Meet Our Team

Our diverse, experienced team is dedicated to you

At Galvin Flying we have the most diverse staff of any school in the region. Our professional team includes passionate aviators, current and former airline pilots, military aviators, and technical experts within the aviation industry.

Flight Instructors

Nicole Cain
Chief Flight Instructor – CFI, CFII, MEI
Nicole grew up near Campbell Airstrip in Anchorage, Alaska, and always imagined herself flying in the airplanes she’d watch overhead. Like many, she finally found herself in an airplane at…
Eric Lynn
Director of Operations – CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Eric learned to fly in Auburn, Washington, achieving his ratings through MEI in two years. Before moving into flight school operations, he flew as a Horizon Air pilot. Eric’s interest…
Brandi Balzarini
Check Instructor – CFI, CFII, MEI
Born and raised in Seattle, Brandi grew up in awe of the Blue Angels. She took her first flight in her grandfather’s small plane, and later earned most of her…
Jim Lilje
Check Instructor – CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Jim began flight training in the U.S. Navy in 1968, but insists he’s not quite done yet. Type rated in the Boeing 737, 757, 767 and 777 as well as…
Michael Oswald
Check Instructor – CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Michael originally began flying in Walla Walla in a PA-11 in 1956. Today, at 32,000 hours, he is still learning and loves to share this passion with his students. His…
Bruce Williams
Check Instructor – CFI, CFII
Bruce grew up in an Air Force family and believes flying is in his DNA. He learned to fly in Spokane, Washington, while he was still in high school. Bruce…
Nick Bartholet
CFI
After earning his Private Pilot Certificate here at Galvin in 2017, Nick went on to earn his Commercial Certificates at Embry-Riddle along with a bachelor’s degree. He became interested in…
Alexis Cao
CFI
Alexis graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University with a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Science and all her certificates and ratings. She had initially started flying during her gap year prior…
Amanda Cave
CFI
Amanda grew up with a grandfather that was an Air Force Crew Chief and has always loved travel and aviation. In 2017, she started working as a flight attendant for…
Bridget Cooley
CFI
Bridget learned to fly at Galvin. She earned her Private Pilot Certificate, flying only on the weekends, and in about 18 months. She earned her Instrument rating and Multi-engine, Commercial,…
David Cowan
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
David learned to fly in Fort William, Ontario, and holds both Canadian and FAA licenses. His desire to fly was developed early, listening to bush flying tales in Northern Ontario…
Grace Cox
CFI
Grace learned to fly in the beautiful Pacific Northwest. She started her private certificate in Renton, then completed instrument, commercial, and CFI here at Galvin Flying. Grace started her aviation…
Ngierot (Jarred) Edwards-Smith
CFI, CFII
Growing up in New York City, Jarred never imagined that he would turn the passion of watching planes into a career. After spending 8 years at his first airline as…
Robin Lee Ferguson
Advanced and Instrument Ground Instructor
A private pilot herself, Robin learned to fly in Long Beach, California, and Renton, Washington. When it comes to what inspired her, she claims to have been inflicted with a…
Ruben Gomez
CFI
Ruben earned his Private Pilot Certificate in Auburn, WA, and later all additional certificates here at Galvin. His love for airplanes, as well as his first goose bumps and teary…
Matt Hanson
CFI
Matt learned to fly and completed all his certificates and ratings here at Galvin flying. He originally graduated college with a finance degree but was reluctant to find a business-oriented job…
Michael Hanson
CFI
Michael earned his private certificate and instrument rating at Crest Air Park. He ended up obtaining his commercial and flight instructor certificates here at Galvin Flying. Michael says he has…
Christian Higgins
CFI
Toby Jensen
CFI
Toby’s interest in flying came from childhood visits to the Museum of Flight, checking out the Blackbird, the Boeing 737, and even the flying car! He came to Galvin to…
Michael Jewsbury
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Michael learned to fly at Action Flying Service in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He loves sharing his passion to fly with his students.  
Adam Kephart
CFI
Adam had wanted to be a pilot ever since attending air shows as a child. In 2018 he finally made the decision to follow that dream and went right to…
Michael Lahaszow
CFI
Katrina Linder
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Katrina learned to fly in Pennsylvania and Connecticut and earned an aviation degree at the University of New Haven. She initially became interested in flying because she loved to travel;…
Josh Loomis
CFI
Josh grew up surrounded by planes and pilots in North Texas. After getting his degree and working in the medical field for several years, he went on a discovery flight…
Ziming Ma
CFI
Ziming started his private pilot training while stationed in Honolulu, Hawaii, as a combat medic specialist for the US Army.  After his initial service, he joined the reserves and his…
Ryan Martinez
CFI, CFII
Ryan is a third-generation pilot. His father is a private pilot, and his paternal grandfather has a commercial pilot’s license. His maternal grandfather was conscripted into the Royal Air Force…
JD Marymee
CFI, CFII, MEI
JD took his first flight at 9 years old and received his first certificate three months after his 17th birthday, paying for every hour by washing dishes and busing tables…
Tim McLaughlin
CFI, CFII, MEI
When Tim was 15 years old, his dad took him flying and to his first airshow at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station. It was there he saw the Blue Angels…
Carol Anne Ogden
CFI, CFII
Carol Anne grew up in Atlanta, where many of her friends’ parents were pilots for Delta or Eastern Airlines, and many went on to become pilots themselves. Having been around…
Ben Paul
CFI, CFII, ATP
Ben wanted to be an astronaut as a kid. When he was 10, he started playing Flight Sim on his father’s laptop, and really started trying to learn to fly…
Treyton Ramos
CFI
Treyton grew up in Washington state and has family in Hawaii. When he was younger, he would regularly fly across the Pacific to visit, making sure to get a window…
Maayan Shalev
CFI
Maayan grew up around aviation. Her father is a pilot, and she always knew she wanted to fly at some point. However, only after going to university and working as…
Chris Shone
CFI, CFII
Chris is a Seattle local and learned to fly at both Paine Field and Renton Airport. He ended up completing his CFII training in Bellefontaine, Ohio. Chris developed an interest…
Gokay Taskin
CFI
The son of a flight attendant, Gokay’s childhood was filled with airplanes. His love developed into a career as an aircraft engineer. He began learning to fly in 2005, and…
Harvey Waldron III
CFI, CFII
Harvey learned to fly in Pullman, Washington, and has since built flight experience in 37 different general aviation aircraft models during his career. His inspiration for taking flight was his…
Wayne Werner
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
A Gold Seal flight instructor, Wayne is a life-long aviator. He grew up at his family’s FBO in Wyoming, earning his private license at the age of 17. He’s since…
Bob Widdekind
CFI, CFII, MEI, ATP
Bob learned to fly in Renton, Washington, building his land and sea airplane ratings. The aviation bug bit Bob early. He remembers looking at an airplane when he was about…

Maintenance Team

Ryan Fukuda
Mechanic
Ryan is enrolled in the degree program at South Seattle College for A&P certification. He comes from a background in electrical, but has shifted his interest to aircraft maintenance as…
David Garrison
Maintenance Operations Manager
Before he came to Galvin, David spent several years in parts at Toyota. He received some instruction in Toyota’s T-Ten training program and an apprenticeship with a Toyota Master Tech….
Chris Herrick
A&P Mechanic, IA
After tiring of his job as a baggage handler for various contracted airlines, Chris was told about an A&P course at Chandler-Gilbert Community College by a coworker. Chris joined and…
Je Seok Seo
Mechanic
With a degree in electrical engineering, Je worked in Korea for Samsung. After several years, he realized he was suffering from burnout and needed something to refresh his mind. He…