Luke Wippler joined AOPA’s Board of Trustees in 2015 and has been an AOPA member since 2005. He was elected Chairman on March 19, 2026. Luke currently serves on the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee, the Audit Committee, the Compensation, Organization and People Committee, and is chair of the Finance and Investment Committee.
As a private pilot with multi-engine instrument and single-engine seaplane ratings, Luke has accumulated over 3,000 hours of flight time, in a variety of aircraft ranging including Piper Super Cub, Aviat Husky, Van's RV-8, Cessna 180 and 185, Beechcraft Bonanza and Baron, and a TBM. Luke currently owns a Cessna 182 Amphib and a Piper Super Cub.
A resident of White Bear Lake, Minnesota, Luke is Executive Vice President and Treasurer for U.S. Bank, the nation's fifth largest bank. He has more than 25 years' experience in the banking and financial services industries, guiding financial strategy, long-term strategic planning, corporate governance, and regulatory activities across the Company. Outside of work, Luke enjoys spending time flying with his family (he has 3 young boys as his wing men), enjoying the outdoors, including fishing, downhill skiing, and being active in the community, including coaching youth sports.
In addition to AOPA, Luke also serves on the Board of the Killibrew Thompson Memorial, providing support for cancer research.
Larry Buhl has been a member of AOPA’s Board of Trustees since 2004 and has been an AOPA member since 1974. He currently serves on the Compensation, Organization and People Committee and the Audit Committee.
An active pilot since 1973, Larry has accumulated more than 5,100 hours of flight time. He holds a private pilot certificate with multi-engine and instrument ratings and currently flies a Piper Malibu Meridian. A passionate aviation historian, Larry has spent years collecting aircraft manufactured by Buhl Aircraft Company in the 1930s.
Larry is the founder and CEO of Northeast Investments, Inc., a real estate and materials management company. He resides in Harbor Springs, Michigan.
Matt Desch joined AOPA’s Board of Trustees in 2011 and has been an AOPA member since 1976. He serves on the Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee, and chairs the Compensation, Organization and People Committee.
Matt earned his private pilot certificate in 1976 and holds a commercial certificate with multi-engine land, and single-engine sea ratings. Never one to stop expanding his flying skills, he recently added a rotorcraft rating to his certificate, and now flies both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. He has accumulated nearly 3,000 flight hours and currently owns a TBM 910 and Airbus EC120.
An early pioneer in the wireless industry, Matt is CEO of Iridium Communications Inc., a global provider of mobile satellite communications. Under Matt's leadership, Iridium executed a $3 billion upgrade of its entire satellite constellation, one of the most ambitious commercial space projects ever completed.
A proud Ohio State alumnus, Matt founded the Buckeye Leadership Fellows program at Ohio State, a four-semester experiential program that pairs students with alumni and companies to develop character, leadership, and purpose. In addition to AOPA, Matt serves on the Board of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. He resides in McLean, Virginia.
Amanda Farnsworth joined AOPA's Board of Trustees in 2012 and has been an AOPA member since 2003. She serves on the Finance and Investment Committee, the Executive Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the Compensation, Organization and People Committee.
Amanda soloed in 2003 and earned her private pilot certificate and instrument rating the following year. She added her commercial rating in 2016. She has accumulated more than 3500 flight hours and currently flies a Cirrus Vision Jet. Along the way she’s collected a few memorable flights including piloting her SR22T to Cuba in 2017 as part of the first all-female crew to land in Havana since the embargo.
A resident of Nashville, Amanda spent almost 30 years in the investment business with JJB Hilliard WL Lyons investment firm. During this time, she served on numerous corporate boards as well as nonprofits, including the Boys and Girls Clubs, Chairman, and the Ensworth School Board of Trust. Amanda also served on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority from 2012 to 2023 where she was Secretary, Vice Chairman, and finally Chairman. She was inducted into the Tennessee Aviation Hall of Fame in 2024.
Amanda graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Vanderbilt University with a BS in Mathematics and an MS in Computer Science.
Jim Hauslein has been an AOPA member since 1987 and joined the AOPA Board of Trustees in 2012. He served as Chairman from January 1, 2025, until March 19, 2026. He has served as Treasurer, and he also chairs the AOPA Board of Trustees’ Executive Committee, and the Nominating Committee. He serves on the Compensation, Organization, and the Finance and Investment Committee.
Jim has made general aviation part of his personal and professional life since 1996 when he earned his Private Pilot certificate. He later went on to earn his Instrument rating, as well as Multi-Engine, Commercial, Seaplane and Cessna Citation 500 and Cessna Citation CE-525 type ratings. He now has more than 2,000 hours in the cockpit.
Today, Jim is Managing Director of Hauslein & Company, Inc., a private equity firm. As part of his private equity investment activities with Hauslein & Company, he has served on the board of directors of several companies. Jim also spent over a decade, in the roles of Chairman and CEO, for Sunglass Hut International, Inc., the world's largest specialty retailer of branded non-prescription sunglasses and lifestyle watches. During his tenure at Sunglass Hut, sales increased over 3,100% as the company expanded and developed into a multi-channel, multi-product, multi-national, vertically integrated global retailer. In addition, Jim most recently served as Chairman and CEO of Big Time Products, the nation's leader in work-site accessories and was a 2017 Hardware Category vendor-of the-year recipient from Home Depot. Jim also appeared on a variety of business news programs on CNBC, CNN, and Fox News.
Jim resides in Hobe Sound, Florida. In addition to flying, he enjoys golf, tennis, SCUBA diving, and adventure travel.
