Amanda Swanson

Aviation Analyst

Delta State University
Master of Commercial Aviation, 2019

Liberty University
Master of Arts, Executive Leadership, 2016
Bachelor of Science, Aeronautics Missions, 2013

CERTIFICATIONS AND RATINGS
Certified Flight Instructor
Commercial Pilot—Airplane, single-engine land; Instrument Rating

As an aviation analyst at PAI Consulting (PAI), Ms. Swanson uses her aviation expertise and analytical skills to examine and categorize client data.  She supports aviation directed studies by evaluating data, organizing findings, and drafting technical studies and other reports and written documentation.  Ms. Swanson also uses her organizational skills and experience to support PAI’s clients by tracking and organizing records and other supplemental information.

Ms. Swanson began her career at Liberty University in August 2009 by pursuing a degree in aeronautics missions.  Her coursework included Aeronautics Law; Airplane Aerodynamics; Aviation Weather; Advanced Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) Navigation; Aviation Leadership; Aviation Safety; Aviation Human Factors; Aviation Interview; Crew Resource Management (CRM) and Single Pilot Resource Management; Confined Area Operations; and Private, Instrument, and Commercial ground and flight labs.  As a student, Ms. Swanson had the opportunity to ferry a Cessna 172–S model with the six‑pack steam gauge instrument panel from Petaluma, California, to Lynchburg, Virginia.  Ms. Swanson graduated in May 2013 with a bachelor of science (B.S.) in aeronautics.  She then earned her Certified Flight Instructor certificate in September 2014 and has renewed it every 2 years since.

In January 2012, while pursuing her degree, Ms. Swanson began working as a dispatcher in the Liberty University School of Aeronautics.  As a dispatcher, her duties included managing the daily flight schedule; transitioning students between flight, simulator, and ground lessons; and communicating with the maintenance workers and line staff.  Ms. Swanson was also responsible for maintaining situational awareness of the flight line and ensuring safe conduct.  She became team lead in August 2012, which expanded her responsibilities to include supervising her fellow student dispatchers.

In October 2014, Ms. Swanson began working as a certified flight instructor at Liberty University.  As a flight instructor, she concurrently managed training for six students and instructed them in a variety of settings.  Ms. Swanson used various training methods, including ground lessons, simulators, and live flight training on a Cessna 172 Skyhawk with G1000 and steam gauge instrument panels and on a Piper PA–‍28R Arrow.  As a result of this instruction, Ms. Swanson’s students had a 75‑percent pass rate on their first private pilot check ride.

At the same time, Ms. Swanson began studying for a master of arts in executive leadership at Liberty University.  Her coursework focused on refining organizational leadership and management skills.  It provided her with psychological insights into business and teamwork scenarios to help develop problem‑solving and critical thinking skills, supplied her with key organizational leadership roles applicable to all industries, and equipped her with the social and technical skills to lead and communicate organizational change in a variety of settings.  Her coursework included Organizational Behavior, Strategic Leadership & Management, Leading Organizational Change, Accounting for Non‑Financial Managers, Effective Executive Communication, Corporate Responsibility, Ethical Leadership, Managing & Leading Across Cultures, Legal Issues in Business, and Team Leadership & Conflict Resolution.  Ms. Swanson graduated in May 2016 with a master of arts in executive leadership from Liberty University’s Overton Graduate School of Business.

In August 2015, Ms. Swanson accepted a position in Liberty University’s School of Aeronautics Flight Training Affiliate Department as the Associate Director of Compliance and Statistics.  Founded in 2014, the Flight Training Affiliate Department developed an online bachelor of science in aeronautics program that would allow students to start, continue, or complete flight training at one of the contracted flight schools (Flight Training Affiliates (FTA)) nationwide, while completing the online B.S. in aeronautics through Liberty University.  In this capacity, Ms. Swanson managed 65 Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) part 141 flight training locations and maintained flight and compliance records for over 2,000 online flight students across the United States.  This entailed overseeing compliance with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) accreditation regulations.  She continually audited compliance documents for each affiliate flight school, including insurance documentation, FAA certifications, and training documents.  Ms. Swanson also ensured all students enrolled at each location had the appropriate documentation submitted, such as part 141 enrollment certifications, training summaries, and graduation certificates.  Ms. Swanson also compiled return‑on‑investment reports annually and for each semester.  As Associate Director of Compliance and Statistics, Ms. Swanson improved processes for tracking, logging, and managing compliance documents.  She also initiated the transition to a new software system.  Taken together, these two factors led to 30‑percent growth each semester, both in terms of number of students and return‑on‑investment.

