Our Modern Rosies Present a Reckless Idea at the  Generator 

Written By Beth White

We packed the house at The Generator for April’s Reckless Ideas—10 presenters on stage, more than 100 guests in the room, and a whole lot of spark. Our WOMEN BUILD PLANES crew shared how our hangar in Franklin County has become a launchpad for builders, flyers, and maintainers—one Sunday, one rivet, one young person at a time.

The team—our Modern Rosies—kicked it off with stories of why the industry needs us now, how we’re building more than planes, and the ways in which we are cultivating belonging along the way. I followed by tracing the flight path that led us here—earning my pilot’s license, meeting an 80-year-old master mechanic who opened his hangar door to me, and walking through breast cancer with a renewed purpose: to foster the next generation through real work on real airplanes.

Reckless Ideas regularly features bold Vermont innovators, including our friend Kyle Clark of BETA Technologies. Standing on that stage, with our team beside me in Kyle’s former footsteps, felt like a handoff in a relay we intend to keep running—toward a future where women lead visibly in aviation and the trades.

Thank you, Generator, for a celebratory night. Our team left energized and ready for the next chapter and for new Vermonters to join us on Sundays as we BUILD, FIX, and FLY airplanes.

Beth White

Education Possibilitarian, Artist, Writer, Doula, Mentor, Aviatrix, Breast Cancer Survivor, Pilot-in-Command at Habitat for Aviation

Born and raised in Vermont, Beth worked in a variety of schools in New England, including The Met, which is Big Picture Learning, flagship public high school in Providence, Rhode Island. After a decade in the classroom, Beth returned to the University of Vermont to earn a PhD in educational leadership and policy studies. She is an education possibilitarian, artist, a writer, a Doula, a mentor and aviatrix and most recently, after winning a tough battle with breast cancer, Beth founded Habitat for Aviation to inspire the next generation of airplane mechanics, avionics, specialists and pilots.

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Lunch & Learn with Jill Gernetzke - Wingwalker, Mechanic, Mentor, EXPANDER
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Emma Cornett’s Flight Path to Avionics