AMA Foundation Board Member
AMA Foundation Board Member Rich Hanson served as the president and CEO of AMA, headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. In the role as president, Rich served three consecutive terms, totaling nine years, before stepping down from the office on December 31, 2025. Rich previously served as AMA's Government and Regulatory Affairs Director from May 2008 until taking office as president in January 2017. Prior to that, he served on the AMA Executive Council for 15 years as a member of AMA's board of directors.
Rich is an aviation professional with a 50-year career in full-scale aviation and over 7,000 hours as a commercial pilot in airplanes and rotorcraft. He is a Vietnam veteran, having served 27 years in the US Army and the Army Guard and Reserve components. During his military career, and as a commission officer, Rich served in numerous military aviation leadership positions and is a graduate of the Army Aviation Safety Officer Course.
Rich also worked 26 years as an air rescue helicopter pilot, a commissioned peace officer, and a public safety administrator for the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Rich managed Arizona's Governor's Office for Highway Safety for two years and served one year under special assignment to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration assisting in the development of NHTSA/IACPs Drug Recognition Expert (DRE) program. In his last seven years at the Department of Public Safety, Rich served as the Aviation Division Commander over Arizona's statewide fleet of fixed and rotary wing aircraft.
Rich is a lifelong modeler and has years of experience in all aspects of aeromodeling and unmanned aircraft. He is an AMA Fellow and an inductee into AMA's Model Aviation Hall of Fame. He was awarded the Paul Tissandier Diploma by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for his achievements in support of aeromodeling and the aeromodeling community, and, most recently, he received AMA's Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong contributions to model aviation.
The Academy of Model Aeronautics is the world's largest aeromodeling organization. Founded in 1936, AMA has grown to more than 100,000 members with nearly 2,400 chartered clubs located in all 50 states, the US territories, and at US military installations around the world. AMA has the dedicated mission of furthering, supporting, and advocating on behalf of model aviation and represents and supports a diverse community of aeromodeling enthusiasts. AMA's nationwide community-based programming provides an established safety structure for all forms of model aviation, including the recreational, educational, and purposeful use of small, unmanned aircraft systems.
