A big reason why some people don’t pursue a career in a particular industry is that they don’t see themselves in it. That’s why representation is so important, and why India Williams is a role model for everyone, but perhaps especially so for young women of color.
A Business Development Support Specialist at business aviation firm Jet Aviation, Williams enthusiastically described her role and journey thus far during a Zoom call with Runway Girl Network.
The idea of being a role model is one she’s keen to embrace but seems only to have occurred to her recently when colleagues and family have suggested it. And yet to admire Williams’ achievements simply as a young black woman climbing the corporate ladder in aviation is to miss the wider story she tells, of making smart life choices even if they meant turning 180 degrees and reassessing in the face of adversity.
Aged around nine, Williams’ neighbor took her flying and the aviation bug bit. The Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program followed in high school, and ROTC in college; she wanted to be a US Air Force pilot.
In May 2015, Williams joined the Air Force ROTC and began studying aeronautics at Middle Tennessee State University. Invited to the next stage of training, she admitted: “I got cold feet when I read the contract. The minimum term was 20 years.”
Changing her major to homeland security emergency management focusing on aviation management, she continued flying and considered becoming a freighter pilot. But a multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis left her medically unfit to fly.
“I had various symptoms and some paralysis, so I needed to find something else to do,” she explained. “I started cooking for leisure, but it grew into a business – Chef India Fiasco. I had a full catering company but wanted to get back to aviation, so I started catering for FBOs. I believe you have to work with what you have!”
Now she is working for a Masters in business intelligence and data analytics and an aviation law diploma from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Almost done with the law diploma, Williams sheepishly admits to taking a year off from Masters’ studies while changing jobs to her current position at Jet Aviation.
Alongside her catering business, Williams has held internships and jobs with aviation companies since 2021. They include customer support at Signature Aviation, a year designing business jet cabins, a spell in air charter and a full-time sales engineer position at OGARAJETS; from there she went to Jet Aviation in March 2024.
The obvious question for Williams is how she has achieved so much in the face of real challenges?
Before responding, she noted her additional involvement as a community development volunteer with PinkSTEM, an Atlanta-based organization of professional women raising funds and promoting STEM roles to girls and young women.
“I think it’s all about relationships,” she said. “I focus on what my mentor at Signature Aviation taught me. If I don’t know what someone does, I introduce myself and ask, including pilots, sometimes their passengers, and people working on the ramp. I learned how aircraft were parked, how ramp ops work. That’s how people saw me as more than just the ‘customer service girl’ and I got the jobs at OGARAJETS and then Jet Aviation.”
Williams said she loves her work at Jet Aviation, where she collects and analyzes data supporting business growth, but already has ambitions beyond. While reluctantly acknowledging that more and more young women are following her social media channels and clearly seeking inspiration from her, she believes her aviation vocation is in sales.
“Everything I’ve done is only what I’ve achieved so far. Jet Aviation is a General Dynamics company, alongside Gulfstream. It’s really competitive, but one day I want to sell Gulfstreams,” Williams declared.
If her career so far is anything like her ambition, then she will surely do so.
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All images credited to India Williams
