Honoree – John Barry

Major General John Barry

Honored 2023

John Barry graduated from the United States Air Force Academy in 1973. He went on to receive a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Oklahoma. Barry served in the Air Force for 30 years, was a graduate of the Fighter Weapons Pilot school, a combat veteran F-16 pilot, and a commander multiple times at the squadron, group, and wing levels. He was a White House Fellow with NASA from 1986 to 1987 and attended the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard on a National Security fellowship during 1993-1994. Barry served as Director of Strategic Planning, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Plans and Programs. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1997 and to Major General in 2000.

After his retirement from the Air Force, Gen. Barry served as superintendent of the Aurora Public Schools, from 2006 to 2013, and was selected as the Colorado Superintendent of the Year in 2011. Gen. Barry served as President and CEO of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Metro Denver from 2014-2016.

Gen. Barry became President of Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum in 2017. During his tenure, he oversaw major expansions of the Lowry campus and the opening of the Exploration of Flight annex at Centennial Airport. Gen. Barry has been a leader in the effort to bring Colorado young people into the aerospace industry through aerospace career education and pilot training programs. He has developed the “Aerospace Exploration Pathways” programs at the Lowry and Centennial Airport facilities, the “Pilot Pathway” program and the “Young Eagles” programs at these sites. Wings over the Rockies Air & Space Museum sponsors scholarships for students in these programs. To develop a sense of the importance and opportunities in the aviation world, a professional aviation immersion program for K-12 educators has been established at the Exploration of Flight annex.

As an advocate for aerospace industries in Colorado, Gen. Barry has employed creative methods, including the “Behind the Wings” monthly video and podcast series, to advance the knowledge of the impact of this industry to Colorado’s citizens.