Will Hudson joined AOPA's Board of Trustees in 2020 and has been an AOPA member since 1983. He was appointed Vice Chairman of the Board in May 2023. He serves on the Finance and Investment Committee, the Executive Committee, the Audit Committee and the Compensation, Organization and People Committee.
Will earned his private pilot certificate in 1984, his instrument and multi-Engine ratings in 1987, and his commercial certificate and single-engine sea rating in 1988. He has accumulated more than 4,000 flight hours across 40 years of flying throughout the United States and Canada. Will currently owns a Cessna T210 and a DeHavilland Beaver. He is a member of the Idaho Aviation Association, the Western Seaplane Pilot’s Association and the Seaplane Pilots Association.
A resident of northern California and Maine, Will has spent his entire career in commercial aviation finance. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Vx Capital Partners, which he co-founded in 2002, a San Francisco-based aircraft leasing company. He is a former board member of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading (ISTAT).
Will earned a B.A. from Duke University and an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is married with four adult children, two of whom are active general aviation pilots.
Dale Klapmeier joined AOPA's Board of Trustees in February 2026 and has been an AOPA member since 1998. Dale serves on the Audit Committee.
A certificated pilot for more than 45 years, Dale has accumulated nearly 8,000 hours of flight time. He took his first flight at age 15 in a Cessna 140 he bought with his two brothers. He and his older brother Alan began their first aircraft-rebuilding project in 1979 with a 1960 Champ, followed by the construction of a Glasair TD kit plane.
Together, the Klapmeier brothers founded Cirrus Aircraft in 1984 in the basement of the barn on their family's Wisconsin farm, beginning with a homebuilt aircraft called the VK-30. Cirrus went on to pioneer the use of composite materials and fully integrated glass-panel cockpits in light aircraft and standardized a whole-airframe ballistic parachute system across its model line—beginning with the SR20 in 1999 and the best-selling SR22 in 2001. The company eventually became the world's largest producer of general aviation aircraft, delivering more than 10,000 SR-series aircraft. Dale also led the certification and production launch of the Collier Trophy-winning Cirrus Vision Jet before retiring as CEO in 2019.
Dale and Alan were inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2014. Dale is also enshrined in both the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame and the Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame. Throughout his career he has served on several boards and programs, including the EAA's Young Eagles Program, the Red Tail Project, and NASA's Aeronautics Research & Technology Roundtable, where he chaired the General Aviation Subcommittee. Dale resides in Goodyear, Arizona.
Charlie Lynch joined AOPA's Board of Trustees in 2025 and has been an AOPA member since 1993. Charlie serves on the Audit Committee.
Charlie began his flying career in helicopters, earning his private pilot certificate before adding his commercial certificate and instrument and multi-engine ratings in fixed-wing aircraft. He has extensive experience in aerobatic and warbird flying and previously owned and performed in a 1945 Grumman Avenger. He holds type ratings in the F4U Corsair, P-51 Mustang, Supermarine Spitfire Mk I, and A6M Zero, and has also flown the B-24 Liberator, B-25 Mitchell, and B-17 Flying Fortress. More recently, he earned his Single-Engine Sea rating, flying J-3 Cubs, a Cessna 170, and an Aviat Husky on floats.
Charlie spent three decades with NetJets, Inc., beginning in 1995 when the company was still known as Executive Jet Aviation. He retired in 2025 as Senior Vice President, having played a key role in international development, including leading the creation and launch of NetJets Europe and NetJets Middle East and contributing to flight operations advances including the company's first Crew Resource Management initiative. A resident of Jackson, Wyoming, he holds both a BS and an MBA from Cornell University.
Bill Roberts joined the AOPA Board of Trustees in 2024 and has been a member since 2010. He currently chairs the Audit Committee and serves on both the Executive and Nominating Committees.
An active pilot, Bill earned his private pilot certificate in 2010, followed by his instrument rating six months later. He has accumulated more than 2,500 flight hours, primarily in Cirrus SR22 aircraft, and now flies a Cirrus Vision Jet.
Bill spent 31 years at GW&K Investment Management in Boston, where he joined in 1994 and helped grow the firm into a diversified asset manager. He served as Co-President beginning in 2006 and as Co-Chief Executive Officer from 2022 until his retirement at the end of 2025.
In addition to his work with AOPA, Bill is actively serving on several nonprofit boards. Bill earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Denison University.
Austin Stephens joined AOPA's Board of Trustees in 2024 and has been an AOPA member since 2000. He serves on the Finance and Investment Committee.
Austin holds a private pilot certificate with instrument, single-engine land, single-engine sea, and multi-engine land ratings. He has accumulated more than 6,000 hours of flight time, most of that in a Beechcraft Baron that he’s owned for 25 years. He has also enjoyed logging time in Super Cubs, Top Cubs and seaplanes.
Austin is a Managing Director with Merrill Lynch in the private wealth practice of STG Partners. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, with a BA in history. Outside of work, he gives back broadly across Atlanta, serving on the boards of the PATH Foundation, The Westminster Schools, American Rivers, and the Atlanta Beltline Partnership.
Bill Trimble joined the AOPA Board of Trustees in 1993 and served as chairman from 2005 through 2024. In addition to his role as chairman, he has chaired the Executive Committee and the Nominating Committee. He currently serves on the Finance and Investment Committee.
Bill has been flying since 1983 and earned his Private Pilot Certificate in 1985. He went on to earn Glider, Single engine sea, Multi-engine Land, Instrument, and Commercial (certificates and ratings). He now has more than 5000 flight hours and owns a TBM 950 based at BWI in Maryland.
A resident of Washington, DC, Bill is the former President and CEO of a public real estate company.