Airports Council Awards Pasquale DiFulco the 2026 Ted Bushelman Award for Creativity and Excellence

October 21, 2026

SEATTLE, WA — Airports Council International – North America (ACI-NA), the trade association representing commercial service airports in the United States and Canada, today announced Pasquale DiFulco, Manager of Strategic Aviation Communications for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as the 2026 recipient of the Ted Bushelman Legacy Award for Creativity and Excellence. The Bushelman Award honors the accomplishments and contributions of airport marketing, communications, and customer experience professionals. The award was presented to DiFulco during the 2026 ACI-NA Marketing and Communications Conference in Seattle, WA.

“I congratulate Pasquale DiFulco on this well-deserved honor, which recognizes a career defined by steady leadership through some of the most difficult moments our industry has faced,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Chris Rocheleau. “For more than two decades, Pasquale has told the story of the Port Authority’s airports with clarity and conviction, and he has been just as generous in sharing what he has learned with others. His intentional effort to make every new member of our industry he comes across feel welcome and accepted is but one of the many reasons he deserves this honor.”

“My heart is full,” DiFulco said. “I’m honored to be included with an esteemed group of aviation professionals whom I deeply admire and respect, but I’m especially grateful that this recognition comes directly from the members of my aviation communications tribe. I’ve learned so much from colleagues across the continent over the years and am excited to see so many brilliant young professionals joining the fields of aviation marketing, communications and customer experience. Our future is in great hands.”

DiFulco leads strategic communications for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey’s Aviation Department, which oversees John F. Kennedy International, Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, New York Stewart International, and Teterboro airports. Before joining the Port Authority more than 25 years ago, DiFulco was an award-winning columnist and reporter for the Courier-News in Bridgewater, NJ, and The Herald News in Passaic, NJ, and taught creative writing at Raritan Valley Community College.

From 2001 to 2009, DiFulco served as the Port Authority’s chief airports’ spokesperson, helping to guide communications through some of the most consequential events in aviation history. He was an agency spokesperson following the September 11 attacks, which struck the World Trade Center that housed the Port Authority’s headquarters, and he led communications following the emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River. He also directed communications for the inaugural U.S. arrival of the Airbus A380 at JFK and the Port Authority’s assumption of operations at New York Stewart International Airport, all while serving as chief speechwriter for the agency’s executive leadership.

Since joining the Aviation Department in 2009, DiFulco has been a consistent advocate for air travel as an opportunity that should be accessible to everyone, highlighting the region’s airports as engines of economic growth and sources of jobs for people of all skill levels. Internally, he serves as moderator and master of ceremonies for the department’s quarterly All-Hands meetings and industry briefings, where staff explores airport issues and developments in a lively and engaging setting.

DiFulco’s leadership extends well beyond the Port Authority. He served on the Board of Directors of the New York Aviation Management Association (NYAMA) from 2014-2022 and chaired its Public Relations and Communications Committee, where he helped lead advocacy on behalf of airports of all sizes across New York State. A past member of the ACI-NA Marketing, Communications, and Customer Experience Committee’s Steering Group, he remains active in its Media Relations working group and is a regular attendee of the ACI-NA Marketing and Communications Conference, where colleagues know him for taking new professionals under his wing and encouraging them to get involved.

The Ted Bushelman Legacy Award for Creativity and Excellence is named for its first recipient, Ted Bushelman, who served as Senior Director of Communications at the Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport for 40 years.

The award is presented each year to an individual nominated and selected by their peers in the airport industry. This special award recognizes the values, accomplishments, and creativity of airport marketing, communications, and customer experience professionals who also share those talents and contribute to the legacy of professionalism experienced throughout our meetings and programs.

In addition, the individual who is selected must have a record of demonstrating their skills, expertise, and professionalism in some or all of the following areas:

  • Promotes the professionalism of the marketing, communications, and customer experience disciplines within the airport industry;
  • Has a history of generating and embracing new ideas to promote and support their airport’s programs and services;
  • Actively share their knowledge and experience with other marketing, communications, and customer experience professionals within the airport industry;
  • Participates in the ACI-NA Marketing, Communications, and Customer Experience Committee and attends its programs; and
  • Promotes the importance and advances the understanding of airports and aviation within the broader community.

 

Past Bushelman Award Winners

2008 – Ted Bushelman, Cincinnati-Northern Kentucky International Airport

2009 – Michael Conway, Detroit Metropolitan Airport

2010 – Jerry Staples, Halifax International Airport

2011 – Tara Hamilton, Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority

2012 – Patricia Rowe, Milwaukee’s General Mitchell International Airport

2013 – Not awarded

2014 – Lucinda Harshman, Pittsburgh International Airport

2015 – Carolyn Fennell, Greater Orlando Aviation Authority

2016 – Dickie Davis, Miami International Airport

2017 – Not awarded

2018 – Not awarded

2019 – Brad Martin, Boston Logan International Airport

2020 – Karen Ellis, San Antonio Airport System

2021 – Myrna White, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport

2022 – John Albrecht, Oakland International Airport

2023 – Krista Kealey, Ottawa International Airport

2024 – Justin Meyer, Kansas City International Airport

2025 – Tina Kinsey, Asheville Regional Airport

2026 – Pasquale DiFulco, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

 

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About ACI-NA

Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) represents local, regional, and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Approximately 380 aviation-related businesses are also members of ACI-NA, providing goods and services to airports. Collectively, U.S. airports support more than 11.5 million jobs and account for $1.4 trillion in economic activity – or more than seven percent of the total U.S. GDP. Canadian airports support 405,000 jobs and contribute C$35 billion to Canada’s GDP. Learn more at www.airportscouncil.org.