Dr. Tammera Holmes – Aviator and Pathway Creator

An extraordinary legacy and a mission that continues

Sarina Williams

February 1, 2025

“She liked doing the hard stuff. The challenge was what drove her. If you told her she couldn’t do it because it was difficult or that it was rarely, if ever, done; that was like putting a battery in her back to figure out how she was going to crack the code.” As Jeremy Holmes, described his wife, her life, her career, and her dreams, it was evident that Dr. Tammera Holmes was always a determined individual.

Tammera was one of seven children born to Jimmy and Tanya Butler in Maywood, Illinois. They instilled in Tammera and her siblings, grit, drive, and determination to help navigate an environment that was not always kind.¹

When asked how they met, Jeremy shared that they would always say they never met because they always knew each other. They couldn’t have met any earlier having both grown up in their church, Miracle Revival Center in Maywood.

Teen Turned Aviator

Tammera recounted the story of how she was introduced to aviation in an episode of “Do the Damn Thing” with Laura Foy. Growing up, she saw her community decay from a middle-class neighborhood into what she called, “the hood.” She related to “doing the damn thing” because as she put it, “That’s what I literally had to do every day.”

I had to do the damn thing to get up, get dressed, and get out of the house. I had to do the damn thing at school as well. I got my first job at 12 or 13. I was giving my paycheck to my mom. Balancing school and life was really hard. I had to choose whether or not school was going to be the pathway for me. Or I could have been an extraordinary “street salesman,” if you know what I mean. It came to the point where—true story—I got into a huge fight, and it turned into a brawl. The police came and everybody ran. And I’m like, ‘I’m not running. This person tried to attack me after school.’ Well, because I didn’t run, I was put in the back of the police car. I heard a voice say to me, ‘It doesn’t matter how smart you are now, does it?’ I was a straight-A student in the backseat of a police car and couldn’t keep myself out of trouble.

Soon after, my mom—she was one of those parents that wouldn’t let me sleep in on Saturdays—she would tell me, ‘You need to get up and do something with your life.’ She was always surprising us with, ‘Get up, get dressed, and get in the car.’ This was one of those Saturdays. ²

That Saturday, when Tammera was 16-years old, her mother Tanya, took her to Meigs Field Airport in Chicago to check out an event hosted by their local chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. Pilots were giving children in the community a chance to fly. Tammera took her first flight with pilot Ken Rapier, and it was a life-changing experience. In a 2018 interview with NBC, Tammera describes the experience with a smile, “All of these black guys, giving free rides to kids, and I’m like, ‘No way.’ This cannot be real; this cannot be Chicago.”³ It was that day when she made the decision to pursue a career in aviation.

After graduating high school, Tammera enrolled at Southern Illinois University to study aviation flight and aviation management. Immediately, she took to the skies with ease. After only four weeks of flight training, she was one of the first in her class of over 200 to fly solo in the aircraft⁴ After going further into school, as she planned her life, Tammera chose to focus on aviation management. She knew she wanted a family and more freedom with time than would be allotted as an airline pilot. She fell in love with airports, and she fell in love with the business side of aviation. Tammera completed her bachelor’s degree in aviation management and Spanish.⁵

Dr. Tammera Holmes (back) rode with new pilot, Michael Hogue (right) and Flight Instructor Ken Rapier (left), during a flight coordinated as part of the AeroStars program. When Tammera was 16-years old, Rapier piloted her first flight during an event hosted by the Chicago chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen. // NBC Nightly News, 2018

Her Career Takes-Off

While attending Southern Illinois University, Tammera interned with the Chicago Department of Aviation (CDA) at O’Hare and Midway International airports where she received hands-on experience with airport operations and safety. Then she interned with United Airlines where she furthered her experience with aviation safety, operations and visited Boeing’s wide-body aircraft manufacturing plant.

After college, Tammera was hired with Landrum & Brown, a leader in aviation consulting and airport planning. She started as an aviation consultant where she gave numerous presentations and wrote technical reports about deicing, energy supply, airport use of natural resources, solid waste and hazardous material use and disposal, alternative fuels, retrofit technology and Green Initiative sustainable design.⁶ After five years, she was promoted to business manager and project administrator for Landrum & Brown’s Chicago office. She managed multi-million-dollar projects, coordinated marketing, reviewed contracts and proposals, and oversaw government compliance. Tammera’s career had taken off. So, what was next?

