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Andrea Van Buren is a seasoned leader, aviation executive, and leadership educator with over twenty-five years of experience guiding people, teams, and organizations through complexity, risk, and rapid change. As Managing Partner of Aspire Leadership Development, Andrea combines operational expertise, crisis leadership, and human-centered
Andrea Van Buren is a seasoned leader, aviation executive, and leadership educator with over twenty-five years of experience guiding people, teams, and organizations through complexity, risk, and rapid change. As Managing Partner of Aspire Leadership Development, Andrea combines operational expertise, crisis leadership, and human-centered insight to cultivate grounded, coherent, and capable leaders.
Currently serving as Senior Vice President at Lance Toland Associates, she manages aviation insurance portfolios for more than 400 clients and millions in annual premiums. Her extensive work encompasses airports, charter companies, fleets, fixed-base operators, manufacturers, and high-risk aviation environments. Andrea is renowned for her ability to bring clarity, steadiness, and relational intelligence to situations where safety, risk, and human judgment intersect. She has trained and mentored employees, streamlined organizational processes, and led innovation efforts that enhance accountability and performance across the company.
Beyond her corporate leadership, Andrea served as the Southeast Region Commander for Civil Air Patrol, overseeing more than 9,100 volunteers, 78 aircraft, three gliders, 143 vehicles, and mission operations across seven states and two territories. In this role, she selected, mentored, and developed state-level commanders; led large-scale disaster response operations; collaborated with federal and state agencies; and advised national leadership on policy and management strategy. Her leadership in CAP reflects her capability to cultivate shared orientation, collective coherence, and a supportive culture across vast, distributed teams working under pressure.
Throughout her career, Andrea has observed how heroic leadership cultures can exhaust leaders, weaken teams, and create brittle systems. She has led in environments where clarity, steadiness, and relational trust are non-negotiable—and where the conditions leaders establish directly shape safety, performance, and human capacity. This experience uniquely equips her to help leaders move beyond heroic approaches and embrace the grounded, conditions-based methods taught by Aspire Leadership Development.
Andrea holds a Master of Leadership and a Master of Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, along with numerous certifications in leadership, management, aviation safety systems, and corporate aviation. She is also a licensed pilot and has dedicated her entire career to aviation ecosystems where human judgment, pace, and coherence dictate outcomes.
At Aspire, Andrea brings her deep operational experience, her calm and grounded presence, and her commitment to developing leaders who can think clearly, work coherently, and lead together.
Michael Nunemaker is a leadership educator, strategist, and coach with over thirty years of experience in developing leaders within some of the most complex, high-stakes systems in the country. Before founding Aspire Leadership Development, Michael served as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Programs & Missions Officer for Civil Air Patrol
Michael Nunemaker is a leadership educator, strategist, and coach with over thirty years of experience in developing leaders within some of the most complex, high-stakes systems in the country. Before founding Aspire Leadership Development, Michael served as Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Programs & Missions Officer for Civil Air Patrol National Headquarters, where he guided national operations, shaped leadership culture, and supported leaders making mission-critical decisions.
Earlier in his career, Michael was deeply involved in the Federal Aviation Administration’s leadership development ecosystem, where he coached managers and executives, designed practice-based development programs, and helped articulate the essential leadership behaviors needed for the future of aviation. His work consistently focused on one goal: helping leaders remain clear, steady, and human in environments designed to overwhelm human capacity.
Across these roles, Michael recognized the limitations of traditional heroic leadership — the pressure-driven model that often leads to burnout and unrealistic expectations. He observed how urgency-driven cultures can hinder team performance, erode clarity, and create dependency among team members. Conversely, he noted that leaders flourish when they foster conditions that promote grounded presence, coherent thinking, and shared agency.
With a unique blend of strategic leadership experience, systems thinking, and profound human insight, Michael has coached leaders overseeing national missions, safety oversight, regulatory compliance, and organizational transformation. He is well aware of the pressures leaders face because he has experienced them himself, enabling him to understand how to rebuild the human capacity necessary for effective leadership in a fast-paced world.
Through Aspire Leadership Development, Michael empowers leaders to move beyond heroic management strategies, cultivate shared agency, and create environments where individuals can truly thrive.