Meet Our Aviation Marketing Experts

Trusted by Airports and Aviation Clients Across the Country

Aviatrix Communications is comprised of aviation outreach professionals that bring their diverse backgrounds together to perform incredible feats of outreach for our clients. We have experience in commercial and general aviation, fixed base operators and industry organizations. We have certifications in airport security and are licensed pilots. We are award-winning airport communications specialists, and we want to put our expertise to work for your airport.

Katie Franco, C.M.

Owner and Principal

Katie Franco is the owner and principal of Aviatrix Communications. She has nearly two decades of experience providing engaging and effective outreach for commercial and general aviation airports. Katie has been a marketing and public relations consultant since 2014, helping airports with projects as diverse as website development, branding, and airport master plan communications. She became a consultant after more than six years with San Diego International Airport (SAN), where she performed public outreach for the airport’s major initiatives, including the billion-dollar Green Build expansion program. Katie has extensive knowledge in public relations, community outreach, and digital marketing. Her campaigns have been recognized nationally in both the aviation and public relations fields, garnering ACI-NA Marketing and Communications Awards, Gold SABRE Awards, and Silver Anvil Awards. She was also in the inaugural class of Airport Business magazine’s “Top 40 Under 40.”

Katie holds a BA in English from the University of California at Santa Barbara. She is a Certified Member of American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and a member of Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) and Women in Aviation International (WAI).

Kimberly McNeil

Director of Operations

Kimberly has over 20 years of expertise in marketing the built environment, including airports, national homebuilders and developers, and international tourism destinations.

Kyle Elliott, C.M.

Vice President of Technology

Kyle Elliott brings over 15 years of aviation-specific website development and marketing expertise.

Crystal Heavers

Creative Director

Crystal Heavers is a seasoned marketing and communications professional with over 20 years of experience in the aviation industry, specializing in creating distinctive designs and impactful campaigns.

Rosemary Barnes, A.A.E.

Public Relations Director

Rosemary Barnes, A.A.E., contributes over 30 years of airport public relations, marketing, and operations experience.

Cheryl Brown

Strategic Marketing Advisor

Cheryl is a seasoned airport communicator with more than 30 years of strategic marketing experience.

Kari Goetz

Marketing Director

Kari Goetz turns numbers into narratives, transforming data into campaigns that educate communities, inform passengers, inspire stakeholders, and motivate airlines.

Micah Lillard

Public Relations Manager

Micah is a PR and content-creation guru with more than 10 years of aviation expertise, including both in-house and agency experience.

Crystina Thompson

Senior Communications Specialist

Crystina has more than a decade of experience providing clients with support in media relations, social media management, copywriting, and crisis communications.

Jared Fuller

Senior Graphic Designer

Jared is a creative maestro and gifted graphic designer creating award-winning logos, graphic design, and websites for aviation, destinations, and real estate clients.

Jarrett Shaffer

Senior Media Manager

Jarrett has been executing multichannel media campaigns for top-tier organizations for more than 10 years.

Kimberly McNeil

Director of Operations

Kimberly has over 20 years of branding and marketing experience in the built environment; including hospitality, master-planned communities, airports, and homebuilding. Kim has been intimately involved in community relations, community outreach, placemaking, and branding for decades. An advocate for the building industry of California, and an active member of (ULI) Urban Land Institute. She has championed development projects from coast to coast and implemented marketing plans to engage the public, educate, and advocate. She also oversees Aviatrix Communications’ organizational health.

Kyle Elliott, C.M.

Vice President of Technology

Kyle Elliott brings more than 15 years of aviation-specific website development, graphic design, and marketing experience to the team. His extensive background also includes air service development, airport operations, terminal construction, and facility activation at airports across the country, including Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, MidAmerica St. Louis Airport, and several others. As a private pilot and expert in stakeholder engagement, he excels in process-oriented approaches.

As the Vice President of Technology for Aviatrix Communications, Kyle leverages his process-driven experience to enhance digital communications for airports. Additionally, he provides training and remediation for airport accessibility and privacy compliance and creates custom web applications for clients, including TSA wait time widgets, flight information display systems, route maps, and interactive terminal maps. He has worked with more than 40 airports on various marketing and digital projects.

Crystal Heavers

Creative Director

Crystal Heavers is a seasoned marketing and communications professional with over 20 years of experience in the aviation industry. With a Bachelor’s degree in Communications from the University of Colorado at Boulder, she has honed her skills across various roles. Proud of her industry award-winning work for clients, she excels in brand strategy and design, creative direction, and campaign development, ensuring all deliverables are on-brand, unique, and impactful. Crystal is passionate about design, with a keen eye for detail and a natural affinity for providing exceptional service and maintaining strong client relationships.

