Contact: Dan Hubbard, (202) 783-9360, dhubbard@nbaa.org
Washington, DC, Jan. 30, 2018 – The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) will present Ohio Regional Business Aviation Association (ORBAA) board member Lisa Swartzwelder with the association’s 10th annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Outstanding Achievement & Leadership Award.
Created in 2008, the award honors individuals who have shared their outstanding business aviation industry expertise, provided extraordinary service, exhibited leadership and made significant contributions to the scheduling and dispatching function.
Swartzwelder is the director of shuttle operations and flight administration for L Brands in Columbus, OH. In addition to managing the company’s shuttle program, she co-leads its flight operations internship program, Crisis Response Team and its partnership with the Corporate Angel Network, which arranges for cancer patients’ free travel to treatment centers across the country using empty seats on business aircraft. L Brands transports nearly 300 patients each year through the program.
She celebrated her 25th anniversary with L Brands in March 2017.
“I have been very fortunate to grow up with a company that has a moral compass I identify with, and to work with smart, experienced professionals who are innovative thinkers. We genuinely care for each other, there is mutual respect and we have a lot of fun,” said Swartzwelder. “These aircraft are moving the economy, but they’re also moving humanitarian activity. Taking care of people is what’s near and dear to my heart.”
Swartzwelder is a leader who works to make NBAA’s many training and development resources available to members of the business aviation community in her region. As a board member of ORBAA, she engages with students at all four of Ohio’s collegiate aviation programs. On the national level, she has chaired NBAA’s Schedulers & Dispatchers Committee and its 2003 Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference, as well as the association’s Corporate Shuttle Working Group, and contributed to the NBAA Internship and Career Guide.
“Lisa was one of the first NBAA volunteer leaders who I met in 2001 when I started working with the Schedulers & Dispatchers Committee,” said Jo Damato, CAM, and NBAA senior director of educational strategy. “She inspired me personally while I watched her inspire a team of both her peers and other volunteer leaders. She has always worked to consistently demonstrate that schedulers and dispatchers are critical to a high-functioning, safe flight operation. Through her example, that is how they have evolved to be recognized.”
“There’s no one person I know who has worked harder and done more for our industry than Lisa,” said Dan Wolfe, associate vice president, general manager and aircraft captain for Nationwide Aviation Business Center, who has known Swartzwelder for many years. “I’ll have an idea, and she’ll have an idea, and we’ll meet at Bob Evans to talk about it. Twelve or 14 hours later, she’ll get back to you with a response that she’s put her heart and soul into. The more you give Lisa, the more she can do, and will do. She’s a Type A-plus person who makes everything she does better.”
In addition to her many contributions to business aviation, Swartzwelder is the president of the board of trustees for Columbus Humane, a nonprofit organization dedicated to animal well-being. “Lisa has tremendous leadership skills that have served her well in her aviation career, but she’s made such an amazing community impact, too,” said Rachel Finney, CEO of Columbus Humane. “She brings her critical thinking and insights to the work we do, and that has really helped us learn and grow.”
Swartzwelder lives in Columbus with her wife, Jaime, and two daughters, Adelaide and Francesca.
NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen will present Swartzwelder with the award during NBAA’s 2018 Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC2018), to be held from Feb. 6-9 at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, CA. Learn more about SDC2018.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.