Don Swallom holds a B.S. in Engineering Sciences from the United States Air Force Academy and a M.S. in Systems Management from the University of Southern California. Prior to his current position, he served as a helicopter pilot, staff officer, and developmental engineer in the United States Air Force. His last Air Force assignment was as the chief of safety for the Arnold Engineering Development Center, the world's largest complex of aerospace ground testing facilities. He collaborated on the system safety chapter of the Handbook of Human Systems Integration.