Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board Elects 2026 Officers

The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority Board of Directors has elected its officers for 2026, selecting Mark Uncapher to serve as chairperson and Alex Vogel to serve as vice chairperson. The action took place during the board’s November 19 meeting. Felice C. Smith was re-elected to continue serving as the board’s secretary and will maintain her role as a vice president of the Airports Authority. All positions are for one-year terms beginning in January.

Uncapher, appointed to the board by the governor of Maryland, serves as executive director of the Fiber Optic Sensing Association. An attorney admitted to the New York and D.C. bars, he is a graduate of New York Law School and George Washington University. His career includes service as counsel to the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on government management, senior leadership roles at the Information Technology Association of America and Stateside Associates, and a decade as chair of the Montgomery County Republican Party. He also served on the Federal Communications Commission presidential transition team in 2000–2001.

Vogel, appointed by the governor of Virginia, is CEO of the Vogel Group, a government affairs firm with offices across the East Coast. He previously served as chief counsel to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, general counsel of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, and deputy counsel of the Republican National Committee. Vogel is recognized for his expertise in federal regulatory strategy, legislative affairs, crisis management, and communications. He previously served on the Virginia Aviation Board and holds degrees from the University of California San Diego and George Washington University.

Smith will continue in her role managing official board duties, supporting senior leadership, and overseeing day-to-day board operations. She joined MWAA in 2019 as associate general counsel and later became the agency’s ethics officer before being elected secretary in 2024. Smith previously served as deputy chief ethics officer for the Export-Import Bank of the United States, as assistant general counsel at the Library of Congress, and as special assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C. She holds degrees from the University of North Carolina and Howard University.