Simone Drakes

Simone Drakes grew up in Barbados and is the daughter of an air traffic controller. She dreamed of becoming a pilot, so she moved all on her own to the US when she was just 14 years old. At 16, Drakes enrolled at EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University and excelled in avionics engineering. She graduated with honors at the top of her class and as the only female. The tragedy of 9/11 limited her job prospects, but also provided an opportunity to work as a quality engineer in an automotive plastics manufacturing plant, Florida Production Engineering. Drakes honed in on her avionics engineering and civil aviation regulatory compliance at EMTEQ Engineering and thereafter held roles at Avionica and GE Aviation as the vice president of engineering before transitioning to United in 2020. Through her work on the Calibrate apprenticeship program, she is transforming a traditionally male-dominated industry by bringing in more women and diversity into the field of Tech Ops.