AOPA has confirmed to AvBrief the AOPA Board of Trustees has retained a “communications firm” to deal with the fallout from the departure of former CEO Darren Pleasance on Feb. 4. AOPA won’t say how much it is paying for the service but an AOPA official told AvBrief it’s much less than the $250,000 figure being repeated on social media. Since AvBrief broke the story about Pleasance’s departure on Wednesday, there has been an enormous outpouring of support for Pleasance and sharp criticism of the board. The board was silent about the uproar until Sunday, when it posted an open letter to its members on the AOPA website. Sources say it’s the work of what they term a “crisis management” company, but we’ve been unable to confirm that. It’s copied in full at the end of this story.
Several informal letter-writing campaigns have been announced to try to pressure the board, and a host of YouTubers have joined the fray urging their followers to flood AOPA with demands to reinstate Pleasance. There is also a movement to get candidates supporting Pleasance on the ballot for coming trustee elections. Pleasance was hired to take over from retiring CEO Mark Baker at the beginning of 2025. The main source of discord between him and the board appears to be his extensive travel to aviation events and town hall meetings all over the country and his resulting lack of attendance at headquarters in Frederick, Maryland. Pleasance told AvBrief he has a house in Frederick and spent two weekends per month at his family home in Bend, Oregon. He is still associated with AOPA in an advisory role. The board has appointed Chief Financial Officer Jill Baker and Senior Vice President of Membership Strategy and Growth Katie Pribyl as “Co-CEOs” while the search is on for a permanent replacement for Pleasance.
OPEN LETTER TO AOPA MEMBERS
“Over the past few days, the AOPA Board of Trustees has received many calls and emails following our announcement that we are initiating a search for a new CEO. We appreciate members taking the time to share their perspectives.
“As we said in our announcement, we are grateful for former CEO Darren Pleasance’s contributions to AOPA, his energy and his commitment to serving pilots and aircraft owners. We also recognized his important efforts to engage with AOPA members across the country.
“For 87 years, AOPA has continued to build and evolve to meet the needs of the general aviation community in an increasingly complex operating and regulatory environment. The Board’s decision to begin a search for new executive leadership was guided by our responsibility to ensure AOPA remains a strong, effective advocate for pilots and aircraft owners—today and well into the future.
“Our search process to identify a new CEO will focus on finding a senior executive who can build on AOPA’s strengths, accelerate progress at the grassroots level, strengthen our voice with government and regulatory bodies, and improve operational performance. This leader will help grow our membership, attract a new generation of pilots and advance pilot training. Our next CEO also will work to preserve access to airspace, keep aviation safe and protect general aviation airports nationwide. We are seeking a candidate with proven leadership experience, strong financial and operational discipline, a clear passion for aviation and a commitment to supporting our dedicated staff.
“Our Board remains firmly focused on strong fiduciary oversight and organizational stability. Our commitment is to make AOPA work as effectively as possible for all members.
“We understand that leadership transitions can prompt strong reactions, particularly in an organization with such a loyal and engaged membership. We are confident that our deliberate and thoughtful approach to leadership succession is the right course for AOPA.
“AOPA remains a vital organization with an essential mission and a strong future. We appreciate your engagement, your feedback, and your continued support as we move forward united in our shared commitment to safer, freer skies.
“Sincerely,
Jim Hauslein
Chairman, AOPA Board of Trustees”
To me AOPA had the person described in their letter to AOPA members. Darren met and exceeded the letter’s criteria. To me, it smacks disengenuous firing Darren yet looking for another Darren. My “free” advice to the AOPA Board is save a quarter million of membership dollars, pull your collective heads out of your collective “keesters”, apologize to Darren first, then us, and bear some “good fruit”… by HIRING HIM BACK!
Well … I’d say that The Board is getting what they asked for. Spending $250K — and likely more — to clean up the aftermath of this disastrous decision is further proof that they lack the strategic vision necessary to run an organization that purports to represent “aircraft owners and pilots.” What they ought to be doing is spending that money polling the remaining membership for what is good, what they don’t like and how they could improve the services they provide vs. a PR campaign to fix what they broke. Isn’t that what membership organizations are supposed to do? AOPA has been sliding backward for years; with this ill-advised decision, they’re now just spinning their wheels yet still moving backward and now without direction.
Perhaps, the Pleasance issue is the “canary in the coal mine” that finally pushed the membership over the edge? The only tool they have is to speak with their feet.
With new airplane prices soaring to ridiculous hard-to-justify nosebleed levels — for all but the well-heeled — the homebuilt movement seems to be the wave of the future for ‘the masses’ in GA. Coupled with Basic Med, MOSAIC and other improvements in the rules, that seems to be where all the excitement is. Having attended a presentation on the RV-15 by Rian Johnson of Van’s the other evening, I see that airplane as emblematic of good things to come as a result. As such, EAA is ideally pre-positioned correctly to service that large group of people. I’m even wondering if there’s a need for two organizations vying for a limited amount of “business” anymore? Maybe that is the problem.
