Amy Anderson
Chair/FAA Representative
Amy Anderson is a National Wildlife Biologist for Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Airports Division based at FAA Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Amy writes and interprets national policy and guidance associated with reducing wildlife hazards to aircraft. She also creates training programs for FAA regional personnel and works with airports conducting Wildlife Hazard Assessments and Wildlife Hazard Management Plans. In addition to national guidance, Amy also works with international industry groups and civil aviation authorities to provide airport wildlife hazard expertise and guidance to airports at symposiums and workshops around the world. A few of the countries she has worked with are India, Ghana, Colombia, Ecuador and Panama. Amy has served as an FAA liaison for the Comité Regional de Centro América, el Caribe y Sudamérica de Prevención del Peligro Aviario y Fauna for the past 7 years. Prior to the FAA, Amy worked for 10 years as an environmental scientist at a private consulting firm in Florida. She graduated with a BS degree from Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina.
Laura Francoeur
Vice Chair and Treasurer
Laura is the Chief Wildlife Biologist for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, where she is responsible for directing the wildlife management programs at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), LaGuardia Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport, Stewart International Airport, and Teterboro Airport. Prior to assuming her current position in 2009, Laura worked at JFK as a Wildlife Biologist for 10 years. Laura also worked in Virginia as a wildlife biologist for the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service – Wildlife Services and conducted wildlife hazard assessments at airports and landfills. Laura is a Certified Wildlife Biologist with a BA degree from Connecticut College in Zoology and an MS degree from Clemson University in Wildlife Biology.
Nick Atwell
Past Chair/Airport Representative
Nick works at the Portland International Airport as the Port of Portland’s Senior Natural Resources Manager overseeing a team of professionals in two focus areas: Conservation Ecology and Aviation Wildlife Hazard Management. Nick strives for ongoing program improvement through reviews, monitoring, and adaptive management, which uses science-based methods to evaluate and adjust future actions. He has been working at the Port of Portland in natural resources and aviation wildlife hazard management since 1999. He is an FAA-qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist with degrees in Natural Resources and Organismal Biology. Nick lives in the Oregon foothills of Mt. Hood with his wife and two young daughters. Nick spends his free time with family & friends and enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding, and ultimate frisbee.
Erin O’Connor
Secretary
Erin O’Connor is the Senior Manager, Leadership and Events for the American Association of Airport Executives and has been with AAAE for almost seven years. Before joining AAAE, she worked in the hospitality industry for ten years. Erin is originally from New York where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from SUNY Cortland. Erin moved to Virginia in 2012 to be closer to family and currently lives in Fairfax.