Ms. Swanson also co-authored the Reduced Time Private Pilot Syllabus and Training Course Outline to focus on proficiency‑based flight and simulator lessons.  She submitted these to the Richmond Flight Standards District Office (FSDO) for approval, which she received in 2016.  Since then, numerous FTAs have submitted these documents to their local FSDOs and received approval to use as part of their private pilot training.

During her time as the Associate Director of Compliance and Statistics, Ms. Swanson began studying for a master of commercial aviation at Delta State University.  Her coursework included Methods of Research and Statistics in Aviation; Advanced Human Factors in Aviation and the Aerospace Industry; Airline Management; Aviation Regulatory Environment; Airport Planning, Development, and Operation; Aviation & Airport Operations Marketing and Management; Advanced Aviation Safety; Air Cargo and Logistics Management; Advanced Transportation Systems; and Writing in Aviation Business Administration.  Ms. Swanson graduated in August 2019 with a master of commercial aviation (MCA) from Delta State University.

Ms. Swanson joined Fireside Partners, Inc., as an emergency operations center (EOC) controller in August 2019.  At Fireside, she used flight following, intelligence analysis, and emergency response competencies to monitor a large fleet of private, business, charter, and commercial aircraft for irregular operations.  Ms. Swanson monitored weather, airspace constraints, and social and news media for potential impacts to her clients’ flight operations.  She also maintained regular communications with clients’ dispatch and scheduling departments while managing over 30 client accounts, including fleet administration and recordkeeping.  As an EOC controller, Ms. Swanson maintained her availability both in and outside of office hours and covered one weekly on‑call shift each month to ensure analysis and dissemination of information while in support of high‑risk flight operations and response activities.  She also filled a secondary role as a Humanitarian Emergency Liaison Program (HELP) team liaison, connecting the EOC at Fireside headquarters to the network of HELP team members across the United States who stood by to assist in the event of an aviation emergency.  As part of her continuing education for this role, Ms. Swanson completed three U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) independent study courses:  Incident Command System (ICS) 100, An Introduction to the Incident Command System; ICS 200, Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response; and ICS 700, An Introduction to the National Incident Management System (NIMS).

Concurrent with her position at Fireside, Ms. Swanson began working as an adjunct professor at Liberty University’s School of Aeronautics.  She teaches online aeronautic classes in 8- and/or 16‑week formats for Liberty’s fall, spring, and summer semesters.  As an adjunct professor, Ms. Swanson participates in weekly check‑ins with her instructional mentor and maintains daily office hours when she is available for student questions or concerns.  She posts weekly announcements to keep her students engaged and informed of class schedules, assignments, and other important milestones.  Ms. Swanson also oversees the grading of all assignments and is responsible for posting grades for her courses within 5 days of each assignment’s due date or the end of the course.  She facilitates course revision and redevelopment as necessary to ensure the currency and relevance of all content.  Beginning with the summer 2020 semester, Ms. Swanson also serves as a subject matter expert (SME) for the Commercial Flight I and Commercial Ground courses.  She also communicates with and mentors professors teaching other sections of commercial flight and ground courses at Liberty University.

Ms. Swanson became a member of Women in Aviation International (WAI) in 2009 and has attended multiple WAI annual conferences throughout her academic and professional career.  She volunteered for local Women Can Fly events in June 2013, May 2014, July 2015, and July 2016, which introduced young women to the aviation industry by flying young passengers over Lynchburg, Virginia.  For these events, Ms. Swanson planned the event and coordinated with vendors and volunteers to ensure a smooth experience.  She also served as the recruiting event coordinator for Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 2015 and Sun ’n Fun in Lakeland, Florida, in 2016, 2017, and 2021.  Ms. Swanson coordinated inventory, promotional materials, event schedules, site setup, and teardown at each event, and also helped to recruit members.  She planned a partner breakfast at both airshows, as well as an alumni dinner at Sun ’n Fun, which was attended by over 100 guests.  Likewise, Ms. Swanson was an airshow volunteer at the 2016 Lynchburg Regional Airshow.  For this event, she worked with the war veteran’s caravan and assisted with a hospitability tent.  Ms. Swanson also provided shuttle service for veterans to and from event facilities.