U.S. Wildland Fire Service C5 Zoom Forum July 7, 2026
Moderator
Dawn Erlandson is Chair of the Board of Trustees of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. On a national level, she has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT). Founder and president of Aurora Strategic Services, a public affairs firm based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Dawn has extensive experience in stakeholder communications, media, and government relations.
Presenting: United States Wildland Fire Service
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) is modernizing its wildland fire management program to better meet the growing challenges of increasingly complex wildfires across the United States.
The U.S. Wildland Fire Service (USWFS) was established January 12, 2026 by unifying the DOI fire programs historically located within the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, DOI Office of Wildland Fire and DOI Office of Aviation Services. The USWFS was established to make wildfire response capabilities more efficient, more accountable and better aligned with the scale of today's wildfire challenge.
Agency design: The U.S. Wildland Fire Service is designed to support a complete wildfire strategy, not just suppression. If we want better long-term outcomes, we have to consider the whole wildfire cycle rather than focusing our attention on the day the fire starts. The USWFS is integrating wildfire mitigation, preparedness, suppression, and post-fire recovery in support of long-term resilience across landscapes and communities.
The July 7 Zoom forum will feature USWFS experts responsible for pre/post fire, training, workforce and intelligence disciplines.
Training Air Traffic Controllers on March 9, 2026
C5 Forum: Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI)
Moderator
Dawn Erlandson is a member of the Board of Trustees of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. On a national level, she has served as Chair of the Board of Directors of the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT).
Background
The United States faces a shortage of trained air traffic controllers that is causing airline network challenges. Congress has directed the Federal Aviation Administration to address these concerns, including by increasing the number of trainees at the FAA Academy in Oklahoma City, the nation’s air traffic controller training school since 1946.
The FAA has launched a partnership program known as the Air Traffic-Collegiate Training Initiative (AT-CTI), intended to create opportunities for students at higher education institutions to advance their prospects for streamlining a path through the FAA Academy to becoming Certified Professional Controllers (CPCs). An Enhanced AT-CTI program is intended to replicate the training of the FAA Academy.
Community colleges can work with the FAA to develop capabilities in air traffic controller training, including through the AT-CTI and Enhanced AT-CTI programs.
March 9 Zoom Forum
The Zoom forum featured FAA subject matter experts in air traffic controller training who provided details about the AT-CTI and Enhanced AT-CTI programs, and opportunities for community colleges to get involved in air traffic controller training.
If you would like the FAA PowerPoint slides from this Zoom forum, contact Tom Downs, tcdowns@downsgovaffairs.com.
