Pay It Forward

Dr. John Wensveen is Chief Innovation Officer at Nova Southeastern University and Executive Director of the Alan B. Levan | NSU Broward Center of Innovation responsible for overseeing a multimillion-dollar public-private partnership to support the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem by attracting and retaining industry-leading entrepreneurs, technology, sources of investment capital, and supporting resources to create a premier innovation center and technology hub.

Prior to this role, John served as the Vice Provost of Academic Schools at Miami Dade College providing direct leadership and direction for the College's professional education programs. He was responsible for creating corporate relationships with local, regional, national, and international boards and organizations and with leaders of foreign governments, businesses, and non-governmental organizations.

John has extensive academic leadership experience including Professor and Head of the School of Aviation & Transportation Technology at Purdue University, Dean of the School of Aviation at Dowling College, and Professor of Airline Management at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

John has held a variety of industry leadership positions including Partner/EVP at Mango Aviation Partners, Global Head of Airline Advisory Services at Radixx International, President of Airline Visions, Executive Consultant at InterVISTAS, Senior Director at Marriott Vacation Club International, Vice President of International Affairs at MAXjet Airways, Director of Strategy and Communications at Corporate Visions, and Manager of Pacific Rim Flight Operations & Passenger Services at Canada 3000 Airlines.

John is an External Instructor at the International Air Transport Association (IATA), a Certified Instructor at the Turkish Aviation Academy (Turkish Airlines), a frequent contributor to the media, provides expert witness testimony, and is author of two leading industry books including a "best-seller" (Air Transportation: A Management Perspective and Wheels Up: Airline Business Plan Development).

John earned Masters and Ph.D. degrees in International Air Transport and Business from Cardiff University (United Kingdom) and a B.A. in Geography and Transportation Land Use Planning from the University of Victoria (Canada). Currently, he is working toward the U.S. Coast Guard, Masters Upgrade (100 Gross ton license) certification.

In his free time, John is an avid boater, scuba diver, recreational pilot, and enjoys hitting the open road in the RV.