IPAAC 2024 Speaker Bios
Day 2
Peter Whitten
Peter is a Director at OdiliaClark, a leading provider of Impairment Risk Management services for safety-critical industries. In addition to his role at OdiliaClark, Peter is an active pilot, currently flying the Boeing 787 for a major UK airline. His flying career includes serving as a Captain on the C-17 Globemaster and as an instructor on the King Air B200 for the UK Royal Air Force, as well as corporate flying on the King Air. He chairs the UK CAAs FOLG Sub-Group on Health and Wellbeing and is the CEO of the International Peer Assist Aviation Coalition (IPAAC).
In 2017, following a personal loss, Peter co-founded the "Talk To A Peer" Peer Support Programme alongside his colleagues. Originally focused on Europe and the UK, this program, in partnership with MedAire, is now expanding its reach to support aviation professionals globally.
FO Chris Arnold
Chris Arnold is a dedicated First Officer at United Airlines, where he has been serving since March 2018. Based in Newark, New Jersey, he combines extensive flying experience with a steadfast commitment to aviation safety and excellence.
In addition to his role at United Airlines, Chris is actively involved with the Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) as the Pilot Assistance Vice Chair since July 2023. In this capacity, he advocates for the well-being of pilots and spearheads initiatives that enhance mental health and safety across the industry. His efforts include organizing and facilitating awareness and educational programs for ALPA’s Pilot Peer Support and Critical Incident Response programs, including the recent “Are You in the Green?” campaign.
Chris also serves as the Aeromedical Vice Chair and a CIRP peer for the United Airlines Master Executive Council, where he provides essential support to colleagues navigating various challenges.
Beyond his aviation career, Chris is a Paramedic with Pocono Mountain Regional EMS, bringing valuable expertise in emergency response and patient care.
With a deep passion for service, mental health advocacy, and emergency response, Chris is dedicated to making a positive impact within the aviation community and beyond.
Prof Rob Bor
Professor Robert Bor DPhil, CPsychol, CSci, FBPsS, HonFRAeS, EuroPsy
Consultant Clinical and Aviation Psychologist
Rob is Clinical Lead and Peer Supervisor within the Centre for Aviation Psychology (www.centrreforaviationpsychology.com). With much experience as a clinical psychologist, coach, trainer, clinical supervisor and scientific author, Rob is one of the UK’s most senior psychologists. In his aviation psychology and peer support roles, he has supported and trained many pilot peers across a range of airlines with varying sizes, fleets, needs and challenges. He is an active member of EPPSI, The ICAO Mental Health Working Group and the AsMA Mental Health Working Group. He is also a Board Member of the Euopean Association for Aviation Psychology where he represents clinical interests among its members.
Rob’s clinical and post-doctoral training was completed at the Tavistock Clinic, London; University of Rochester, New York; The University of South Africa, Pretoria; Ackerman Institute for the Family, New York; The Milan School of Family Therapy, and the Mental Research Institute, Palo Alto. Author of more than 35 textbooks and self-help books, and 250 academic papers, Rob is regularly quoted and interviewed over a range of issues and problems and his expertise sought in complex clinical cases, as well as by national aviation regulators.
He is a Fellow of the British Psychological Society, attained the world’s highest award in aviation, an Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Aeronautical Society, is a Chartered Scientist, Chartered Psychologist, Liveryman of the Honorary Company of Air Pilots, has received the Freedom of the City of London, is a Winston Churchill Fellow and Honorary Psychologist to the Royal Air Force.
Captain Rodney Hall
Rodney Hall is the Chair of the Peer Assistance Network for New Zealand (PAN NZ), a role he assumed in 2022, bringing a steadfast commitment to both pilot and air traffic controllers well-being and mental health support. His journey in aviation began as a student in the Air Training Corps, where he achieved his first solo flight at 17. Since then, he has flown a wide range of aircraft, from the Fokker, Dornier, and De Havilland to the Boeing and Airbus families, accumulating over 20,000 hours in his logbook. Rodney is currently a Boeing 777 Captain with Air New Zealand, but he has previously flown with airlines such as Ansett NZ and Britannia Airways UK.
With more than 12 years’ experience in pilot recruitment and assessment, Rodney was also an inaugural Peer Support Volunteer when PAN NZ launched with NZ ALPA and industry stakeholders in 2015. His dedication to peer support has grown alongside his professional role, and he continues to drive initiatives within the network. As Chair, he combines his operational expertise with a deep-rooted passion for fostering an environment of mutual support and resilience for pilots and air traffic controllers across New Zealand.
Dr Janis Vegers
Dr. Janis Vegers, a Latvian national from Riga, began his medical career in general surgery, graduating from the Medical Academy of Latvia and completing postgraduate training in surgery. In 2004, he broadened his expertise by successfully completing advanced aviation and diving medical military courses in Denmark. Shortly after, Janis played a key role in implementing the JAR-FCL 3 Aviation Medical Certification system in Latvia, aligning with Latvia's 2006 accession to the Joint Aviation Authorities. That same year, he was appointed Chief Medical Officer of the Civil Aviation Agency of Latvia.
Since 2012, he has also served as an FAA-authorized Aviation Medical Examiner (AME).
For over a decade, Dr. Vegers has been with the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), where he serves as the Medical Standardisation Team Leader and Senior Medical Expert within the Aircrew & Medical Standards & Implementation Section. He additionally serves as the Focal Point for the AeMC certification managed by EASA.
