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Great Circle Route to Home Port

Like many professionals who ? nd themselves on the waterfront, Swanson didn’t come from a traditional ‘maritime’ background. But what she brings to the waterfront – at least for many maritime businesses – was sorely lacking when she dipped her toes in the briny water. For her part, Swanson explains, “It still amazes me but I actually found myself ‘on the water’ by applying for a Matson job opening on monster.com. At that point, I had over 20 years of experience address- ing environmental issues for a variety of industries, but I didn’t know the ‘pointy end of a ship.’ I saw ships, ocean, and Ha- waii in the job description and thought, ‘this is my dream job.’” Eleven years later, and she’s still living the dream.

In fact, Swanson pragmatically sums up some of the reasons why, saying, “As an environmental professional, the maritime industry has certainly been the place to be for the last 11 years. So many new technology-forcing regulations have been adopted and implemented during ...I saw ships, ocean, that time, and it has been a rewarding challenge to participate in the rulemaking and Hawaii in the process and assist Matson with compli- job description and

Lisa M. Swanson, ance. Ocean transportation is a fascinat- ing industry that most of the public knows thought, ‘this is my this is my

Matson Navigation very little about, and I feel privileged to have learned so much about it; particu- dream job dream job.’

Company larly getting to know the U.S. merchant mariners that go to sea for a living.”

Armed with a BS in Chemical Engi- neering, Swanson hit the brick in 1983, when chemical engineering was already making the transition from the historic re? nery and chemical plant jobs to new industries such as biotechnology and semiconductor manufacturing. Intent on a career in biotech, she switched gears www.maritimelogisticsprofessional.com 17I 1-17 Q4 MP2016.indd 17 1-17 Q4 MP2016.indd 17 11/10/2016 2:33:23 PM11/10/2016 2:33:23 PM