Greetings AMAC Family: 

At Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, it is our distinct honor and pleasure to host the 41^st Annual AMAC Airport Business Conference, June 10–14, 2026. We welcome you to National Harbor, Maryland, at the doorstep of our nation’s capital.

Maryland offers something for everyone—a wonderful mix of culture, history and scenic beauty. Here you will find lively cities and historic towns, esteemed colleges and universities, a burgeoning tech/biotech industry, abundant outdoor activities and our beloved Chesapeake Bay.

BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport serves as the gateway to Maryland for visitors from all around the world. Optimally situated between Baltimore and Washington, D.C., BWI Marshall is ideal for commuters and travelers because of its accessibility to a number of major cities along the East Coast.

We are thrilled that AMAC selected Maryland as the location for this year’s conference. Our great state, including Governor Wes Moore and his administration, is deeply committed to fostering and expanding economic opportunities for all. This vibrant setting is the perfect place to spark new ideas and renew our collective mission.

This year, we gather with a renewed sense of urgency to help shape the future of airports and the businesses that support them. The AMAC Airport Business Conference is more than an event; it is a call to action.

This year’s conference theme is Progress Through Partnerships: Reframe, Refocus, Rebuild. As the policy landscape shifts, our community must remain resilient and focused on fair access and leveling the playing field. To ensure that minorities and women have access to robust opportunities across the aviation and aerospace industries, we must coalesce through strong partnerships.

I am confident that working together, we can:

• REFRAME: Find new ways to increase representation and demonstrate value-added benefits.
• REFOCUS: Concentrate efforts on key areas in order to ensure that initiatives create high-impact results.
• REBUILD: Forge talent pipelines for young, emerging professionals to enter and thrive in evolving aviation and aerospace industries. 

I feel uplifted when I think about AMAC’s rich legacy. For over forty years, AMAC has advanced the full participation of minorities and women in employment and contracting opportunities throughout the aviation industry. At the core lies a collective memory that honors the accomplishments of trailblazers who paved the way for minorities and women in spaces that were not always welcoming. Through humble beginnings, AMAC has grown into an organization whose impact and resilience bear the fruit of progress.

AMAC remains anchored in its vision of creating economic access and increasing representation for minorities and women. This conference offers a platform for collaboration and groundbreaking discussions that will drive opportunity and growth in these uncertain times. It is my hope that you connect with and draw inspiration from fellow conference attendees—nearly 1,600 aviation professionals, businesses, government officials, and changemakers.

I invite you to explore the future of our industry through the lens of innovation, access and opportunity. I wish you a memorable stay in Maryland. And I look forward to working with you to strengthen and advance our airports.

Sincerely,

Shannetta R. Griffin, P.E.

Executive Director & CEO, Maryland Aviation Administration