Lynda Holden

Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Technology '93
Dean, SAIT School of Transportation and School of Manufacturing and Automation

Lynda Holden is used to being the only woman in the room — or the hangar. Following two years as the lone female in her 1993 SAIT cohort, she found herself among just a handful of women during the early years of her aviation career.

“I was so used to it from early on in my career that I think I take it for granted,” says Holden, a member of the Alberta Métis Nation. “It never bothered me. I never considered myself a female pioneer in a male-dominated field. I just made a concerted effort to be a valuable part of the team.”

And that determination sparked her progression from apprentice to inspector to planning manager and production manager roles in industry.

“Every minute is a different minute and every day is a different day,” she says. “In aircraft maintenance, you don’t know what aircraft is going to break. You don’t know what parts you are going to need, so you always need to be on your game.”

Holden was fuelled by a new challenge when she returned to SAIT as an instructor in 2006. Since then, she has navigated her way to becoming Program Chair, then Associate Dean, and now Dean of the School of Transportation and the School of Manufacturing and Automation. Overseeing approximately 4,500 students and leading 230 staff sometimes parallels her work in aviation.

“It isn’t just swooping in to save the day when things break; it’s like making sure the tire pressure is good and the oil is full. It’s a series of tiny moments that come together at the same time to have a cumulative impact.”

In education, she explains, those moments involve building relationships — the small, meaningful interactions that occur every day between instructors, students, staff, leaders and industry professionals.

“It’s the result of thousands of powerful little interactions — you don’t always need to do big, bold things to make a difference.”

But there are times, says Holden, when big and bold are the right moves. As Calgary increasingly gains recognition for its growing aviation and aerospace ecosystem, she’s focused both on positioning SAIT as a leader and working with industry to ensure grads are confident when they walk into the hangar, shop or boardroom for the first time.

“About 50% of the staff across both of my schools are alumni and when I think about the daily interactions that they have with our students, it speaks to the positive impact of this place and the incredible power SAIT has in making a difference in people’s lives — including my own.”