- About
Our Mission
The mission of the International Women’s Air & Space Museum is to collect, preserve, and showcase the history and culture of women in all areas of aviation and aerospace; educate people of the world about their contributions; and inspire future generations by bringing the history to life.
Our History
- IWASM's Origins
In the late 1960s, a group of female pilots who belonged to the Ninety-Nines – the world’s first organization of female pilots – realized that the history they had created was in danger of being forgotten. These women, who were among the first to be licensed as pilots, had participated in the high-risk air races of the 1930s, flew with the WASP in World War II, and started the first female-run flight schools in the country, recognized the need to preserve their own stories. To that end, the Ninety-Nines formed a Museum Trust on July 16, 1970 after that year’s Ninety-Nines Convention in New Hampshire.
The Trust’s original intention was to create the International Women’s Air & Space Museum – the official name of which is evidenced in reports to the Ninety-Nines beginning in 1971. The museum’s goal was to be the repository of the stories of groundbreaking female pilots. Yet as they investigated new possibilities, they came to the decision to go beyond pilots and to instead create a museum for all women in all areas of aviation and space.
At the same time, the Ninety-Nines planned to build a new headquarters facility for the organization. Discussion centered around whether the museum and headquarters should be combined into one facility, with the Ninety-Nines overseeing museum operations. Ultimately, the group decided to separate the two, with headquarters planned for Oklahoma City, OK and the museum to be built elsewhere.
Members of the Museum Committee meet in a hotel room during the 1976 Ninety-Nines Convention in Philadelphia, PA.
- Dayton, OH, 1973-1986
In 1973, the Museum Trust asked Ninety-Nines chapters across the country to present a proposal for why their city should be the home of the future museum. That year, Doris Scott from Dayton, OH attended her first Ninety-Nines Convention in Milwaukee, WI. Scott believed that Dayton’s place in history as the home of the Wright Brothers, the location of the National Museum of the United States Air Force, and as the “Birthplace of Aviation” made it a perfect choice for the new women’s aviation museum. Museum Trust Chairman Bernice “B” Steadman, the Ninety-Nines, and the City of Dayton agreed, and Dayton was earmarked as the museum’s future home.
The Museum Trust continued to meet regularly over the next three years. And on March 6, 1976, the International Women’s Air & Space Museum was incorporated in the State of Ohio and by August 10, had completed its nonprofit status as a 501(c)3 museum. Doris Scott was elected as the first president of the new Board of Trustees. She quit her job as Corporate Vice President of Scott Equipment Company – which she founded with her husband Roger in 1948 – to focus full-time on the museum. Scott also obtained use of offices at Scott Equipment’s location on Leo Street in Dayton to house the museum’s collection, exhibits, and administrative offices.
Scott spearheaded the board’s efforts to raise money for a multi-million-dollar museum complex near Dayton International Airport. The proposed design – called the Aero-Astro Cultural Center – included auditoriums, lecture halls, classrooms, two levels of exhibit space, a parking garage, a theater-in-the-round, and a research center. Unfortunately, the national economic recession in the early 1980s brought the Aero-Astro Cultural Center to a grinding halt. By November 1985, Scott stepped back from the board and Connecticut-born pilot Nancy Hopkins Tier – a charter member of the Ninety-Nines – took over the presidency.
IWASM’s first location in the Asahel Wright Home in Centerville, OH. Circa 1986.
- Centerville, OH, 1986-1998
Tier and the museum board shifted focus away from building their own complex and instead sought out an existing building to rent. They found a new home in the Asahel Wright House just outside of Dayton in Centerville, OH. Asahel Wright lived in the home from 1816-1826 and had some notable family members that made the home especially fitting for an aerospace museum – his great-nephews Orville and Wilbur were the first to successfully manage powered flight, and his great-niece Katharine chronicled it all through her letters and record-keeping.
Nancy Tier and Centerville Mayor Shirley Heintz signed the Memorandum of Understanding on February 12, 1986, and a little less than a month later, the museum held its grand opening on March 6. IWASM called Centerville home for more than a decade, hosting educational programming, exhibit tours, and even coordinating with Centerville-Belbrook Times journalist Sarah Byrn Rickman to televise panels and events on local cable channels. Yet by the mid-1990s, IWASM’s collections and audience had outgrown its space. With long-time trustee and northeast Ohioan Connie Luhta taking over the presidency, the museum looked north for a new location.
Left to right: Burke Lakefront Airport Commissioner Michael Barth, IWASM Director Joan Hrubec, IWASM President Connie Luhta, Cheryl Ginsberg (granddaughter of Connie Luhta’s 1966 Powder Puff Derby co-pilot Janet Page) Cuyahoga County Commissioner Jane Campbell, IWASM Trustee Fay Gillis Wells, and Cleveland City Councilman Joseph Cimperman cut the ribbon to officially open the International Women’s Air & Space Museum.
