Dr. J. Scott Hamilton is an Adjunct Professor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Worldwide & Prescott, AZ campuses. He previously served as executive director (chief operating officer) of the Civil Air Patrol (CAP), after serving as the national organization’s general counsel. CAP owns and operates the world’s largest fleet of single-engine piston-powered aircraft, some 560, plus a few dozen gliders and hot air balloons. He is an experienced pilot (Private Pilot with airplane, single engine, land and sea, instrument airplane, advanced and instrument ground instructor ratings, and about 1,700 hours flight time) who has owned several aircraft and flown over 70 types. He is also an experienced skydiver (with 2,500 jumps) who served as a combat demolition specialist and HALO instructor in Army Special Forces.

Dr. Hamilton founded a law firm specializing in aviation law in Colorado, where he practiced law for 25 years and served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at the University of Denver, and as an Adjunct Instructor for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and for the Aerospace Science Department at Metropolitan State College of Denver, then served as Senior Assistant Attorney General in Wyoming.

He holds a B.A. degree in economics and business from Hendrix College; J.D. from the University of Denver; and LL.M. in aerospace law from Southern Methodist University, where he was named the Easterwood Foundation Scholar, and a Master of Aeronautical Science from Embry-Riddle.

Hamilton has published widely on aviation law, including the Practical Aviation & Aerospace Law textbook, workbook, and teachers’ manual, now in the 7th edition, and Amazon.com’s bestseller in the category of “Air & Space.” He also co-authored Labor Relations in the Aviation and Aerospace Industries textbook and study guide (Southern Illinois University Press, 2012).

He has received many honors, including induction into the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame (1988) and Arkansas Aviation Hall of Fame (1998).

Sarah Nilsson is an Assistant Professor at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a practicing attorney in Arizona, where her practice focuses on aviation/aerospace and business law. She previously managed an Aerospace Magnet program at an inner-city high school in Phoenix. Nilsson gained extensive aviation operating experience working as a cargo pilot and flight instructor and now volunteers as a safety representative on the FAA Safety Team. Her research interests include aviation, space, and unmanned aircraft systems law.

In 2017, Sarah published Drones Across America with the American Bar Association—a textbook devoted to Federal, State, and local unmanned aircraft regulations, laws, and ordinances. Since 2015, she has been interviewed by news media on TV and radio and has presented at numerous conferences and symposia across the nation for The Citadel, the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, Arizona Geographic Information Council, and the Air and Space Law Forum of the American Bar Association to name a few.