Following a recent reorganization of the EASA Aircrew & Medical Department on August 1, Janis has taken on the role of Acting Section Manager of Aviation Health and Medicine & Chief Medical Officer.
Captain Laurie Shaw
With over four decades of aviation experience, Laurie Shaw currently serves as an A350/A330 Captain with Fiji Airways, based in Fiji. His career includes tenures at Cathay Pacific Airways, Malaysia Airlines, and Ansett Airlines of Australia, highlighting a breadth of international expertise.
Over the past 15 years, Laurie has played a pivotal role in helping to shape the global pilot profession's approach to well-being. In 2019, he was instrumental in launching the Peer Assistance Network (PANHK) for Cathay Pacific Airways' pilots, marking a significant advancement in peer support initiatives. Laurie also founded the HIMS Australia Advisory Group (HAAG) in 2014, underlining his commitment in recognising the program’s crucial role in facilitating pilots’ return to flying and as an integral component of a broader organisational integrated wellbeing system.
Collaborating with organisations such as the International Federation of Airline Pilots Associations (IFALPA) and the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations (IFATCA), Laurie is focused on helping to establish best practices for mental health and well-being across the aviation industry.
He is currently consulting with Airservices Australia and Fiji Airways to develop comprehensive peer support and well-being programs. These initiatives are designed to operationalize well-being as a foundational element of performance and safety, enhancing the resilience of aviation professionals. Working closely with industry regulators, Laurie is dedicated to creating safer referral pathways, ensuring robust support systems that align with regulatory standards and foster safer aviation practices globally.
Captain Keith Frank
Captain Keith Frank, is an airline Captain for a U.S. based major airline. He is a Boeing 757/767 Captain, Type Rating Instructor, and Subject Matter Expert. He has been a curriculum developer for several years for both Peer Support Programs, and airline Advanced Qualification Programs.
At his previous airline, Keith created a HIMS (aviation alcohol and drug recovery program) program, Aero-Medical program, and Peer Support program. When arriving at a major airline, he assisted in the start-up of the Peer Support Program in 2016. Serving as a Peer and as leadership on the committee, he worked on crafting policy, procedures, and training.
Keith earned his B.S. in Aeronautical Science, with minors in Meteorology, Business, Aviation Safety, and Defense Studies (U.S. Air Force officer training) degree at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, while simultaneously earning an Associates Degree in Paramedicine, from Yavapai College. He has been a Gold Seal Flight Instructor, CFI, CFII, and MEI since 2007, flown for charter operations, and two regional airlines before becoming employed at his current major airline. During his early flying years, Keith also worked as an Emergency Medical Technician and Paramedic on ambulances, fire engines, and in emergency rooms. During a furlough from his airlines, Keith worked as a Paramedic in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he was also on the clinical faculty at King Saud bin Abdulaziz University, as an instructor in Emergency Medicine. Keith has also been an adjunct faculty at Yavapai College, teaching EMT and Paramedic students, where he was also a National Registry EMT examination administrator and coordinator. Before moving to Colorado, Keith and his wife were owners and operators of a small production farm in Tennessee.
Keith is currently completing an MBA at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, where he is focusing on programs such as Peer Support Programs. Currently, he lives with his wife in a small mountain town of Colorado.
Dr Quay Snyder
Dr. Quay Snyder is President/CEO of Virtual Flight Surgeons, [Aviation Medicine Advisory Service] providing medical certification and aviation safety guidance for pilot and air traffic controller unions as well as business and general aviation pilots. Dr. Snyder has been the Air Line Pilots Association, International Aeromedical Advisor since 2010, after serving as Associate Aeromedical Advisor since 1994. Since 2015, he has served as the FAA / ALPA HIMS Program Manager and has over 20 years experience sponsoring and monitoring substance addicted pilots
Quay holds board certification in Aerospace Medicine, Addiction Medicine, Family Practice and Occupational Medicine. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Duke University School of Medicine and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center. He served in the USAF, USAF Reserve and Colorado Air National Guard for 25 years as a flight surgeon, glider instructor pilot and in leadership roles.
Dr. Snyder is active in many aviation safety committees and organizations, both nationally and internationally. He is an AsMA Fellow and member of several of AsMA’s Constituent and Affiliate organizations. He serves on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine and on the Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame from 2014-2020. He has chaired the National Business Aviation Associations Safety Committee’s Fitness for Duty Working Group and served on both the medical expert group for the FAA’s 2015 Pilot Fitness Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) and as the Medical Lead for the 2024 FAA Mental Health and Aviation Medical Certification ARC. He co-chairs AsMA’s Pilot Mental Health Working Group. Dr. Snyder also serves on several ICAO working groups including Problematic Use of Psychoactive Substances (PUPS), Mental Health, Medical Certification and Standards and CAPSCA. He is a member of the Flight Safety Foundation’s Business Advisory Council and is on the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering in the Aviation Safety and Security Program teaching in Fatigue Risk Management and Human Performance, Resiliency and Leadership courses.
Dr. Snyder has been an FAA Certified Flight Instructor (Gold Seal) since 1975 and actively serves as a Designated Pilot Examiner since 1998 and FAA Safety Team representative since 2003. He received the Soaring Society of America’s World Distance Award for 40,000 km (Earth’s circumference) of solo cross country flight in his ASK-24B glider. He is also active in triathlons qualifying for the 2016, 2020 and 2022 Ironman Hawaii World Championships and in 2020, qualified for the International Triathlon Union’s World Championships representing Team USA in every triathlon distance from sprint to long course as an age group amateur.