Media Room

Mark R. Baker joined AOPA in 2013 as president and CEO of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the world’s largest civil aviation organization.

A native Minnesotan, Baker earned his pilot certificate in his twenties and has logged more than 10,000 hours of flight time in aircraft ranging from light seaplanes to turbines and helicopters.

A graduate of the University of Minnesota, Baker has served on numerous corporate boards and has taken leadership roles with several nonprofit organizations.

Before his appointment at AOPA, Baker served in numerous senior executive roles, including CEO of Orchard Supply Hardware Stores Corporation, a leading retailer of home improvement and garden products. Baker also served in senior executive roles at Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, Gander Mountain Company, and The Home Depot. Earlier in his career, he also worked for Homebase, Scotty’s Home Improvement Centers, and Knox Hardware and Lumber.

In conjunction with his role as president and CEO of AOPA, Baker is chairman of AOPA’s Political Action Committee; CEO for the AOPA Foundation; president of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations, representing pilots in 81 countries; and publisher of AOPA Pilot, the world’s largest and most influential aviation publication.

Jim Coon is the senior vice president for Government Affairs and Advocacy, where he is responsible for the implementation of AOPA’s political, legislative, and regulatory initiatives and policies before Congress, federal agencies, and state legislatures.

Prior to joining AOPA, Jim had over three decades of experience working with Congress and the aviation industry. He held the role of staff director for the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for several years and served as staff director on the Committee’s Aviation Subcommittee. During his 25-year tenure on Capitol Hill, he played a large role in crafting major transportation legislation and was recognized by Roll Call as one of the top five transportation staffers to know. Additionally, he is a board member of the Aero Club of Washington and served in leadership roles for the National Air Transportation Association, the Boeing Company, and the Air Transport Association (now A4A).

Jim was also appointed secretary general of the International Council of Aircraft Owner and Pilot Associations (IAOPA) in August of 2020. IAOPA was founded in 1962 to facilitate the movement of general aviation aircraft internationally and today the organization consists of 82 affiliates around the globe. Jim serves as only the sixth IAOPA secretary general in the organization’s 59-year history. In 1964, IAOPA was accepted as the sole general aviation observer to the International Civil Aviation Organization, a distinction the organization maintains to this day.

Jim received a degree in urban planning from Virginia Tech and served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army Reserves and Virginia Army National Guard. He joined AOPA in 2014 and is a student pilot. He lives in Falls Church, Virginia, with his wife and three children.

Justine Harrison joined AOPA in 2019 and serves as AOPA’s general counsel and corporate secretary, leading the Legal department and overseeing AOPA’s Legal Services Plan, which serves more than 66,000 members.

Harrison is a commercial rated pilot and flies aircraft ranging from an AirCam experimental she co-built to a Lear 75.

Harrison earned her Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, and her Juris Doctor from the William S. Boyd School of Law at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

Prior to joining AOPA, Harrison ran her own law firm for a decade after serving as general counsel, senior vice president of external affairs, and corporate secretary of the Nevada Cancer Institute.

She previously served as a director for the Nevada Cancer Institute, the Nevada Business Aviation Association, and Angel Flight West, and as a member of EAA’s Legal Advisory Council.

Kollin Stagnito is senior vice president of Media. Stagnito brings a wealth of media knowledge to AOPA and is responsible for running AOPA’s print and digital media teams including AOPA Pilot—the world’s largest aviation magazine, newsletters, social media, podcasts, website, and AOPA: Your Freedom to Fly YouTube channel.

A native of Pennsylvania, Stagnito graduated from Brown University with a bachelor’s in business economics. He began flying during his senior year in college and within a year earned his private pilot certificate, purchased a Cessna 150, and became an AOPA member. He currently holds commercial pilot and remote pilot certificates, is an advanced and instrument ground instructor, and loves flying his 1953 Cessna 170B. He has logged over 1,400 hours of flight time and has flown more than 25 models of single engine aircraft.

Prior to joining the association in January 2019 as vice president of Publications, he was the CEO of Stagnito Business Information. Between 1991 and 2016, Stagnito, his father, and two brothers—with private equity backing—successfully started, grew, and sold two media companies serving the food and beverage industry: Stagnito Communications and Stagnito Business Information. During this time, he was progressively responsible for sales, marketing, content, audience development, events, research, operations, and mergers and acquisitions.

Elizabeth Tennyson is Chief Operating Officer of AOPA. She assumed this newly created role in November 2023, and oversees the AOPA Foundation, You Can Fly, Media and Marketing, Corporate Relations, Member Services, and the AOPA Pilot Information Center/Flight Operations.

She previously served as senior vice president, overseeing the AOPA Foundation and You Can Fly programs and initiatives. Under her leadership, both the AOPA Foundation and You Can Fly saw unprecedented success. As part of her work, the AOPA High School Aviation STEM Curriculum greatly expanded to more than 23,000 students in more than 950 schools, helping to ensure a bright future for the aviation workforce.

A native of California, Tennyson earned her private pilot certificate in 1998 and is an instrument-rated private pilot and a hang glider pilot. She is currently the proud owner of a Beechcraft A36 Bonanza.

Tennyson holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, and undergraduate degrees in broadcast journalism and international relations from the University of Southern California.

Tennyson first joined AOPA in 1998. Prior to joining You Can Fly, she held positions throughout the association that included director of Publications and managing editor of Flight Training magazine; vice president of Publications and executive editor of AOPA Pilot magazine; vice president of e-Publishing; senior director of Communications; and vice president of Aviation Program Operations.

Prior to her tenure with AOPA, Tennyson was a television, radio, and wire service reporter, working for The Associated Press in Los Angeles, Miami, and Raleigh, North Carolina. She also served as editor in chief for a collection of legal and golf magazines.

Tennyson serves on the boards of the Aerospace Center for Excellence and the Aviation Accreditation Board International, and the advisory board of the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals.

Erica Saccoia joined AOPA in 2009 and currently serves as AOPA’s senior vice president of Finance and Accounting. Saccoia is responsible for the day to day management of a team of accountants and operational technicians as well as overseeing all fiscal and fiduciary responsibilities for the organization(s), including financial reporting, planning and budgeting, accounting, risk management, contract management, tax and regulatory compliance, auditing, and all other areas of financial analysis and activity. In addition, her department is responsible for monitoring and overseeing the organization’s internal financial and fiscal policies regarding all financial transactions.

A native of Woodbridge, Virginia, Saccoia graduated from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, with a Bachelor of Science in commerce with a concentration in accounting, and she obtained her certified public accountant license in May 1994.

Prior to joining AOPA, Saccoia was the accounting manager, Financial and Tax Reporting, at NPR for eight years. She started her career with Price Waterhouse as an auditor of the federal government and nonprofit organizations.

Saccoia’s prior experience at AOPA includes senior vice president of Finance and Accounting; vice president, controller; director of Accounting; and Accounting manager, where she was responsible primarily for financial reporting for the Air Safety Foundation and AOPA Foundation.