Mr. Swanson owned Nurses Available, Inc., a private duty and staff relief nursing agency with three offices started in 1985. Prior to starting Nurses Available, Mr. Swanson worked in the investment banking community in New York and Baltimore.
Kent received his BA in Government and Politics from the University of Maryland at College Park and his MBA in Finance from Seton Hall University.
Kent and his wife Patricia established the first scholarships in Biology and Ceramics at Lewis & Clark College. The memorial scholarships are in the name of their son, Kent Philip Swanson, Jr., a 1995 graduate of Lewis & Clark. Kent, Jr. was killed in a helicopter crash while attending an avalanche control course in 1997.