I know people who ‘pine’ for 51 weeks a year waiting for AirVenture to roll around again. There are people who come early just to volunteer and be an active part of it. People come from around the world. The excitement on Wittman airport during that week is palpable. In the intervening time between events, the chapter network steps in. And, if not that, many people occupy the time building airplanes, learning about aviation and even dreaming about airplanes. There is no such excitement generated by AOPA. All they do is brag about what they’ve done while piggy backing onto the work done by others, IMHO. Maybe it’s time for The Board to read the handwriting on the wall?
When I pick up an issue of Sport Aviation, I read it cover to cover and some articles twice. I come away smarter and well entertained. When I picked up an issue of AOPA Pilot, I came away bored but knowing what the panel of a high-end airplane with a huge engine (and price) looks like. Hell … I have a 50 year collection of Sport Aviation sleeping in my hangar waiting to be donated. The AOPA Pilot magazines I got have long since been turned into pulp for egg crates. Are ya listening, AOPA?
I don’t see a good end to what these people have done. I wish I could be more positive … but I’m a realist. Where is Phil Boyer when ya need him ?
As one who spends only 50 weeks a year jonesing for my next aviation fix (my wife&I arrive a week early to help set up and support the Vintage operations) I want to thank Larry for his posting. He saved me an hour I don’t have, writing the exact response I would have written, had I not been working outside in sub-freezing temps.
Three days ago I dropped my 40-year membership in AOPA and rescinded my Board proxy. I intend to take that “found money” and contribute it to a number of worthy EAA programs, like Young Eagles, Aviation Camp attendance, and Aviation Scholarships, where I know they will make a tangible difference to aviation.
The AOPA Board is in desperate need of a glass navel, corrected for distance vision. But you know what? I no longer care if they are in a full stall, horn blaring, yet clenching the stick to their ample belly. I’m sure something good will grow out of their smoking hole.
Thanks, Aviatrexx … I did spend some time putting that together (at 3am) … you shoulda seen what hit my laptop floor before I pushed ‘post!’
2026 will be my 45th year in attendance at Airventure and … I even established a second home and hangar not far W because of it AND I like Wisconsin (in the summertime 😁 ). Further, I, too, plan a donation to EAA’s efforts. Contrast that to my feelings — especially now — over AOPA. They’ve never inspired me to do much of anything. With this ill-advised action, I think they’re gonna be lucky to survive. I predict staff and pay cuts are next. VERY sad. Mike Busch just issued a “Call to Action” on his website. The Natives are peeped!
How can I find you at Vintage?
To be accurate: the article includes: “AOPA won’t say how much it is paying for the service but an AOPA official told AvBrief it’s much less than the $250,000 figure being repeated on social media.”
Whether that is true or not – it’s not fair to roll with the figure widely posted on social media without attribution when the organization purposefully contests it.
One of the largest issues organizations which are seemingly too big to fail have in common, is a loss of connection to the core of what made the association into what it once was. Members. A sense of belonging and community. Honesty. Transparency. True advocacy.
These days the primary focus of most associations is to compensate for a constantly aging and declining membership base while keeping revenues high enough to pay huge salaries.
They dabble in publishing, advertising, insurances, merchandise, legal and are run like large corporations with CEO’s making $2MM/ year. Grandstanding, politics, power and prestige. The memberbase is no longer the core provider or focus. Its a logical component of business to focus on money and revenue – but – at the end of the day – associations are not corporations.
Add the fact that every member using their proxy essentially signs off on whatever a bunch of unelected representatives decide and heckle out – and you have a perfect loss of control.
Being one of these people who offer crisis and PR management for companies, I fear that whoever cashes these AOPA crisis management checks now, will eventually learn that you can do exactly two things right now:
• Admit that the decsion to let Darren go was made in haste and not properly thought out. There are different ways to transition a large organization into new leadership.
• Admit that the Peter Principle has hit AOPA and accept the fact, that a lot of trust and cash was just burned into fine ash.
For those wondering how being honest works:
Ask KFC about the FCK campaign when they ran out of their core ingredient. Chicken!
FCK! “We fucked up, sorry!”
General Aviation people always struck me as family. The one thing you can ALWAYS do with family is to step in front of these people and tell em that you screwed something up. 90% of people in that family will be grumpy and tell you that they expected much better, but they will appreciate the honesty.
My tip for Hauslein and the glorious board:
Skip the corporate speak and stop trying to spray perfume on a ginormous mountain of stink. Whatever just happened was dead wrong and peeps know it. Come clean, make it transparent and – for once – truly focus on your members.
