Guyanese launches Aviators of Color INC.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aviators of Color Inc., and Trainee Pilot, Guyanese Iordan Mentore.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aviators of Color Inc., and Trainee Pilot, Guyanese Iordan Mentore.

By Wendella Davidson

Guyanese-born Iordan Mentore, 24, who is on his final stage of earning his `Wings’ in the aviation sector, has launched a web portal `Aviators of Color INC.’ that aims to create space for current and aspiring aviators to network with established industry professionals.

With its motto Bessie Coleman’s `The air is the only place free from prejudice’, AOC Inc. emphasises that in their space, the term “aviators” includes not only pilots but, flight attendants, air traffic controllers, airline operations, maintenance engineers, aerospace engineers and various military and aviation personnel.

Mentore was a student of the New Guyana School before migrating, attended the Brooklyn Technical High School and Morehouse College. He also had a brief stint as an intern at the United States House of Representatives, Queens, New York.

It is his first-hand experiences of the numerous barriers he has had to overcome in his quest to becoming a career pilot that has inspired him to create an organisation that would positively impact many aspiring aviators of colour. Advancing racial equity in the aerospace industry through innovative strategies grounded in community perspectives and technology, is a cause he will never cease to pursue, he added.

Vice President Marlon Dayes, a young Jamaican, who presently flies with Delta, oversees the daily operations of the organisation and ensures the overall goals and visions are accomplished.

Through AOC Inc., he too hopes to help minorities succeed as professionals in the aviation industry.  He noted that being an airline pilot from humble beginnings, he knows all too well what it takes to achieve success as an aviator of colour. As such, he is determined to ensure that the platform not only inspires minorities to believe their dreams, but supports their ambition of succeeding in the aviation industry regardless of their circumstances.

Active pilots Ossafo Bishop, also a Guyanese; Toray Bailey, Jamaican and Deniz Durgut, an American comprise the Board of Directors.

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