Highlights
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Kaylie Savitz 鈥�22MECM turned to UCF鈥檚 Master of Emergency and Crisis Management program to combine her aviation background with a new passion: helping the industry prepare for crises.
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Through mentorship, hands-on learning and a Delta Air Lines internship, Savitz built the experience and connections to launch her career.
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Now a senior analyst of business continuity and emergency response at JetBlue, she helps develop emergency plans, coordinate response readiness and facilitate training opportunities.
Growing up in a well-traveled family with a father who worked as a flight attendant, Kaylie Savitz 鈥�22MECM dreamed of flying planes herself.
That鈥檚 what first led her to earn an aeronautical science degree and a commercial pilot鈥檚 license. Then the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the industry 鈥� and her plans.
Savitz changed course and pursued a master鈥檚 degree in emergency and crisis management (MECM) at UCF. The decision connected her with aviation emergency management professionals and gave her the confidence to pursue a career at the intersection of what she鈥檚 most passionate about.
Today, Savitz isn鈥檛 in the pilot鈥檚 seat. She鈥檚 among the boots on the ground driving business continuity and emergency response initiatives across JetBlue operations.
Preparing for Career Takeoff
When Savitz graduated from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 2020, she planned to take straight to the skies.
鈥淓verything was shut down; all the airlines stopped hiring, and my original plan was out the window,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 thought, 鈥極K, what am I going to do in the interim?鈥欌��
UCF鈥檚 MECM is the first emergency management graduate program to earn accreditation from the Network of Schools of Public Policy, Affairs and Administration.
She began exploring programs and career paths in aviation safety. That search led her to UCF鈥檚 MECM, where she could apply her aviation knowledge to emergency and crisis management.
鈥淚 was immediately enthralled with every single course, and I hadn’t experienced that before,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 would make every single project that I had the opportunity to do so about response to an aviation disaster or legislation surrounding aviation. That really cemented my future goals.鈥�
UCF also became the launchpad for professional relationships, beginning with her mentor, UCF public administration/emergency management alum Keila Walker-Denis 鈥�07.
鈥淲hen we were being paired with mentors, I was hoping for someone in the aviation industry, and they ended up pairing me with Keila 鈥� who at the time was the assistant vice president of airport operations for emergency management with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority,鈥� Savitz says. 鈥淚 was over the moon when I discovered that a career like that could exist for me in the future, and I knew I wanted to work in emergency management and response in aviation.鈥�
Later in the program, Savitz accepted an environmental health and safety internship with Delta Air Lines in Atlanta. She learned Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements and regulatory language while expanding her professional network.
What began as a three-semester internship rotation became a full-time role with Delta鈥檚 environmental health and safety team while she was still in the program.
Raising Her Hand, Climbing the Ranks
Since then, Savitz has followed a simple mantra: Raise your hand at every opportunity. A year later, that approach brought her to JetBlue’s flight operations and safety team.
鈥淚 completed a lot of data work, change management and looking at safety reports from pilots. It was exciting to be part of having a pulse on safety like that.鈥�
鈥淚t was a lot of data work, change management and looking at safety reports from pilots,鈥� Savitz says. 鈥淚n aviation, they use something called the Swiss Cheese Model. You have all these slices of Swiss cheese with all their different holes. Every so often, all the holes will line up, and that’s when an accident occurs. The role of any aviation safety team is focusing on not letting them line up. It was exciting to be part of having a pulse on safety like that.鈥�
She kept raising her hand. After connecting with JetBlue鈥檚 director of emergency management and completing an emergency response apprenticeship with the team, Savitz was promoted in February 2026 to senior analyst of business continuity and emergency response 鈥� a role the team created for her.
She helps write and maintain emergency and business continuity plans, identify risks and training opportunities, and coordinate response readiness with both internal and external stakeholders.
No two days are exactly alike. One week might involve updating plans and incorporating recommendations from recent training exercises. The next could bring a full-scale exercise with airport employees and administrators, emergency response liaisons, crew members, and JetBlue鈥檚 care and ground operations teams.
鈥淚n an actual emergency, there are so many people involved in a response that your own team is also coordinating with the airline, airport first responders and government agencies,鈥� she says. 鈥淐reating and maintaining those relationships ahead of time really helps in real-life situations. That way you already know these people, and you might even know what to expect from them or what they would want from you during these events.鈥�
鈥淯CF鈥檚 emergency and crisis management program really gave me a baseline for every single thing that I do.鈥�
Her relationship with Walker-Denis is a prime example of how those early connections continue to shape her work.
鈥淪he introduced me to some of her colleagues, and now I鈥檓 in a role with JetBlue where I get to work with her team at Orlando International Airport,鈥� Savitz says. 鈥淯CF鈥檚 emergency and crisis management program really gave me a baseline for every single thing that I do.鈥�
