Only months away from her retirement, Danna Wolf looks forward to enjoying Mother Nature, riding her four-wheeler, spending time with family, and quilting with friends. Retiring 39 years and 2 months after swearing in, Danna has risen to an inspirational height in her career. Her experience has been challenging, to say the least. From an early age, Danna learned to overcome adversity. Growing up as the tallest girl in her class, other kids called her ‘Chewy,’ (after Chewbacca in the Star Wars film) among other unflattering names. Aside from her height, she also faced criticism from others for her interest in electronics.
Danna remembers, “When I was 11 years old, the Aeronautical Center would allow older children to accompany their parent to work on Christmas Eve. I was always excited to go to work with my father, Paul Reeves, who was a work leader in the Test Equipment Calibration and Repair Section. It was like a special Christmas present each year. While Dad worked in the ‘Cal Lab,’ he and his coworkers would show me how an oscilloscope worked, how a signal generator could put out different frequencies, and how they would troubleshoot circuits using different types of test equipment. My interest in electronics and circuits took off from there.”
Her father encouraged her to learn more about electronics over the following years and supplied her with a Chemistry set, 150 Things-In-One Electronic Kit, and encouraged her to attend the 2-year Electronics program in high school at the Mid-America Vocational Technical School in Wayne, Oklahoma. The hour and a half bus ride to school every day was taxing, but a bigger challenge occurred when students at the Vo-Tech made fun of Danna for being a ‘girl’ in the Electronics class. She persevered to become the first female to graduate the High School Electronics Program in 1979.
Danna started work at the FAA Depot (what is now the FAA Logistics Center) in 1980 as a WG-1, step 1 Temporary ‘Laborer’ at the age of 18. A year later, she received a Reduction in Force (RIF) letter, which gave her two weeks’ notice to find another job. Fortunately, she survived the RIF by taking a job in the Communications Center as a telephone operator, where she used the old plug-in style switchboard. The office was located in the basement of the Airman Records Building. “I was excited to still be working for the agency. Three months later, I was selected to return to the Depot Repair shops. I knew I needed more education to continue my career so I started going to college at night. It was a double blessing since my Electronics Lab instructor would become my future husband, and the college education enabled me to be selected for an Electronics Technician in the Automation Section,” Danna recounts.
In 1984, Danna became the first female technician in the Avionics Test Equipment Section, (AVN-335) in Hangar 9 and was featured in an FAA Newsletter Article. As she continued her college education in electronics, she expanded her schooling to include computer programming, and eventually became a database Systems Manager in AVN-120, working with Aviation Safety Analysis Systems. Well-liked and respected, Danna was selected for Section, Branch and Division Employee of the Year by her peers. Danna was also nominated and selected to attend Elizabeth Dole’s Secretary of Transportation’s Seminar for Prospective Women Managers, and was one of only ten women from the Aeronautical Center to participate in this prestigious program in 1988. During this time, Danna and Jerald established their own company, J&D Electronics, and began manufacturing circuit boards for a local medical company as a hobby outside of the FAA. Over the course of six years, they became the leading manufacturing source and expanded to include 15 employees. When their second child was born, Danna and Jerald decided to focus on spending family time together and closed J&D Electronics.
In 1992, she was selected and became the first female supervisor in the Depot Repair shops and managed the Automated Test Equipment Section, AML-443. A year later, the employees in AML-443 nominated her for the People’s Choice Award, presented by Dr. Mac McClure.
Further shaping her career, Danna eventually became Nav/Landing/Weather Branch Manager in AML-650. Years later, Norman Bowles, then Director of the Logistics Center, selected Danna, along with Ray Adkins and Bruce Myers to become ‘Transitional Supervisors’ who would help to lead the prototype “Radar Product Division.” The outstanding trio and their employees were able to significantly improve processes and reduce as much as 30-days from some procedures, earning them the recognition of winning the Department of Transportation’s ONE DOT Award.
As a result of the success of that prototype, the entire Logistics Center was reorganized into Product Divisions, placing engineers, technicians, inventory managers, provisioners, equipment specialists and supply technicians into one organization for each product line. Danna was recognized nationally for this new and successful business model, and was featured in a Government Executive magazine article, Change Is In The Air, along with Norman Bowles.
In 1999, Mrs. Wolf became the Assistant Division Manager for the Communications Product Division, AML-6000, and worked with employees to win the Federal Executive Board (FEB) Award for Cost-Saving Innovation, and won Al Gore’s Hammer Award for Reinventing Government. In 2000, she became the Assistant Division Manager of the Product Services Division, AML-4000, working with employees to implement Business Process Re-engineering procedures, helping to identify bottlenecks, improve processes, reduce cost, and increase efficiencies.
