CHERYL STEARNS

Retired Army Master Sgt. Cheryl Stearns is the current and 24-time U.S. National Women’s Combined Parachute Champion. She is a two-time World Parachute Champion and three-time World Military Overall Champion.

Throughout her career, Stearns has held a total of 30 world records. She holds the Guinness World Record for most number of accuracy jumps within a 24-hour period: 352 jumps with 188 dead centers. As the first female on the Army’s elite parachute team, The Golden Knights, she was also the first female military parachuting competitor. With nearly 18,000 jumps, she has the most jumps of any woman in the world.

Besides being the most successful competitive skydiver in the world, she is also an experienced aviator. Currently a pilot for U.S. Airways, she has flown more than 75 different types of aircraft and logged more than 18,000 flying hours. For the past seven years, she has been working with her team on StratoQuest, a high-altitude record-setting attempt to jump from at least 110,000 feet.

Stearns has received many honors in recognition of her pioneering spirit, her numerous achievements and her contributions to both aero sports and aviation. In 2007 she was presented with the Amelia Earhart Pioneering Achievement Award. Stearns holds a Masters Degree in Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

MEET THE PANELISTS

MAJ. NICOLE MALACHOWSKI / CHERYL STEARNS / MARY CAROL GARRITY / MARIA ANTONIA