MEET OUR TEAM

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.

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.

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.

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.