect person to serve as our Director of Standardization.

Carrie Williams

Director of Compliance & School Director

cwilliams@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Originally from Florida, Carrie came to Hillsboro via Arizona 8 years ago following her pilot husband. She has a bachelor’s degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and spent 10 years working at Embry-Riddle in flight records, scheduling, and systems administration. Carrie joined the Hillsboro Aero Academy team in 2016. In her current role as Director of Compliance/School Director, Carrie oversees compliance for accreditation, student visas, TSA and the VA.

In her spare time, Carrie enjoys anything soccer related, hiking, and getting her toes into the sand as often as possible.

Mark Clark

Director of Safety

mclark@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Mark comes to Hillsboro Aero Academy with a varied and diverse background in safety. He is rated in both fixed wing and rotorcraft and is type rated as a second in command in the S-64 (Skycranes).

Mark worked for in law enforcement for 35 years, retiring in 2015 as a Sergeant with the Beaverton Police Department. While working as a police officer, Mark also instructed part-time for Hillsboro. During his career, Mark helped to start the air support units in Beaverton and Washington County where he was not only a pilot but was also the Training and Safety Officer. As the Safety Officer, Mark implemented their Safety Management System which is still in use today.

Upon his retirement, Mark flew helicopters for Hillsboro Aviation and Helicopter Transport Systems in many operations, including contract/charter, pipeline patrol, wildlife survey, tours, and most recently as a co-pilot in the Skycranes flying both fire and construction.

Mark has been married to his wife Michelle for 32 years and they have two sons; Daniel, who works in construction, and Matthew who is an Apache mechanic in the US Army.

Satoru Kamoshita

Asia Program Director

skamoshita@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Satoru Kamoshita (SK) is the Asia Program Director and a Designated Pilot Examiner (DPE) for Private, Instrument, Commercial, and CFI.

As the Asia Program Director, SK works with our Korean, Taiwanese, and Japanese students and has trained over 1000 pilots who fly for major airlines all over the world. He started as a flight instructor at Hillsboro Aero Academy, formerly Hillsboro Aviation, in 1997 and took his current position in 2006. SK graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a master’s degree in aeronautical management. He is an airline transport pilot with a type rating in YS-11 and Dash 8 Q400. Before joining Hillsboro, SK was a YS-11 captain for Philippine Airlines. He also ferried aircraft from Japan to locations such as Africa, Singapore and North America and trained local pilots. He has over 16,500 flight hours.

Lavinia Petre

Human Resources Manager

lpetre@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Lavinia joined Hillsboro in 2013. It was her first exposure to aviation, after spending 7 years in the education field. She is enthusiastic about supporting HAA’s mission of making worldwide dreams of aviation a reality through the best training.

In her current role as the Human Resources Manager, Lavinia provides assistance in both operational and strategic HR practices and oversees all aspects of human resources management.

She is very passionate about Japanese culture and sushi, having spent a year living abroad; loves to laugh and spend time with her amazing family outdoors.

Jared Friend

Helicopter School General Manager

jfriend@flyhaa.com
1.503.489.1142

Jared is a Commercial helicopter pilot. Previously with Hillsboro Aviation, he worked in numerous roles, including Helicopter Chief Instructor, Charter Pilot, Safety Manager, and FAA Compliance Manager. Jared also has experience as an electronic news gathering pilot and has worked for several news stations and was Chief Pilot at KATU News Portland. Most recently, he was the Business Development Director at a durable medical equipment company based out of Eugene, Oregon. He returned to flight training in 2017 when he joined Hillsboro Aero Academy managing corporate projects and then took on the role of Helicopter School General Manager.

Kasi Crismon

Hillsboro Campus Manager

kcrismon@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Kasi originally joined the Hillsboro team in 2014 as the Flight Coordinator and returned in August 2019 as the Check Ride Coordinator. In 2020, she accepted the position of Hillsboro Campus Manager. Kasi manages all of the operations at the Hillsboro Campus, including Dispatch and Student Success Services. She works closely with the training team to ensure that our students are able to meet their flight training goals.

