Board of Trustees

Brad Elliott
Chairman

Brad (“B-RAD”) is the Account Executive for AssuredPartners where he helps aviation clients solve their insurance needs. His aviation career started 2001 as a Line Technician at Showalter Flying Service. Brad opened Desert Jet Center (FBO in TRM) from the ground up at the Jacqueline Cochran Regional Airport as the General Manager. In 2018, he opened a $10 million-dollar FBO facility in Bentonville, Arkansas, and was the President & General Manager for Summit Aviation. In 2019 he led Air Methods Corporation as the Fuel Buying & Logistics Manager where he managed fuel purchasing for over 460 aircraft across 300 locations. He earned a Bachelor of Science - Business Administration in Marketing from the University of Central Florida. Brad has his private pilot license and aspires to continue his ratings. He volunteers as a Flying Ambassador to the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation where he promotes flying general aviation throughout the islands. Brad has served on the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Schedulers & Dispatchers Committee and was honored in 2018 as a member of the NBAA 40 Professionals Under 40 Years Old.



David Mittleman
Vice Chairman, Membership Committee Chair

David is a senior sales manager for Avfuel Corporation, and has worked in the fuel and aviation business for more than 20 years. Following his tenure with Garsite/Progress Tank and Westmor Industries in sales and marketing leadership roles, Mittleman joined Avfuel—a global supplier of aviation fuel and services—in 2011 as district manager. In this role, he oversaw a territory expanding across the mid-west and central states into Canada. Demonstrating an aptitude for leadership and an enthusiasm for customer care, Mittleman was promoted to regional manager in 2018, where he was responsible for overseeing relationships with airports, fixed-base operators and corporate flight departments in the western U.S. Having revitalized his mature territories to identify new business opportunities while nurturing long-standing partnerships, Mittleman strengthened the Avfuel Network for flight departments and airports/FBOs, and was promoted to senior sales manager for the western U.S. in 2021. Mittleman earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Boston University’s School of Management in 1989, after which he began a successful career in marketing and sales for various companies and industries, working his way into both managerial and executive roles.


      Chris Sundberg
      Secretary/Treasurer

Chris has nearly 20 years of experience in the aviation industry and is currently an attorney at Husch Blackwell LLP. He drafts, negotiates and manages complex commercial contracts for ongoing business operations. With a deep background in aviation, Chris often represents commercial airline and business aviation clients. He provides advice on the purchase, sale and lease of aircraft and he drafts agreements for the maintenance of aircraft and aircraft engines.  Chris is a graduate of Duke University and holds a law degree from the American University Washington College of Law.

Mike Caflisch
Executive Director

Mike is the founder and principal of Strategy1 Advisors, a boutique, global management consulting firm specializing in full life-cycle business strategy development and advisory services linking strategy to operational execution.  During his 40+ years in the aviation industry, Mike has worked in a multitude of disciplines including aircraft performance engineering, avionics systems engineering and integration, software development, product management, marketing, sales, business/corporate development, strategy, and program management.
From 2014 to 2020, Mike served as chief executive officer of Aircraft Performance Group, one of the world’s leading providers of flight operations performance engineering services for corporate aircraft pilots and operators and airline flight operations departments.  Having been selected a 2021 Titan 100, a nomination recognizing Colorado’s Top 100 CEO’s and C-level executives, Caflisch served most recently as an Executive Board Member of the private equity AFV Partners Aviation Vertical with a focus on corporate development and strategic initiatives.  Previously, Mike served as director of Airspace Programs for The Boeing Company’s Commercial Aviation Services (CAS) unit and was responsible for programs supporting flight optimization, airspace and navigation procedure design, and air traffic management.  Prior to that, he led strategy and business development for Boeing’s Flight Services business.  Mike holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering and mechanics from the University of Minnesota and a master of business administration from the University of St. Thomas.


Chris Swathwood
Past Chairman, Legislative Affairs Committee Chair

Chris grew up flying in Colorado with his father at  Jefferson County Airport which inspired him to start his own flight training in the early 2000’s while obtaining a degree in aviation technology from Metropolitan State University of Denver. Starting his career with Aircell (GOGO), Chris transitioned to an aircraft sales roll with both an aircraft brokerage and manufacture before starting Altivation Aircraft, an aviation consulting and aircraft brokerage firm in 2018. Chris’s passion to promote and further aviation started in College as he served as Vice-President for Alpha Eta Rho, a professional aviation fraternity where he worked to help highlight the benefits of aviation within the state. Upon joining CABA in 2011, Chris has continued to focus on advancing aviation throughout the state as he spearheaded CABA’s important legislative actions, and continues to be a voice for aviation both on the state and national stage.   