In 2002, Danna became the Assistant Division Manager of the Nav/Landing/Weather Product Division, (AML-7000) implementing procedures to obtain full cost recovery under the Service Order process.
The following year, she was selected as the Red River Systems Management Office (RRR SMO) Manager for Program Support at Wiley Post Airport, and supported recruitment, incentive awards, labor relations, security, personal property management, facility maintenance, training, certification and logistics for Oklahoma, Arkansas, and parts of Louisiana and Texas. She and her peers were recognized as SMO of the Year in the Southwest Region for three years. In 2008, Danna became a Program Support Center (PSC) Manager in the newly formed Program Operations Group (POG) and Lead Logistics Specialist as part of the Central Service Area (CSA), covering 17 states.
In 2012, she became the Executive Technical Representative (ETR) for the CSA Director, and worked in the regional office in Ft Worth, TX. In 2013, she reassigned from Technical Operations to the FAA Academy as an Instructor. Within a few months, Danna became the Manager of the Technical Training Division Staff, (AMA-405) as well as the Program Manager for the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) technical training initiative. “I felt like I had returned ‘home’ to the Aeronautical Center and was excited to have an opportunity to work in the Academy,” she said.
Over the span of her career, one of Danna’s most memorable accomplishments was becoming the first female supervisor in the Depot Repair shops. Her father, Paul Reeves, who retired from the FAA with over 39 years of service, had always encouraged her to pursue electronics. In spite of facing biases and bullying in high school Electronics, her dad encouraged her to ‘stay the course,’ work hard, continue to learn, and be successful. She adds, “I’m proud of my heritage, and want to ‘pay-it-forward’ to help others through encouragement, opportunities, coaching and recognition for their contributions. As I was able to hire employees and provide them with opportunities, I could help coach, mentor and teach them - just as my mentors had done for me. Being able to see others succeed, while the agency benefited from their contributions, and helping to celebrate their successes has been the ultimate highlight of my career.”
Danna has gone through a lot in her career, and she knows that she’s not alone in her trials. Traits that she admires in other people are, perseverance in the face of adversity; integrity; selflessness – sharing with others to help others succeed; collaboration; and ‘paying it forward.’ The latter is something her father encouraged, and the best advice he gave her was, “If something is worth doing, do it well.” She grew up listening to his stories, and is particularly fond of his account of the time he saw pieces of the Spruce Goose arrive in Long Beach before it was assembled. He was 9 years old at the time. A few days later, he actually witnessed Howard Hughes taxiing the Spruce Goose just before his famous flight in the Long Beach-Los Angeles Harbor in 1947. In 2006, Danna was able to travel with her father, sister and niece to McMinnville, Oregon and walk through the cockpit of the actual Spruce Goose while her dad described what he observed years ago.
Danna reflects on her career further, “When I started working for the FAA at the age of 18, I was very shy and didn’t speak much. A few coworkers who were supportive of a female in the typically male-dominated workplace, helped teach me how to troubleshoot National Air Space (NAS) equipment. From them, I slowly built self-confidence and was excited to learn and accomplish more. When my coworkers in the shop accepted me enough to fill in for someone playing dominoes on break, I knew I had really been accepted as ‘one of the guys,’ which brought me utter joy. I owe a great deal to the men who worked in the Nav/Landing/Weather repair shop in 1980s, and many other men and women in the following years who helped me learn, develop skills, and increase my knowledge throughout my career.”
When she leaves the FAA, Danna plans to build a house on their family acreage. There, she will enjoy the outdoors, riding four wheelers, and hopes to one day have grandchildren, whom she can teach how to garden, fish, sew, and get involved in computer programming or electronics. She also hopes to become part of the “Quilts of Valor” and “Project Linus” programs. Danna loves to make quilts and attends quilt retreats at special locations with friends in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri.
In parting, Danna states, “I will forever be grateful to my loving and supporting parents and husband who have encouraged me to ‘stay the course’ when the challenges seemed too much to bear. I care deeply for the employees of AMA-405 and as they travel through some stressful proposed restructuring, I want to encourage them to remain positive in the face of adversity. When change seems very discouraging, please remember to ‘try it’ as you may find great new opportunities just around the corner. As one door closes, another door opens offering new challenges as well as new adventures. Always encourage each other to be the best you can be. By building on the skills and knowledge each person has to offer, you can achieve great things together.”