Jason, no reason for AOPA to do anything. Anyone that doesn’t know the decades of bad politics with AOPA has their membership on Auto-Pay. They don’t know why they’re members except that a fellow airline pilot told them they have their membership on Auto-Pay. AOPA lives because of Auto-Pay… that’s all, follow the herd.
“My Wine/Cigar Club membership is on Auto-Pay ‘they’ say it finances aviation lobbyist.”
Both our personal history and friendship (SPA, Seaplaneforum and Seaplanemagazine) go far enough back to chuckle and smile. Its a hilarious world we live in. Yesterday, today and probably tomorrow.
I took mine off – Buckeye is going to ber really interesting this year, less than a week away.
Thinking about this new revelation some more early this AM, I thought … ‘the answer is right in front of us here on AvBrief.’ Get fired but you still care … start your own parallel organization and — ultimately, hopefully — stuff it right where sunlight doesn’t reach in the errant org. Darren oughta do just that. APOA sounds pretty good to me 😁 THAT would be righteous! Each of us that moved over here know exactly what I’m saying.
“start your own parallel organization and — ultimately, hopefully — stuff it right where sunlight doesn’t reach in the errant org. Darren oughta do just that.”
Hate to break it to you, but there is already a parallel organization that is far better than the AOPA-
It’s called the ‘Experimental Aircraft Association’.
We don’t need another organization. AOPA should just rebrand itself as the Jet Owners & Operators Association and be done with it.
Oh wait- we already have the National Business Aviation Association for that space.
Dan Millican is saying out loud what a lot of the AvBrief readership is already saying. The board turned comments off, then posted a checklist for the “next” CEO that reads like Darren Pleasance’s job description: outreach, advocacy, operations, and membership. If he was doing that work, why remove him after one year. Either tell members the real reason, or stop pretending this is about performance.
Video: https://www.google.com/search?q=Jim+Hauslein&rlz=1C1RXQR_enUS1145US1146&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:1f345ad7,vid:h_OfuWBz8KI,st:0
I want to know why AOPA has not posted meeting notes or financials in 5 years. I have searched and can’t find them anywhere. Not only are they surviving on autopay renewals but their board seems to be on autopilot in the wrong direction as well.
Where are the financials? Sure they filed the required forms?
I see this one: https://www.aopa.org/-/media/Files/AOPA/Home/About-AOPA/Governance/2020_AOPA_Form-990_Public-Inspection-Copy.pdf
Where are the recent ones? When investigating wrongdoing you start by following the money.
Let the window dressing begin.
AI could probably fashion their steady stream of damage control communique. Sticking with the old fashioned route will make it look more heartfelt and sincere. “We take this very seriously” should show up eventually if not already. I have not nor will bother to read their spin.
The one good thing I see out of all of this is the elevation of Katie Pribyl to an executive role, even if it’s temporary. I’ve known her personally for ages, back to her days with GAMA. She’s a capable, thoughtful head.
And I’d agree 110% with the bulk of the comments so far – Pleasance is/was exactly the leader AOPA needed and still needs. Engagement with the membership is Job One for almost any organization like this, and he was doing damn good at it.
That whole board needs to take a long walk off a short pier.
The concept that better messaging will fix bad decisions is laughable.
If anything, it actually makes me more disagreeable to their decisions, because it gives the impression that they feel they are justified in ignoring a large portion of their membership.
It also blatantly highlights their inability to manage.
As I’ve written elsewhere, in my experience, many great Not-For-Profit organizations begin their downfall when their boards get populated with people who were trained to put profit above the mission and then try to apply the mindset that made them successful in their for-profit careers to a NFP world. They can’t help themselves. It’s a management thing, not a NFP thing.
Welcome to the NRA.
Well, you guys left me nothing to say!
Auto Pay cancelled.
Proxy cancelled a long time ago.
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/reinstate-darren-pleasance-as-ceo-of-aopa
The board’s letter is classic “it’s not us it’s you” though I suppose at this point there’s only a couple things they could have said that would be acceptable.
I’ve been an AOPA member for a while now and have benefited from the membership. I used the legal support for an administrative issue (not flight related) and I used the medical support people several times to answer some questions. I got extra insurance when I became a CFII, and used the Basic Med training to keep my medical in force. I didn’t use the AOPA CFI refresher class, however. My telephone interactions with the staff have been answered by a real human and resolved quickly and politely. I cancelled my credit card with them because they increased the interest rate, after they said it was in keeping with the industry average. This was years ago and they didn’t see my logic about serving the membership. I don’t carry a balance; it was the principle. In short I’ve certainly gotten many benefits from my annual membership. I am on auto renewal and don’t like the proxy vote. I try to do some research and vote my own ballot, in every organization, including my investments. I have read that Mr Pleasance was a GA advocate, and that’s great. It would be great to see some substantial reasons for Mr Pleasance’s dismissal. For now, I’ll retain my membership.