Employee Spotlight: Sierra LePore, Director of Planning, P&D

At Tampa International Airport, planning for the future is a big deal. Ensuring the Airport stays ahead of the region's rapid growth by maintaining and expanding its award-winning facilities is key to its customer experience success now and well into the future.

Sierra LePore is at the center of it all. 

As TPA’s new Director of Planning, LePore envisions, plans and budgets for everything from major renovation projects to new construction as the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority invests billions of dollars in projects to keep up with passenger growth and our growing Tampa Bay area community. It's a huge job, but one she's perfectly suited for as both a Floridian and fan of the airport and air service industry.

LePore grew up in Titusville, Fla. and has always loved aviation.  She would spend weekends flying with her father and eventually pursued Aviation Management in college at Florida Tech.

“I knew I liked environmental issues and I loved aviation, but I wasn’t sure how that went together,” LePore said.

She managed to earn her pilot’s license while still in school and considered a career flying, but quickly discovered just how expensive flight school could become. Then, while attending a professional conference, LePore met a representative from the aviation consulting firm VHB. The company offered her an internship to learn about the complex process airports go through to plan and budget for future projects.

LePore was hooked. After graduation, she joined the company full-time, where she would spend the next 10 years consulting for airports, advancing to become a  Senior Aviation Planner focusing on projects from sustainability & resiliency to master planning and airspace analyses.

“I was on an amazing career path, but always knew at some point I wanted to work for an airport,” said LePore.

In May, that wish came true, when she and her family moved from Titusville to Florida’s west coast so she could begin a new job at TPA.

“In my previous role, I would work on planning documents which were then handed over to the Airport.  But now at TPA, I’m able to see projects throughout their entire life cycle, from the very beginning when an idea is created, all the way until the construction is implemented and it’s operational.”  

In her new role as Director of Planning, LePore will help in facilitating the Authority’s 20-year capital improvement plan, asset management planning and inspections, as well as overseeing a team focused on airspace permitting, sustainability and environmental compliance. This includes planning for the expansion of TPA facilities, including the future Airside D, set to break ground later this year.

Outside of work, LePore is married to a fellow recreational pilot, Rich, and is mom to three boys, including 4-year-old identical twins, Beau and Zane, and a 2-year-old named Roman.

“Someone asked me if I have any hobbies and I said, ‘I used to,’” laughed LePore.

One of those hobbies was dancing.

“I love couples dancing, I love to swing dance, but my favorite is line dancing,” said LePore. In fact, the former high school and college cheerleader would sometimes travel to line dancing conventions to watch competitions and would go line dancing herself as often as twice a week.

“I wish I still had time to do it today,” said Lepore who also is a huge country music fan.

When she does have time, the couple and their kids love spending weekends outdoors exploring all the Tampa Bay area has to offer.

“Moving the family was something I didn’t take lightly, but I’m excited to be here,” LePore said of her new home.

“People love Tampa International Airport, and my goal is to help develop an airport with facilities and infrastructure that our kids and future generations can enjoy for many years to come.”