Mr. David S. Burkholder serves as the Acting Executive Director for the Office of International Affairs in the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). In this role, he is the principal advisor to FAA leadership on matters of international policy, global affairs, foreign training and technical assistance, and strategic international engagement and related prioritization of resources in support of FAA global priorities and initiatives. He coordinates FAA efforts to advance U.S. aviation policies, positions, technologies, and procedures internationally with international organizations, domestic and international industry stakeholders, U.S. Government Agencies, Civil Aviation Authorities (CAA) and Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSPs). Mr. Burkholder is also accountable to encourage the advancement of aviation safety oversight and standardization of global policies, practices and procedures across all regions. Previously, he served as the Deputy Executive Director in the Office of International Affairs. 

Mr. Burkholder is the Chair of the FAA International Governance Board (IGB) and more technical International Steering Committee (ISC), which collectively comprise the internal governance structure for developing the Agency's international mission, goals, and supporting strategies for FAA’s global leadership and engagement efforts. He oversees the development and execution of FAA’s International Strategy to transform the Agency’s approach to international engagement, leadership, and influence to improve safety and efficiency of the global aviation system.

Mr. Burkholder previously held several senior leadership positions in the FAA's Air Traffic Organization (ATO), including the Director for Resource Enterprise and the Deputy Vice President for the Management Services group. In the ATO, he was a key leader in the establishment of the organizational structure and functional alignment, and had oversight of the ATO's expansive budget, support services contracts, and space logistics management. Mr. Burkholder was also directly responsible for leading service teams supporting the ATO with administrative and business services, budget and contract resource prioritization, allocation and execution, and technical hiring planning and execution.

Mr. Burkholder spent the first 10 years of his FAA career leading the Air Traffic Organization's international initiatives in several positions, including the Director for the ATO International Office, Manager for the Asia Pacific Region, and Manager for the North, Central and South American Region. In these roles, Mr. Burkholder was able to develop and execute the ATO International Strategic Plan and guide international air traffic engagements to support Agency priorities and advance air traffic management improvements globally. Mr. Burkholder graduated from James Madison University in 1992 with a Bachelors of Business Administration (B.B.A.) degree with double majors in International Business and Spanish.