With every personal accomplishment, Tammera acknowledged those who helped pave her path and remained mindful of how she could contribute to paving paths for others. She didn’t want success just for herself; she wanted to inspire others. She wanted to help underserved communities find pathways to success. It was a dream that never went away.

In the “Do the Damn Thing” interview, Tammera described this point in her career. “I hit a glass ceiling at the age of 28. I already had the second-largest office— a corner office with a view. The only person with an office bigger than mine was the vice president who headed up the branch. There had never been a woman or a person of color in the C-suite in 50 years at that firm.”

So, I had to make a choice. Am I going to stay at this company or go look for another job? I was doing all of the minority and woman-owned business reporting for the firm, and I realized that we had goals that we needed to meet on $10 million contracts that weren’t being met. And so, I went to my boss and the president of the company, and I said, ‘You’re looking for minority businesses, and you’re looking for women-owned businesses to be able to meet the goals of this government contract. I’m a woman and a minority. If I start a business, would you support me?’

Their answer was yes. And my very first contract at 28-years old was for $97,000.⁷

Though she had a full plate already, with the encouragement of her husband Jeremy, Tammera Holmes went for it once she was able to find a window of time after homeschooling their first daughter for the first year of her education. In 2008, she launched AeroStar Corporation which included aviation consulting as well as mentorship and leadership programs. She helped companies develop meaningful relationships with academic entities within their communities which led to an unprecedented pace for growth of highly qualified young people and monitories within corporate America.⁸

Tammera Holmes shared, “I was one of the first women of color in the world to own and operate an aviation company.”

“Giving Wings to Dreams”

Following the successful launch of AeroStar Corporation, Tammera founded AeroStar Avion Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the capacity for a sustainable aviation-talent pipeline. This is achieved through strategic partnerships, sponsors, donors, and grants.⁹

“Giving wings to dreams” became the tagline for AeroStar Avion Institute, which was a phrase that Tammera used often. She dedicated her life to opening doors for women, at-risk youth, and people of color—people she knew well but rarely saw in the aviation classrooms and companies around her.

In addition to running a company and a non-profit organization, Tammera spent countless hours speaking at public events to raise awareness to the need for resources and conduits to inspire underserved youth and help launch their careers. One major event that propelled Tammera’s mission was a Ted Talk she delivered. Naming her talk “I Get Kids High,” the provocative title grabbed attention and served as a tagline for her mission. Tammera went into detail about the importance of stimulating the minds of all children. She broke down brain chemistry and shared the awe that children and teens exhibit after experiencing flight. She showed that when children experience a healthy “high” and see pathways forward, they have a much better chance of avoiding the unhealthy temptations of drugs and violence. Tammera also explained how this type of pipeline program addresses concerns over pilot shortages.

Tammera Holmes delivering her 2017 “I Get Kids High” Ted Talk // Tammeralholmes.com

Since then, Tammera Holmes spread her message through a variety of channels including, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, The Steve Harvey Show, on ABC, FOX, PBS, and in Forbes. She received numerous accolades including the 2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award presented to her by President Joe Biden. She was also bestowed an honorary doctorate degree in Christian Humanities for her work in marketplace ministry (aviation business and education both in the U.S. and abroad) by The School of the Great Commission.¹⁰

The Mission Continues

On December 1, 2024 at age 46, Tammera Holmes passed away after a hard fought battle with ovarian cancer. She leaves an extraordinary legacy; she’s touched the lives of so many and helped children and teens become successful aviators. In her segment on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt in 2018, footage of children after their first flights shows the looks on their faces that convey an awakening. Beyond the coolest roller coaster they’ve ever seen, they process that this is a real pathway toward a fulfilling career. In the video, 20-year-old Michael Hogue shares that he already has his pilot’s license addi ng, “I tell Mrs. Holmes all the time that she changed my life.”¹¹

Tammera’s husband, Jeremy Holmes, a seasoned Founder and CEO of his own companies has stepped in as president of AeroStar Consulting Corporation to continue his wife’s mission; creating pipelines for underserved students, women, people of color, and at-risk youth. To discuss how you can support this mission contact Jeremy at [email protected]. To make donations to AeroStar Avion Institute, visit www.AvionInstitute.com