CDA Announces 2023 Board Officers
NEWS RELEASE
COMMERCIAL DRONE ALLIANCE
February 8, 2023
Commercial Drone Alliance Welcomes a New Slate of Officers in 2023
Influential industry leaders will advocate for policies that enable drone operations in the United States to scale safely and securely
WASHINGTON DC – February 8, 2023 – The Commercial Drone Alliance (CDA), an independent 501c6 non-profit organization led by key members of the commercial drone industry, announced today the appointment of a new slate of officers to lead the CDA in 2023. These industry leaders will work collectively with federal policymakers and industry stakeholders to reduce barriers and enable the expansion of the commercial uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS or drone) and advanced air mobility (AAM) industries.
The 2023 Officers of the CDA are:
· Co-Chair Margaret Nagle, Head of Policy and Government Affairs of Wing
· Co-Chair Brendan Groves, Vice President of Regulatory and Policy Affairs of Skydio, Inc.
· Vice Chair Okeoma Moronu, Head of Aviation Regulatory and Legal Affairs of Zipline
· President Ken Stewart, President and CEO of NUAIR
· Vice President Neta Gliksman, Vice President Policy & Government Affairs of Percepto
· Treasurer James Grimsley, Executive Director for Advanced Technology Initiatives of Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma
“There is an incredible amount of enthusiasm surrounding commercial drone technology – and for a good reason,” said Ms. Nagle. “This technology can bring a lot of benefits to communities, and CDA is playing a critical part in ensuring a regulatory and policy framework is in place to accelerate its implementation.”
“CDA has long been the leading voice of the U.S. drone industry,” said Mr. Groves. “As our membership grows, our voice will be stronger and louder than ever. We look forward to partnering with policy makers to unlock the value of drones and enable U.S. leadership in a new era of aviation."
“Commercial drones offer significant life-saving, economic and societal benefits —from creating jobs and enhancing worker safety, to protecting the environment and revolutionizing inspections of critical infrastructure, to expanding equitable and efficient access to medicines, to generating tremendous economic value and facilitating commercial deliveries, to enhancing public safety and fighting wildfires,” stated Lisa Ellman, CDA’s Executive Director. “Now more than ever, full integration of drones safely and securely into the National Airspace System is critical to unlocking these crucial benefits for all Americans. We are grateful to the CDA Executive Officers for their expertise and assistance in maintaining and expanding America’s global leadership position in this new era of aviation.”
CDA’s Officers serve on the Board together with CDA’s other Directors: Matt McCardle (Amazon Prime Air), Reese Moser (American Robotics), Aaditya Devarakonda (Dedrone), Eric Schwartz (Florida Power & Light), Grant Jordan (Skysafe), Jeff Cole (Hidden Level), and Dean Allen Barefield (Southern Company).
About CDA’s 2023 Officers
Margaret Nagle, Wing: Margaret is the Head of Policy, Regulatory and Community Affairs at Wing where she leverages 20+ years of government and advocacy experience to advance new aviation use cases. Previously, Margaret was Head of Americas Policy at X, the Moonshot Factory and Head of Americas Government Policy at Yahoo. Margaret also has extensive public sector experience, where she most recently served as Assistant to the Vice President for Legislative Affairs. In that role, she led the Vice President’s legislative affairs office and served as his top liaison to Congress. As a senior White House Legislative Affairs aide, Margaret played a key role in crafting and implementing legislative strategies to advance Administration priorities.
Brendan Groves, Skydio: Brendan is the Vice President of Regulatory and Policy Affairs at Skydio. Before joining Skydio, Brendan held senior positions in the federal government, serving most recently as Associate Deputy Attorney General in the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). In that role, he managed DOJ’s national security policy portfolio and led DOJ’s drone program. As a member of the FAA’s Executive Committee on UAS, Brendan played a leadership role in shaping the government’s approach to integrating drones into the national airspace. He also spearheaded the development and passage of pathbreaking legislation enabling the government to counter malicious drones. Earlier, Brendan served as an officer in the Air Force and as Special Counsel to the General Counsel of the National Security Agency.
Okeoma Moronu, Zipline: Okeoma is the Head of Global Aviation Regulatory Affairs at Zipline where she helps flying robots increase healthcare access around the world. Prior to joining Zipline, Okeoma served as Director of Corporate Finance & Asset Management at CHC Helicopter. She began her legal career in New York as an associate in the Global Securities Practice Group of Milbank Tweed LLP. Okeoma is also a member of Pipeline Angels, which is focused on changing the face of angel investing and venture capital.
Ken Stewart, NUAIR: Ken serves as President and CEO of NUAIR (Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance Inc.) where he is responsible for operations of the FAA designated New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY. He also is responsible for the vision and advancement of New York’s AAM Proving Grounds and 50-mile UAS corridor between Syracuse and Rome, facilitating beyond visual line of sight testing, commercial operations, and the safe integration of UAS and electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLS) into the national airspace. Prior to joining NUAIR, Mr. Stewart served as the CEO of AiRXOS, a GE aviation company, where he led innovation, development, and commercialization of Unmanned Traffic Management services platform. While at AiRXOS, Mr. Stewart also served as the Chair of the Board of Directors of the CDA.
Neta Gliksman, Percepto: Neta is Vice President of Policy & Government Affairs at Percepto and works closely with regulatory bodies, such as the such as the FAA and CASA in Australia, customers and other drone solution providers to secure Percepto’s leadership and influence in drone regulation. Neta brings her vast corporate and military experience combined with comprehensive knowledge in global drone regulation to Percepto’s regulation team. She previously worked at various hi-tech companies and law firms, such as IBM and Shibolet & co.
James Grimsley, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma: James is the Executive Director of Advanced Technology Initiatives for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. He was appointed to the Oklahoma Transportation Commission in May 2019 and currently serves as the Transportation Commissioner for Oklahoma District 2. James has also been appointed to the Oklahoma Advanced Mobility Program Advisory Council and the FAA’s Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC). Previously, James founded several successful technology company startups and is a former Associate Vice President for Research at the University of Oklahoma – Norman Campus (OU). He was also the founding director of the OU Center for Applied Research and Development (CARD).
About the Commercial Drone Alliance
The Commercial Drone Alliance is an independent non-profit organization led by key leaders in the commercial drone and advanced air mobility industries. The CDA brings together commercial drone end-users, manufacturers, service providers, advanced air mobility companies, drone security companies, and vertical markets including oil and gas, precision agriculture, construction, security, communications technology, infrastructure, newsgathering, and filmmaking. The CDA works with all levels of government to collaborate on policies for industry growth and seeks to educate the public on the safe and responsible use of commercial drones to achieve economic benefits and humanitarian gains.
Learn more at www.commercialdronealliance.org.
Media Contact:
Joel Richman
Escalate PR
CDA@escalatepr.com