When she isn’t busy at work, Crystal enjoys traveling internationally or taking her Beechcraft Baron on adventures around the beautiful West Coast. She’s a sucker for a good glass of wine, a challenging round of golf with her husband, or taking her dogs for a run along the Bay Trail at their home in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Rosemary Barnes, A.A.E.

Public Relations Director

Rosemary Barnes, A.A.E., contributes more than 30 years of airport public relations and marketing, air service development, and airside and landside operations experience to the team.

Her aviation industry expertise comes from having served in airline, public information, operations, noise management, property management, and FBO roles at airports across the United States, including San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Orange County, and Binghamton. She holds a master’s degree in Mass Communications and a bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Operations.

Rosemary’s work history includes roles at some of California’s most noise-constrained airports, where she was involved in creating and the ongoing development of community noise forums with the goal of ensuring the airport is perceived as a good neighbor. Her extensive efforts in mitigating airport noise-related concerns include message development about responsible airport growth and educating pilots about airport-recommended fly-quiet procedures.

As part of the Aviatrix Communications team, Rosemary has contributed her passion and expertise in public relations by supporting airports with media training and creating crisis communications plans and procedures.

Cheryl Brown

Strategic Marketing Advisor

Cheryl Brown is a seasoned marketing professional with more than 30 years of experience. Prior to her work with Aviatrix Communications, Ms. Brown served as the Deputy Director of Marketing for San Diego County Regional Airport Authority. She was responsible for the development, management, and execution of the Authority’s annual $3.5 million marketing plans, budget, strategies, and programs, designed to promote increased utilization of the airport for both passenger and air cargo service and to stimulate regional economic development through increased travel and trade commerce.

Ms. Brown also served as the 2013 Chair of the Marketing & Communications Committee for Airports Council International – North America.

Kari Goetz

Marketing Director

Kari Goetz, our Marketing Manager, boasts an impressive 25-year career in aviation marketing, branding, and public relations, distinguishing herself as a seasoned expert in the field. Kari’s journey includes a notable 8-year tenure as the Director of Marketing at TPA Airport, where she led numerous successful campaigns and initiatives, elevating the airport’s brand and enhancing its public image. Holding a Master’s degree in Communications from the University of South Florida, Kari combines her academic knowledge with practical expertise to drive strategic marketing efforts. Additionally, her Bachelor’s degree in Theater from the University of Florida has endowed her with a unique perspective and creative approach to storytelling and audience engagement.

Micah Lillard

Public Relations Manager

Born and raised in aviation-heavy rural Alaska, Micah is a PR and content-creation guru with aviation fuel in his veins. His aviation industry experience includes PR and media relations roles both on the agency side and in-house, including stints at both Ravn Alaska and Allegiant Air. He has also served as public information officer for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, where he managed proactive storytelling and crisis communications, supported community noise working groups and airline business development and led communications strategies for other special projects at both Ronald Reagan Washington National airport and Washington Dulles International Airport, including Operation Allies Welcome in 2021.

A 2005 graduate of Coastal Carolina University, Micah holds a bachelors degree in management and is a Certified Member in the American Association of Airport Executives.

Crystina Lugobeach

Senior Communications Specialist

As Aviatrix Communications Digital Marketing Specialist, Crystina is responsible for creating engaging content while also managing various social media, marketing, and public relations projects to promote aviation clients. She carefully looks over each client’s goals and characteristics to pinpoint opportunities and develop ideas on ways to market the client to their targeted audience in the best way possible.

Throughout her career, Crystina has helped several clients’ social media posts get record-breaking likes and substantially increase their following. She’s also brought fresh ideas on how to roll out new programs, websites, and events. Additionally, she has experience representing organizations as a spokesperson and working as a television news reporter, giving her insider knowledge on navigating, and working with the media.

Jared Fuller

Senior Graphic Designer

Jared Fuller is an experienced and detail-oriented graphic designer with an agency background. He has created award-winning logo designs, visual branding systems, ad campaigns, print and digital advertisements, marketing collateral, outdoor signage, digital media, photo assets, video content, website design, and social media content for clients in aviation, destination marketing, and real estate. When he’s not directing photo shoots or designing award-winning work, he is learning the latest website design trends and UX design tools.

Jarrett Shaffer

Senior Media Manager

Jarrett Shaffer is the media guru for Aviatrix Communications. Jarrett has been developing, implementing, and executing media strategies and campaigns for over 10 years with experience building foundational full-funnel media initiatives, leading cross-channel paid media teams, partnering with top-tier media companies, and actively managing individual campaigns. He is skilled in developing, launching, and optimizing traditional and digital omnichannel media strategies and campaigns through paid search, paid social, programmatic, native, video, audio, outdoor, TV, radio, and print channels. Mr. Shaffer is also an expert in media tracking and analysis to ensure that client campaigns not only achieve the highest performance possible, but clients can also understand the value of their campaigns and how they can drive more media efficiency moving forward.