05/03/2026
✨EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT✨
Meet our fearless leader and program director:
Leslie Aquino, BSN, RN, CEN (HBIC 😆)
Leslie is the actual BOSS. She joined AEL in 2019 and went to new employee orientation 36 weeks pregnant. She flew at 97 in Portsmouth for 2 years before taking on 101! She stopped flying about 2 years ago and now dedicates her entire life keeping us in line (a very difficult task, I’m sure). She’s at “7/10” on the scale of how close she is to adding “please stop doing that” to formal policy (just kidding, we’re mostly well behaved).
Her green flags for trust are integrity and communication. 🤌 Her (very bougie) coffee order is an Almond Milk Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso OR a Brown Sugar Almond Milk Cortado…or just get the woman an Alani.
We asked her which role was hardest to manage: Flight Medics, Flight Nurses or Pilots with opinions and she responded, “pilots with opinions. Divaaaaaas.”
Leslie, culture starts at the top ♥️. You are such a beacon for us in creating a safe, happy, fun, hardworking environment. Here’s what your crews had to say about you:
“She is relatable and compassionate to everyone. I think it’s a huge part of why she has such a happy team.”
“Her ability to address issues in a timely manner with a positive outcome. Arnold H. Glasow said, ‘one of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes and emergency.’”
“She is a leader that listens to her people and encourages us to always be better. I truly feel she is 100% for her people.”
“She’s kind, listens, is engaged, cares deeply, understands, is fair, communicates, inspires, and empowers the team.”
“Man that’s tough. I like just about everything about her. Probably the most is the fact that she genuinely cares about her employees and always stands behind them, no matter what.”
