Craig Ohmsieder serves as the National HIMS Chairman where he has three primary roles. His first duty is education. Craig is responsible for ensuring HIMS training is available and administered to all HIMS volunteers and professionals nationwide. The second duty is outreach, where Craig shares the message of recovery to pilot groups and management teams across the country and around the world. The third duty is representation, where he works with pilots and HIMS Chairs from every airline as well

as general aviation pilots to establish a great working relationship with the FAA, airlines, doctors, and treatment centers. This is to ensure the HIMS program is and will be the gold standard when it comes to saving the lives of impaired pilots and returning them to the flight deck for many years to come.

Craig Ohmsieder was born in Dallas, Texas in 1971. Growing up, he was surrounded by aviation and began taking flying lessons at age 16.  In 1988 he moved to Atlanta, Georgia, and then attended Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama from 1989 to 1993 where he majored in Professional Flight Management.

After college, Craig moved back to Georgia to pursue his flying career. From 1994 to 1999 he worked for Quality Aviation at DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Atlanta. Here he worked for the Beechcraft Flight department as a flight/ground instructor and as a Part 135 Charter Captain.

In 1999, Craig was hired by Atlantic Southeast Airlines which later became ExpressJet Airlines where he spent 18 ½ years flying the CRJ200/700/900. In 2018 he was hired by Spirit Airlines and is currently a Captain there, flying the Airbus A319/320/321 based in Atlanta, GA.

Craig has been personally involved with HIMS since 1997. He has served as a Pilot Peer Monitor, Vice-Chairman, and Chairman in his airline’s HIMS program. He is currently the ALPA National HIMS Chairman.  Craig resides in Fayetteville, Georgia with his wife of 28 years and his 3 children.

Billy Petersen serves as the HIMS National Vice-Chairman, where his primary role is to assist Chairman Craig Ohmsieder with HIMS education, outreach, and representation. Billy fills in for Craig when he is unavailable or has other scheduling constraints. In addition to his national role, Billy is the HIMS chairman at JetBlue Airways where he oversees the JetBlue HIMS program and makes sure its associated pilots are properly represented.

Billy was born in Long Island, NY in 1980 and aviation was always an interest of his. However, life took him in a different direction and he ended up going to the State University of New York at Oswego, where he graduated with a degree in Technology Education.

Billy taught technology at the middle school and high school levels before he realized that he wasn’t cut out to be a teacher. Billy went to ATP in Jacksonville for his flight rating before spending a few years flight instructing in Redding, CA, and at Dowling College in New York.

In 2008 Billy got his first part 121 job at American Eagle where he quickly found out that the airline wasn’t enjoying his shenanigans as much as he was. Billy entered into the HIMS program his first year at Eagle and went on to be a peer monitor and eventually Vice-Chair of the American Eagle HIMS program.

In 2015 Billy got hired as an Airbus FO at JetBlue where he is now a Captain on the E-190. Billy has been chairing the JetBlue HIMS program since 2017 and has been Vice-Chair at the National level since 2019.

Billy splits his time evenly between Florida and New York with his fiancée Emma, and his 10-year-old daughter June.

Dr. Quay Snyder serves the FAA/ALPA HIMS Program Manager responsible for the execution of the FAA’s HIMS contract with the Air Line Pilots Association – International.  His responsibilities include planning and executing the educational events including the Basic Education, Advanced topics, and International Outreach seminars.  He is also responsible for the development and analysis of the HIMS database to improve outcomes of the program and serves as a member of the

HIMS Advisory Board in its role to design improvements in the HIMS educational and operational components.

Dr. Quay Snyder serves the FAA/ALPA HIMS Program Manager responsible for the execution of the FAA’s HIMS contract with the Air Line Pilots Association – International.  His responsibilities include planning and executing the educational events including the Basic Education, Advanced topics, and International Outreach seminars.  He is also responsible for the development and analysis of the HIMS database to improve outcomes of the program and serves as a member of the HIMS Advisory Board in its role to design improvements in the HIMS educational and operational components.  He also maintains and content updates for the HIMS website and public education efforts.  The Aviation Medicine Advisory Service staff provides substantial support to all of these efforts and handles the financial and contractual aspects of the HIMS contract.  Dr. Snyder engages in daily liaison with HIMS Aviation Medical Examiners, Independent Medical Sponsors, psychiatrists and neuropsychologists, treatment centers, and drug testing facilities in support of the HIMS program.  He also coordinates input from the national and airline HIMS pilot leadership and FAA physicians involved in the certification of pilots with substance use disorders and administration of the HIMS Program.  His focus is aviation safety and the health of aviation personnel faced with addictive diseases.

Dr. Snyder is President/CEO of Virtual Flight Surgeons, [Aviation Medicine Advisory Service] providing medical certification and aviation safety guidance for pilot and air traffic controller unions as well as business and general aviation pilots.  Dr. Snyder has been the Air Line Pilots Association, International Aeromedical Advisor since 2010, after serving as Associate Aeromedical Advisor since 1994. Since 2015, he has served as the FAA/ALPA HIMS Program Manager and has over 20 years’ experience sponsoring and monitoring substance-addicted pilots.

Dr. Snyder holds board certification in Aerospace Medicine, Addiction Medicine, Family Practice, and Occupational Medicine.  He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy, Duke University School of Medicine, and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center.  He served in the USAF, USAF Reserve, and Colorado Air National Guard for 25 years as a flight surgeon, glider instructor pilot, and in leadership roles.

Dr. Snyder is active in many aviation safety committees and organizations, both nationally and internationally. He is an AsMA Fellow and member of several of AsMA’s Constituent and Affiliate organizations.  He serves on the Board of Directors of the International Academy of Aviation and Space Medicine and the Board of Trustees of the National Aviation Hall of Fame from 2014-2020.  He has chaired the National Business Aviation Associations Safety Committee’s Fitness for Duty Working Group and served on both the medical expert group for the FAA’s Pilot Fitness Aviation Rulemaking Committee and co-chairs AsMA’s Pilot Mental Health Working Group. He is a member of the Flight Safety Foundation’s Business Advisory Council and is on the faculty of the University of Southern California’s Viterbi School of Engineering in the Aviation Safety and Security Program.

Dr. Snyder has been an FAA Certified Flight Instructor (Gold Seal) since 1975 and actively serves as a Designated Pilot Examiner since 1998 and FAA Safety Team representative since 2003. He received the Soaring Society of America’s World Distance Award for 40,000 km (Earth’s circumference) of solo cross- country flight in his ASK-24B glider.  He is also active in triathlons qualifying for the 2016 and 2020 Ironman Hawaii World Championships and in 2020, qualified for the International Triathlon Union’s World Championships representing Team USA in every triathlon distance from sprint to a long course as an age group amateur.