Mallory Swanson

Mallory Swanson is a 4th generation Western Icelander. She was born in Cavalier, North Dakota and spent her first few years in Edinburg, ND before her family moved to Moorhead, MN.

Mallory's involvement in the Icelandic American community began around 2009 when she first traveled to Iceland with her father. This trip was the beginning of her obsession with all things Icelandic. She participated in the Snorri Program in 2011 and describes the experience as "life changing".

Mallory was one of the Snorri Alumni Interns at Hofsós in 2016 where she worked at the Icelandic Emigration Center/ Vesturfarasetrið. She returned to Hofsós in summer 2017 and 2018 to volunteer at the museum as well. While there she is particularly passionate about helping guests at the museum trace back their family tree and make genealogical connections to Iceland.

Mallory attended the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and worked as a Speech-Language Pathologist for St. Paul Public Schools. She has spent several summers volunteering at Icelandic Camp in Gimli, Manitoba. In 2020, after visiting Iceland every summer in recent years, Mallory finally made the leap and moved to Reykjavík, where she is completing a master’s in international education at the University of Iceland.