SALT LAKE CITY, UT— Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), the trade association representing commercial service airports in the United States and Canada, today announced Cindy Olivares, Principal, ACC Consulting, LLC, as the winner of the 2026 Leon C. Watkins “Guardian Award” for Excellence in Business Diversity.
“Cindy Olivares has spent more than three decades advancing supplier diversity, small business inclusion, and opportunity for all across the aviation industry,” said ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “Her leadership has been transformational in strengthening critical programs such as the Airport Concessions Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) and Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and embedding inclusion as a strategic priority throughout airport organizations nationwide. Cindy’s work epitomizes the spirit and legacy of Leon C. Watkins, and ACI-NA is proud to recognize her with this year’s Guardian Award.”
As founder and principal of ACC Consulting, LLC, Olivares has worked with airports and related agencies across the country to design and implement effective, compliant ACDBE and DBE programs. Her work has helped create meaningful and lasting participation for small and diverse firms while strengthening transparency in airport business opportunities.
“It is an incredible honor to receive the Leon C. Watkins Guardian Award. Leon Watkins was a friend and mentor and one of the many heroes who have contributed to the success of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in our industry,” said Olivares. “I am grateful for his leadership in the early years of my career and the impact it had on me. I am also thankful for all of the passionate, dedicated individuals that I have had the privilege to work with over the last four decades.”
Olivares has also played a pivotal role in developing training programs that expand access to contracting opportunities. As a consultant to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. Department of Transportation, she authored the 2008 FAA Joint Venture Guidance and developed the FAA’s nine-module online certification training program, which was released in 2012 and has educated more than 1,600 certifiers across the country. Her technical assistance and mentorship have empowered organizations and individuals to become active stewards of diversity and inclusion within the aviation industry.
About the Leon C. Watkins Guardian Award
Established in 2020, the Leon C. Watkins Guardian Award for Excellence in Business Diversity recognizes a business diversity leader who has promoted the growth and evolution of minority- and women-owned businesses and suppliers, while fostering civil rights and equal opportunities for all within the airport business environment.
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