A veteran commercial pilot who serves as United Airlines’ managing director of aviation safety is the latest appointment to Civil Air Patrol’s Board of Governors.
Capt. Mary Ann Schaffer, who has flown for United since 1989, is an experienced aviator with more than 18,000 hours of flight time in more than four decades as a pilot. She also serves on the board of managers of the United Aviate Academy in Goodyear, Arizona.
Schaffer has served in a variety of roles for United, including system chief pilot and Washington base chief pilot. Her flying experience includes time as a flight engineer (second officer), first officer, captain, check pilot and evaluator.
“It truly is an honor and a privilege to serve the organization as a member of the Board of Governors,” Schaffer said. “I’m very excited to participate and do what I can to bring even broader participation and nationwide exposure for Civil Air Patrol.”
A founder and partner from 2010-2020 at the Alexandria, Virginia, law firm of Parks & Schaffer, she is also a member of the Air Line Pilots Association, where she served as chair of the President’s Task Force on Aviation Sustainability and Environment in 2008, representing the association on all energy and environmental issues. While serving in this role in May 2008, she testified before the House Transportation Committee’s Subcommittee on Aviation.
Schaffer, a native of McLean, Virginia, is a magna cum laude graduate of Washington College of Law in Washington, D.C., where she was a member of the Administrative Law Review. She also earned a master’s degree in aeronautical science from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, where her thesis was in validating changes in Advanced Qualification Program training curriculum.
She earned her undergraduate degree in electrical engineering and mathematics from Vanderbilt University. She also earned a graduate certificate in aviation safety from the University of Southern California’s School of Engineering.
Schaffer remains a licensed attorney in Virginia and the District of Columbia.
“With my background in aviation safety, I hope to bring to Civil Air Patrol all of the opportunities available in building and enhancing safety programs, including a robust voluntary safety reporting and a safety management systems approach across the fleet and across the organization,” she said.
“I am absolutely thrilled to welcome Ms. Schaffer to our Board of Governors,” said Civil Air Patrol’s national commander and CEO, Maj. Gen. Regena Aye, “Her passion for aviation, expertise in safety, and vision will be invaluable as we continue to position CAP for long-term success.”
Aye added that Schaffer’s years as a pilot and as a member of the board of the United Aviate Academy give her “valuable experience providing strategic guidance for flight training programs.
In addition, the national commander said, “her experience as managing director of aviation safety for United aligns with our fleet management and safety initiatives in CAP.”
CAP’s 11-member Board of Governors is the organization’s top governing body, consisting of:
Four U.S. Air Force appointees;
Three selected jointly by the secretary of the Air Force and CAP’s national commander to represent industry, government and education; and
Three members-at-large selected by CAP’s Senior Advisory Group.
The Board of Governors is tasked with moving the organization forward through collective decision-making to generate strategic policies, plans, and programs. It’s assisted by the national commander and the CAP-U.S. Air Force commander, who act as advisers. CAP’s chief operating officer is the executive secretary for the board.
Asked what she hoped her legacy on the board will be when her term ends, Schaffer said, “I hope I can look back on my tenure on the board in four years as sharing my love of aviation and flying with every participant in Civil Air Patrol that I am able to connect with.”
Schaffer officially assumes her CAP duties June 1._____Paul SouthContributing writer
Flyer’s Father Fueled Her Love of Aviation
Mary Ann Schaffer’s love of aviation was ignited at age 8 when her father, Gene Poteat, took her to AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, during the era of the “pet rock” craze. Poteat, a licensed private pilot himself, gave his daughter free rein of the AirVenture campus, with instructions to meet at a giant white “pet rock,” labeled “experimental pet rock.”
“Even at that age, my father was comfortable with me wandering around the campus of AirVenture,” she said. “If we ever got separated [he told her], just to meet back at the experimental pet rock.”
She added, “I will say, every time I happened to get separated from my father, I found the ice cream cart first and then met him back at the experimental pet rock.”
And in a moment of serendipity some 50 years to the day later — one as sweet as a triple scoop chocolate ice cream cone — Gene Poteat’s daughter Mary Ann piloted a 737 Max 8 to Oshkosh.
A brick dedicated in Gene Poteat’s honor can be found in front of the brown arch at Oshkosh on the AirVenture campus._____Paul SouthContributing Writer
