Event Information

Mark C. Fava is the Ombudsperson serving Boeing employees who hold Organization Designation Authorization (ODA) from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The ODA program authorizes selective Boeing employees to certify compliance on behalf of the FAA. Appointed to this new role in 2022, Fava advises ODA representatives with any concerns, including those related to independence and transparency. He also provides updates to the Aerospace Safety Committee of the Boeing Board of Directors related to any trends raised by ODA unit members. 

Prior to this role, Fava served as chief counsel for Boeing's Engineering, Regulatory & South Carolina Operations. Hired in 2010, he was the first chief counsel for the South Carolina site, managing all legal matters related to the company’s growth and presence in South Carolina. Fava’s responsibilities were later expanded to encompass Boeing Commercial Airplanes’ FAA regulatory and compliance issues and advising the company’s chief engineer and senior vice president of Engineering, Test & Technology. 

Fava is a veteran, having served in the U.S. Navy as a Naval Flight Officer and Mission Commander in the P-3 Orion, accumulating more than 3,000 flight hours. He was the Commanding Officer of three navy units including a P-3 squadron and a member of the National Navy Reserve Policy Board. Fava is the recipient of three Legion of Merit Awards and multiple individual service awards. He retired in 2015 from the navy reserve as a Captain with 30 years of service. 

Fava is admitted to practice law in South Carolina, Georgia, and Washington, DC. Before joining Boeing, he led a national aviation law practice at a major law firm. From 2001 to 2004, he worked as the chief operations attorney for Delta Air Lines, Inc. He began his legal career in 1994 as a federal judicial law clerk in Charleston. 

Fava is a member of the Board of Directors of the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and served on the Board of Trustees of Ashley Hall, a private school for girls in Charleston, SC. He is also a member of the International Ombuds Association. 

Fava is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of South Carolina School of Law. He has taught Legal Writing and Oral Advocacy and Aviation Law as an adjunct law professor.