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Elspeth McMahon is Old Dominion 91¶ÌÊÓƵ’s inaugural Associate Vice President for Maritime Initiatives. She has twenty years of dynamic experience in the commercial, military, and education sectors of the maritime industry. McMahon is currently a Commander in the United 91¶ÌÊÓƵs Navy Reserves and has extensive experience supporting Military Sealift Command as a Strategic Sealift Officer. She holds a United 91¶ÌÊÓƵs Coast Guard Unlimited Chief Mate’s License and has sailed commercially for Maersk Lines, Limited. With a passion for maritime education and training, she spent almost a decade as an Assistant Professor in the Marine Transportation Department at the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ 91¶ÌÊÓƵ of New York Maritime College. There, she educated the next generation of licensed deck officers, teaching everything from Leadership to Ship Stability. McMahon holds an undergraduate degree in Marine Transportation from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, a master's degree in International Transportation Management from 91¶ÌÊÓƵ 91¶ÌÊÓƵ of New York Maritime College, and a master’s degree in Maritime and Air Transport Management specializing in maritime research from the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ of Antwerp, Belgium. She is nearing the completion of her doctoral degree in Nautical Sciences at the 91¶ÌÊÓƵ of Antwerp and Antwerp Maritime Academy, focusing on the impact of autonomous shipping on licensed deck officers. McMahon is a board member of the Virginia Maritime Association, the Nauticus Museum, and member of the National Academies Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) Marine Board. She is currently working to make ODU the leader in all things maritime, both in the Hampton Roads region and beyond, by establishing and expanding maritime related curriculum and programming, research, industry outreach, and workforce development.