- Cleveland, OH, 1998 - today
In May 1998, IWASM signed a lease with the City of Cleveland to become tenants of Burke Lakefront Airport. The airport, which serves as the official reliever airport for Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport, has been home to many tenants over the years, including the Cleveland National Air Show, city employee offices, flight schools, and more. After a year of exhibit design, installation, and behind-the-scenes work, IWASM held its ribbon-cutting weekend from August 27-29, 1999.
Alexandra Lausin
Executive Director
Alexandra joined the IWASM team as the museum’s Collections Manager in December 2024, before advancing to Executive Director in November 2025. Prior to IWASM, Alexandra taught as an adjunct faculty member at Lake Erie College, and has assisted in the collections departments at James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, OH and Fort Ligonier in Ligonier, PA. Outside of collections, she has researched and written material focusing on the Women’s Suffrage Movement, which was published by the Trumbull County Historical Society in celebration of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial in 2020. Alexandra has also used her research to recreate historical clothing and textiles for the Lake County Historical Society as well as her own use when she travels to participate in various living history events and lectures.
Through IWASM’s exhibits and events, Alexandra strives to share the inspiring journeys of numerous women in aviation and aerospace in a way that impacts visitors and enlivens the public’s view of history.
Alexandra holds a BA in History from Lake Erie College and an ALM in Museum Studies from Harvard Extension School. Her favorite topic of research is women’s fashion in the 18th century. When she’s not at IWASM, she enjoys teaching advanced ballet and modern dance to her students in Chardon, OH.
Amy Strawbridge
Director of Education
Amy joined the IWASM staff in May of 2026. Amy has always had a passion for learning new things and passing that knowledge to others. Since pursuing her education at Lakeland Community College and Case Western Reserve University, she has spent 40 years in the field of dentistry. In addition to dentistry, teaching has always been part of her journey. Amy spent seven years teaching college-level courses, twelve years homeschooling, and countless years teaching and leading children’s programs at local churches and scouting groups.
Amy is excited to develop more “hands-on” exhibits at IWASM, and tell the stories of the great women in aviation and aerospace.
In her spare time, she loves going to the ballet and the theater, traveling, and creating art from old books.
Sophia MacDonald
Collections Manager
Sophia first worked with IWASM as an intern in the Summer 2025 before officially joining the team as the Collections Manager in March 2026. During her internship, she assisted with collections research and archival organization; supporting the museum’s mission to preserve and share the stories of women in aviation and aerospace.
Sophia earned her BA in Art History with a minor in History from Cleveland State University. Her academic research focused on nineteenth and twentieth-century European art. Through her academic studies and museum experience, she developed a strong interest in museum collections, preservation, and exhibition development. Outside of the museum, Sophia enjoys writing, attending art shows, and creating ceramic art.
Through her work at IWASM, Sophia is excited to contribute to the care, research, and interpretation of the museum’s collection while continuing to grow professionally in the museum field as she prepares to pursue a graduate degree in Museum Studies.
- Board of Trustees
The International Women’s Air & Space Museum is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of all volunteers in accordance with State of Ohio laws and regulations. Each Trustee is elected to a two-year term, and are tasked with compliance and fiduciary oversight of the organization. Advisors serve a minimum two year term to get a sense for the organization, assist in program development and capacity building, and more. After their two years of service, they become eligible to serve as a Trustee.
For more information on getting involved with IWASM’s Board of Trustees, email President Marcy Frumker at mfrumker@iwasm.org.
Trustees
Marcy Frumker, President
Teresa Andreani, Vice President
Melissa Stephenson, Secretary
Toni Mullee
Sarah Rickman
Debra Perelman
Amy Rohmiller
Sarah May
Advisors
Jillian Strunk, Treasurer
Cynthia Calhoun
Gigi Coleman
Kristy Nolan
Jennifer Olsen
Honorary Life Trustees
(non-voting)
David Gitelman
Marcia Gitelman
Caroline Luhta
Gretchen Reed
Robert Taylor
Elizabeth Toedt
- IRS Form 990 / Audit
Tax-exempt non-profit organizations are required to annually submit Form 990 to the IRS. The document contains information about the organization’s finances, governance, and program and service offerings. The International Women’s Air & Space Museum is dedicated to providing transparency in its operations and finances. From 2017-2021, the forms were prepared by Rea & Associates of Cleveland and beginning in 2022 the museum’s statements are reviewed and prepared by Crum & Company CPAs who specialize in nonprofit accounting. We are happy to share this public document on our website and are proud to be a certified Platinum organization on Guidestar (see link below).