Ryan Mohammed

Hillsboro Chief Instructor

rmohammed@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Ryan is originally from Florida and moved to Portland in 2014. He left his career in finance to pursue his aviation dream and joined Hillsboro Aero Academy in 2014 to begin his airplane flight training. Ryan is a Commercial ASEL, AMEL, Instrument Rated, CFI, CFII, MEI, and a Gold Seal instructor. After completing his flight training at HAA, he was hired as a CFI for our Asia Program in 2017. He then took on the role of Team Lead for our PCC students in 2018 and accepted the role of Assistant Chief Instructor for international, domestic, PCC, and RW transition students later that same year. He recently accepted a promotion to Chief Flight Instructor for our Hillsboro Campus so he oversees the training for all students at HIO as well as managing the team of CFIs in conjunction with the Assistant Chiefs.

Linda Cramer

Redmond Campus Manager

lcramer@flyhaa.com
1.541.362.5644

Linda started with Hillsboro Aero Academy, formerly Hillsboro Aviation, in January 2013. This job was her first exposure to aviation after over 20 years of office management experience in the software development and e-commerce industries. Linda’s primary focus throughout her career has been to offer excellent customer service. In her previous position, Linda worked closely with our President Jon Hay on various tasks including assisting with day-to-day operations and managing special projects. Then in 2017, she relocated to Central Oregon to take over management of our Redmond Campus.

Hans Berggren

Redmond Chief Instructor

hberggren@flyhaa.com
1.541.362.5644

Hans started flying in Colorado when he was 19. After receiving his Private Pilot Certificate, he traveled around as a long-haul truck driver to finance his love of aviation. As a result, he completed different levels of flight training in Colorado, California, Arizona, and even Alaska. He holds a CFI, CFII, MEI, AGI, and IGI for fixed wing aircraft. Hans started with Hillsboro Aero Academy at the Redmond Campus in 2018 and after learning many different aspects of how the operation worked was promoted to Chief Instructor. He now manages our great team of instructors in Redmond fostering a community of fun, efficient, and high-quality flight training.

Mackenzie Arrell

Admissions Lead

marrell@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Mackenzie’s first time in an airplane was when a family friend, an Air Force Veteran, rented an aircraft from Hillsboro Aviation when she was thirteen. Five years later, she returned to film her friend flying a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress as a birthday gift. She has also been attending the Oregon International Air Show since she was a child.

Prior to joining Hillsboro Aero Academy in 2018, Mackenzie received her bachelor’s degree in sociology and minority studies from Portland State University and spent several years working in education and low-income health services. As the Lead Admissions Representative, Mackenzie is responsible for overseeing our admissions team and supporting students once they have been accepted into our school.

As of today, Mackenzie has yet to begin her flight training, but working with passionate aviation students encourages her to do so more every day.

Ashley Souza

Talent Manager/Airplane Admissions

asouza@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000

Ashley began working in the aviation field over 10 years ago. She joined the Hillsboro Aero Academy team in 2015 as the flight coordinator for the airplane training school. Shortly after, she began working in the admissions department to support prospective students from all over the world. Ashley’s current the role at Hillsboro Aero Academy is recruiting new airplane students and helping hire for key positions in the company.

Ashley took her first introduction flight in a Cessna 182 back in 2010 at the Klamath Falls Airport in Oregon. After a few seconds on the flight controls, she knew she was destined for aviation and began taking flight lessons. It was love at first bank. Ashley earned her wings in 2014, and dreams of owning her own airplane in the near future. She enjoys aerobatic flights, chasing sunsets from the sky, and inspiring others to follow their own flight path.

Malori Wagner

Helicopter Admissions

mwagner@flyhaa.com
1.503.726.3000