Keegan Chetwynd is the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach. Leading a team of 30 staff and over 250 volunteers, the Museum has become among the most highly rated attractions in the Hampton Roads region, drawing over 85,000 visitors per year to enjoy a one-of-a-kind collection of flyable vintage military aircraft. The scope of Museum operations also includes on-site aircraft maintenance facilities and a forthcoming restoration department as part of the Museum’s own Fighter Factory warbird shop.

Located on a private airfield owned and operated by the Museum, the experience includes regular flying demonstrations, aircraft ride offerings, and multiple major airshow events per year. Home to a 4,800 foot grass runway, and several original WWII structures relocated from Europe to the United States, the facility is purpose designed for the care and keeping of Warbirds, but more than that – it is designed to create a space where members of the public can interact with and enjoy the collection.

Keegan has over 15 years of experience in Museums and Cultural sites in both the United States and Canada, working in the fields of Visitor Services, Collections Management & Curation, Education, Public Programming and Interpretive Master Planning. During his time with the American Airpower Heritage Museum in Midland, TX, Keegan worked extensively on conducting oral history interviews with members of the WWII and Vietnam-war generation, and on managing the annual induction ceremonies for the American Combat Airman Hall of Fame.

Later, during his time as part of the Headquarters staff at the Commemorative Air Force, Keegan was an instrumental part of the team that supervised the restoration of “That’s All, Brother,” the airplane which led the Allied Airborne drops on D-Day. His initial research that verified the history of the airplane would provide the foundational information that allowed the airplane to be saved, and the relationship-building approach to the project would allow funding sources to be cultivated, and rare parts to be sourced from all around the world.

As Director of the Military Aviation Museum, Keegan continued to work to save rare and important aircraft, adding an SBD-5 Dauntless, a PQ-14, an SNB-1 (AT-11) and the C-46 “The Tinker Belle” to the Museum collection so that each could be restored back to flying condition. Most recently as Chief Executive Officer he has worked closely with Museum founder Jerry Yagen to shepherd the organization from its status as a private collection, to an independently managed non-profit Museum, supported by strong earned-revenue activities, and an endowment to guarantee the operability of the airplanes into the future.

Keegan was born in Singapore and was raised as an expat both there and in Dubai but now calls Norfolk, Virginia home.