2026 Collegiate Women's Achievement Award Winner Announced.

Congratulations to Julianne Jones, The Ninety-Nines, Inc. 2026 Collegiate Women's Achievement Award Winner.

Julianne Jones made an immediate splash in the Eastern Idaho Ninety-Nines by bringing her energy and enthusiasm to the role of newsletter chair. Julianne says that this role is perfect for her as she enjoys "promoting and celebrating the aviation successes of these amazing female aviators through the pages of the quarterly newsletter." 

Julianne is an instrument rated private pilot currently enrolled in the professional pilot program at Utah State University (USU), double majoring in Aviation Technology and Aviation Management. She is also minoring in both Unmanned Aerial Systems and Air Traffic Control. Julianne is gathering the skills and education to become a wildland firefighting aviator. 

“My passion is to fly for the U.S. Forest Service,” she said. 

Julianne was inspired to pursue this challenging yet rewarding career path by the mentorship of Mary Verry, former USFS Fixed Wing Program Manager for the PNW (Washington, Oregon, and Alaska).
 
In addition to fighting fires, other aviation duties for Julianne will include natural resource management activities such as conducting aerial surveys of wildlife populations and forest health. As part of this survey work, she will look for areas of fire fuel buildup and identify them for controlled burns. Julianne also hopes to work with farmers, ranchers, the timber industry, and recreational interests to strengthen natural disaster response plans and reduce fire vulnerabilities.

Lastly, during visits from university to her hometown of Pendleton, Oregon, Julianne lends her skills to the Pendleton UAS Range as an engineering intern.

"I am especially grateful for the Ninety-Nines and the financial support through the 2026 Ninety-Nines Collegiate Women's Achievement Award," she said. "These funds are going directly to my flight fees and will propel me through the next leg in my journey. Thank you!"