Dennis Roberts was appointed by FAA Administrator Marion Blakey to the position of Regional Administrator for the Northwest Mountain Region, and assumed the leadership role on October 30, 2006. His responsibilities include representing the Administrator in the region’s seven states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. Additionally, he leads the region’s support of the new Air Traffic Organization’s (ATO) Western Service Area (WSA). The WSA includes the seven states in the Northwest Mountain Region as well as those in the FAA’s Western-Pacific Region (Arizona, California, Nevada, Hawaii and Pacific islands) and the State of Alaska - Alaskan Region.
Prior to relocating to Seattle, Roberts was Director of the FAA’s Office of Airport Planning and Programming (APP-1) in Washington, DC. In this capacity, he oversaw FAA policy matters on airport planning, environmental (EIS/EA, noise/air/water quality) and social requirements, airport development grants (AIP), passenger facility charges (PFC), property transfers and any agency rulemaking actions pertaining to these programs. He also served as the FAA lead for the Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO) Airport Integrated Product Team (AIPT). The AIPT is responsible for developing airport capacity to meet aviation demand through the year 2025. In 2005, Roberts lead the FAA’s Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) for the Washington National Capital Area. By achieving 106% of the Agency’s goal, the FAA set a new record high in CFC collections.
Prior to joining the FAA in 2004, Roberts served as the Deputy Executive Director for the Louisville (KY) Regional Airport Authority (LRAA), responsible for the Authority's airport planning, engineering, operations (ARFF), information technology and properties divisions. Roberts also had executive management responsibility for Bowman Field, the Authority’s general aviation airport.
Roberts was the Vice-President/Executive Director of Government and Technical Affairs for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (1997-2001), Executive Director for the Colorado DOT-Division of Aeronautics (1989-1997), Director-Regional Aviation Planning for the Denver Regional Council of Governments (1984-1989) and Program Manager/Senior Planner for several aviation consulting firms, specializing in airport planning and design (1977-1984).
A 1,200-hour instrument-rated, commercial pilot, Roberts is a native of Excelsior Springs, Missouri. He is a member of the FAA’s Senior Executive Service (SES) and holds a bachelor's degree in aviation management as well as being a master's degree candidate in aviation safety from Central Missouri State University.