Mike Straka
Past Chairman, Airlift Chair

Mike has had a passion for aviation and aircraft from a young age, photographing air shows at his hometown airport Reading Regional Carl A. Spaatz Field (RDG), in Reading, PA. A graduate of Penn State and the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, he held several academic research appointments in biochemistry. In 2005 Mike decided to follow his lifelong passion and became a private pilot. He went on to earn Advanced Ground Instructor and Instrument Ground Instructor certificates, and continues working on advanced ratings. Mike has taught ground school courses at flight schools and crosswind landing techniques in the Redbird Xwind trainer. In his day job he provides technical support, writing, and photography for Aviation Property Network, and his photography has appeared in several aviation publications. A CABA board member since 2011 and chairman in 2014-16, he served as Executive Director from 2019 to 2022. Mike is a strong supporter and advocate for the General and Business aviation industry. 


Matt Fishback

Board Member, Education/Scholarship Committee Chair

With over 2 decades of experience, Matt began his flying in 1996 at Jefferson County Airport. Graduated from Metro State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Aviation Technology with a Corporate Emphasis. Matt's professional career began at Centennial Airport with International Jet Aviation for 9 years as a Lead Captain for Airlife Denver and Line Captain for charter. Recently he was a Lead Captain for Rural Partners in Medicine in Steamboat Springs for Mayo Aviation as well as a Captain at Precision Aircraft Management at Centennial. He currently is excited to be a Global 7500 Captain for a local private company based at Centennial. He has a true passion for aviation and sharing it with others, when not flying in the business aviation sector you can find him on the line teaching the future generation of aviators. He is enthusiastic about the future of General/Business Aviation in Colorado and looks forward to serving this community on the board.


Marshall Cox
Board Member

Marshall is a Colorado native, growing up with a passion for all things outdoors, including aviation. His interest in aviation was sparked at a young age by his Uncle, who flew F18s and eventually piloted and commanded 4 space shuttle missions for NASA. Upon witnessing the shuttle launches, he knew from then-on he’d end up in aerospace. Marshall obtained a BS in Aviation Technology, with a focus on Operations, from Metro State. His educational background set a strong foundation to hold various Sales and Business Development positions at Jeppesen, Gogo Business Aviation and now Garmin. Throughout his career, Marshall has had the opportunity to work with owners, corporate flight departments, OEMs, 91/135/121 operators, government entities and University aerospace programs. His passion and willingness to learn and teach others, inspire him to excite future generations to experience everything the industry has to offer.


Eric Wilkins
Board Member

Eric knew he wanted to be a pilot since he could talk. Thanks to his parents' shared career in Air Traffic Control, he grew up at the Centennial Airport and has been in love with flying since. Eric has worked in nearly every imaginable field in aviation, spending time as a helicopter mechanic in the Army Reserves, line service technician with TAC Air, charter sales with ONEflight, approach coding at Jeppesen, and a flying career that includes time in the Blackhawk, Embraer 145, C-12 (King Air 200), and an overseas deployment flying the Army's UC-35. Eric now owns Antaero Aviation, a Denver-based consulting company which specializes in corporate aviation management and pilot services, as well as continuing to serve as an Aviation Safety Officer and Pilot in Command for the Army Reserve in the C-12V and UC-35A. 


Will Mace
Board Member

Will is originally from Santa Barbara, California and now calls Castle Rock, Colorado home. He has over 20 years of experience in the Real Estate Development, Construction and Asset Management industries. Will maintains a Colorado Real Estate Broker’s license and participates in on-airport and off-airport real estate development and investments across the nation. His professional credentials include multiple state General Contractor and Real Estate licenses, including industry specific professional certifications, as well as a past Executive Board Member of the Santa Barbara County Contractors Association (SBCA). In addition to CABA, Will is a current Board Member of the Douglas County Community Foundation (DCCF), and Proton Cancer Therapy Group, a specialized form of cancer treatment. Over his career Will has participated in over $500M in real estate transactions across multiple commercial asset classes. Applying his extensive background in construction development, due diligence, market research and valuation Will is able to guide clients and investors throughout all phases of a project. Will’s process begins with understanding the investment objective, the needs of all stakeholders, how to deliver peak performance to achieve the highest quality end result, while creating additional strategic opportunities. Previously Mr. Mace served as Director of Development at L&M Capital managing a multi-million dollar “Class A” real estate portfolio. In this role he was responsible for asset performance, overseeing capital planning, budgeting, and the implementation of portfolio objectives. As an avid cyclist and downhill skier, Will’s free time is spent with his family and friends taking advantage of the incredible Colorado outdoors.


      Alexandra Guras
     Board Member, Golf Chair

       Bio coming.