Shannon Hemphill

Shannon Hemphill grew up in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. After graduating high school, she developed an interest in finance and investments. Over the years she has held various positions with companies such as AEGON Transamerica, Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services, and Universal Lending Corporation. She served in a dual capacity as both the Branch Supervisor and Personal Banker for a credit union. She now serves as a compliance analyst, driving compliance initiatives for a $70B+ AUM platform, translating complex regulatory frameworks into actionable policies, filings, and risk management strategies.

Shannon holds a Juris Master from Florida State University's College of Law, graduating with honors, specializing in Legal Risk Management, Contracting, and Compliance. She holds a Bachelor's in Organizational Management with a specialization in Human Resource Management from Eastern Florida State College as well as a Certificate in Project Management that she obtained while earning her initial Assoc. in Business Management. She was inducted into two honor societies, Phi Theta Kappa and Sigma Beta Delta.

In August of 2020, Shannon and her husband, Ramone, launched The 99th Squadron, Inc., a non-profit organization seeking to expose young people, particularly minorities and underserved populations to the vast opportunities in the aviation industry. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the organization, maintaining compliance and establishing 5-year projections of fundraising, community impact, and strategic alliances among partnering firms and schools to establish STEM pipelines for underserved populations. She also flies drones recreationally with an FAA TRUST certification through Embry Riddle. Shannon and her husband have four children. She and the family enjoy playing basketball and cheering on the Army Black Knights at their daughter‘s Alma Mater, the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Ramone Hemphill grew up in Charlotte, N.C. and developed an interest in aviation at an early age. He earned his Bachelor's in Computer Science from North Carolina A&T State University and began his career at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa as a Systems Engineer in Avionics. After completing a free ground school course in 2007, he took some introductory flight lessons while working on integration teams that were developing new flight decks for commercial aviation customers, including Boeing, Bombardier, Airbus and Embraer.

As a career investment, Ramone earned his pilot’s license after joining the Honda Aircraft Company while progressing their premier HondaJet program into production. He continued building flight experience throughout the subsequent career moves, from Part 23 Flight Testing at BendixKing/Honeywell (Albuquerque), to Flight Control Actuation Systems at Moog Aircraft Group (Buffalo) for military drones. He’s been a Scrum Master for flight display applications, a Project Engineer for airborne transponders, a Product Owner in flight deck integration and a manager for over 40 engineers at Northrop Grumman before landing his current role as one of the leading Technical Program Managers at Otto Aerospace. 

Ramone founded a non-profit called “The 99th Squadron”, compiles his flight footage into annual videos entitled “StarScream”, and instructs children on Drone flying as a Part 107 certified operator to help spread the awareness of aviation opportunities especially throughout the African American community. He holds a Master's in Business Administration (4.0 gpa, ΦΚΦ) with a concentration in Project Management from Florida Institute of Technology, where he's currently an Alumni Association Board Member.  Ramone is a life member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. and Tuskegee Airmen Inc., as well as a former Grand Lecturer in Prince Hall Freemasonry