The Wings of Hope Board of Directors elected two new members at its March 2026 meeting.
MARIANNE BIANGARDI
Marianne Biangardi is no stranger to the Wings of Hope family. Her daughter Claire, now 16, is a former MAT patient whom we flew to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital from 2013-2015. When Claire was 3, she was diagnosed with hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), a rare, life-threatening immune system disorder that required specialized treatment not available in her hometown of St. Louis. After two years of treatment, Claire went into remission and has been healthy ever since.
“Wings of Hope helped us so much when Claire was really sick,” said Marianne. “I just want to give back, fundraise, and help Wings of Hope however I can.”
Marianne, who works in marketing and business development at UHY Advisors, spends a lot of time out and about at professional, networking, and fundraising events. She hopes to use her visibility and connections to bring awareness to Wings of Hope and drive interest in our events. As a Wings of Hope Board Director, she looks forward to “thinking outside of the box and trying to raise more money.”
Marianne said Claire is just as passionate about helping Wings of Hope and Make-A-Wish, the other organization that helped Claire when she was little.
“Maybe Claire will be a future board member, too,” she said.
VIJOY RAO
Vijoy Rao, creative strategy director at 5BYFIVE Creative, found his way to the Wings of Hope board through his oldest son, Gavin, who started showing an interest in aviation a couple of years ago. As he and his wife started researching opportunities for Gavin to explore this interest, they came upon Wings of Hope. When Vijoy reached out to his high school friend, Patrick Bowen, who was on the Wings of Hope Board — and is now chairman — Patrick told him about the SOAR into STEM program.
“This past fall, Gavin did the SOAR into STEM program and absolutely loved it,” said Vijoy. “My family and my in-laws, we all went out there and watched him fly the plane that final weekend — and it was fantastic.”
Patrick subsequently invited Vijoy to a fundraiser in the Wings of Hope hangar — and Vijoy was sold: “The mission and the purpose and the energy really resonated with me. So when I was invited to join the board, it was a no-brainer.”
Vijoy loves creative problem solving which he describes as “bringing creativity to either the mission or vision and being able to think outside the box” in determining “what we need to achieve and then exploring creative ways on how we can get there.”
Vijoy also admires the passion Wings of Hope staff and volunteers bring to their work serving others.
“It’s profoundly special when you’re able to take something you’re passionate about and turn that into something that helps other people.”
BEAUX DARNELL, A&P MECHANIC
Beaux Darnell joined Wings of Hope as an A&P mechanic in February. This is Beaux’s second job since graduating from the Aviation Maintenance Program at State Technical College of Missouri. She had been working at St. Louis Lambert International Airport, when she learned about the position from fellow State Tech graduate, Luke Polson, who is also an A&P mechanic at Wings of Hope. Beaux said she has always loved planes and working with her hands, but the Wings of Hope mission has “pulled my heart into it a lot more.”
“I love contributing to the cause of this place and the things that we do here to help others,” she said.
She also likes the challenge of working on the whole plane, and the “learning and troubleshooting” her new position demands.
“Instead of being just one little cog in the machine, like I was at the airline (Lambert), I’m now the machine,” she said. “Whenever there is an issue, we have to figure it out ourselves — and do a lot more of the work.”
Beaux said she loves her new job — and one reason is the people.
“Everyone’s extremely welcoming, and they’re all so willing to help me and take me under their wing. I’ve learned a lot.”
STEPHEN LONG, A&P MECHANIC
Stephen Long’s first day as an A&P mechanic at Wings of Hope was April 6, but he’s been part of the Wings of Hope family for years. His mother, Beth Campbell, is Wings of Hope’s chief financial officer — and Stephen has volunteered at many Wings of Hope events, including the annual plane pull.
Stephen calls aviation “the family business.”
“My grandpa was a pilot, my uncle is a pilot, another uncle is an A&P mechanic, and mom’s a pilot and CFO here,” said Stephen.
After 20 years in the restaurant business, Stephen started getting serious about a career in aviation in 2021 when he joined Big River Aviation as an apprentice before earning his A&P certification in 2023. Next, Stephen worked at St. Charles Flying service for a couple of years, before making the jump to Wings of Hope.
“I’ve been volunteering here for years, so when a job opened up and I was qualified for it, it just seemed like it was meant to be.”
Stephen said working at Wings of Hope is “a legacy.”
In addition to his mom’s long-term support of the organization, first as a volunteer and then as CFO, Stephen’s uncle was also a huge Wings of Hope supporter before he passed away. And two of his four brothers work in the medical profession: one’s an emergency medical technician (EMT) and the other’s a paramedic.
“The medical field and aviation is just where I’m supposed to be,” Stephen said.