The list of speakers will be updated periodically. Make sure to check back frequently for more exciting announcements!
Speakers listed by panel
Forum Keynote
Allan Evans
Chief Executive Officer, Unusual Machines
Allan Evans is the Chief Executive Officer of the Company. Further, Mr. Evans was appointed as a director of the Company in November 2023. Previously, he was the Chief Operating Officer of Red Cat from January 2021 to November 2023 and was the Chief Executive Officer of Fat Shark. He is a serial entrepreneur with a history of founding and leading technological innovation. He has extensive experience in overseeing different emerging technologies. From August 2017 to October 2020, he served as a board member for Ballast Technologies, a company that specialized in technology for location-based entertainment. In November 2012, he co-founded Avegant, a technology company focused on developing next generation display technology to enable previously impossible augmented reality experiences. He led design, development, and initial production of the Glyph head mounted display and oversaw technology research and patent strategy while serving as Chief Technology Officer of Avegant until 2016. He has 47 pending or issued patents that cover a range of technologies from implantable medical devices to mixed reality headsets. Academically, his work has an h-index of 15, an i-index of 28, and has been cited in more than 1,000 publications. He has extensive experience with new technologies, engineering, business development, and corporate strategy, and his expertise in these areas strengthens the Company’s collective knowledge and capabilities. https://www.unusualmachines.com/
Lunch Keynote
Michael Robbins
Michael Robbins is President & Chief Executive Officer at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI)
Michael Robbins is President & Chief Executive Officer at the Association for Uncrewed Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the world’s largest trade association for uncrewed systems, robotics, and autonomous technologies, representing companies in both the commercial and defense sectors. He joined AUVSI in 2020 and previously served as Chief Advocacy Officer. Michael is also presently serving as an Officer in the United States Navy Reserve.
Before joining AUVSI, Michael co-founded a business consulting firm, Intrepid, and served as its Chief Operating Officer. AUVSI was an Intrepid client. Prior to starting Intrepid, Michael was Managing Director of Government and Public Affairs at the Air Line Pilot Association, International (ALPA) where he oversaw the aviation safety and security, government affairs, and communications departments. Before ALPA, Michael spent a decade working for the late U.S. Congressman John D. Dingell (Michigan), where he served as the Chief of Staff.
Michael serves on the MITRE Corporation’s Aviation Advisory Committee and the National Advanced Mobility Consortium’s (NAMC) Advisory Committee. He recently served as co-chair of the Federal Aviation Administration’s UAS Detection and Mitigation Aviation Rulemaking Committee. He previously served on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Aviation Supply Chain Risk Task Force, the Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency’s Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council sUAS Security Working Group, and on the boards of NAMC and the Greater Washington Aviation Open.
Michael holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s degree from Georgetown University. https://www.auvsi.org/about-auvsi/leadership/michael-robbins/#:~:text=Michael%20Robbins%20is%20President%20%26,the%20commercial%20and%20defense%20sectors.
Dinner Keynote
Blake Resnick
Founder and CEO of BRINC Drones
A Las Vegas native, Blake felt compelled to build technology for first responders in 2017 after the deadliest mass shooting in American history occurred on the city’s famous Strip.
When he learned of the challenges first responders faced during the crisis as well as the dangers they encounter on a daily basis, Blake felt that implementing new technologies into public safety scenarios could help save lives.
Blake started college at 14 years old and built a fusion reactor in his garage. During his time in University, Blake interned at a number of high-profile companies. At the British supercar company McLaren he developed a cheaper and more effective brake cooling system, and at Tesla he created a data-driven predictive model that determined CAN bus latency based on network utilization.
Then he went on to intern at the Chinese drone giant DJI, where he designed an active kevlar drone tether system to prevent flyaways, and also experimentally characterized the performance of an advanced lidar unit.
Achieving all of this before most teenagers had completed high school, at 17-years-old Blake made the decision to drop out of school and start a company. He had cold-called the local Las Vegas SWAT unit and met with its commander to better understand the needs of first responders. He then worked with them to develop the first BRINC drone design.
Blake officially founded BRINC in 2019 and over the past four years worked to expand the company’s scope and scale across public safety verticals. He has been a passionate advocate for the proliferation of technology in public safety, and has been nationally recognized for his work. He is a Thiel Fellow, and was the youngest honoree on Forbes’ 2022 “30 Under 30” list in the social impact category. https://brincdrones.com/ https://blakeresnick.com/
Counter UAV Panel
Tom Adams
Public Safety Director, DroneSheild
Tom retired from the FBI after 20 years of service in 2022. He spent most of his career as a Special Agent Bomb Technician supporting counter-terrorism efforts in the U.S. and around the world. The last three years of his career he was a Supervisory Special Agent in the FBI’s Counter-UAS program. In that role he helped shape the team’s policies, procedures, and training. He has planned and conducted numerous homeland security Counter-UAS missions in complex urban environments and high-profile venues around the U.S., including Super Bowls, World Series, and Rose Bowls.
Since leaving the FBI, he built a Counter-UAS resource website and served as the Co-Chair of the Operating Requirements Working Group for the FAA UAS Detection and Mitigation Aviation Rulemaking Committee which published its final report in January 2024. Tom is now the Director of Public Safety for DroneShield, a provider of multi-mission Counter-UAS solutions for military, public safety, and critical infrastructure. He has a master’s degree in Unmanned Systems from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and a bachelor's degree in Biomechanics from Montana State University.
Disaster Drone Panel
John Walker
Uncrewed Systems Atmospheric Scientist and Project Coordinator at ECS
John Walker is an Uncrewed Systems Atmospheric Scientist and Project Coordinator at ECS, working in support of NOAA's Uncrewed Systems Operations Center (UxSOC) and the UAS Division (UASD). Here, he is leveraging previous experience in “research-to-operations” (R2O) applications to support several ongoing projects while also pursuing new, innovative endeavors within NOAA for which uncrewed systems may help to fill data gaps and perform tasks with increased efficiency, safety, and/or at a reduced cost.
John's involvement in supporting NOAA's uncrewed systems development and operations enterprise began in 2014, originally working in the agency's UAS Program Office (UASPO) and the UxS Research Transition Office (UxSRTO). Prior to his work with NOAA, John served in various roles as a research meteorologist in NASA’s Natural Environments branch at Marshall Space Flight Center, the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation (VCSI), and the University of Alabama in Huntsville’s Earth Systems Science Center. Additional efforts include volunteer work from 2017-2024 as Chair of the "Alabama UAS Working Group" under the non-profit GEOHuntsville organization and FEMA Region IV's states development initiative for disaster response support.
Each of these positions involved experience with developing an understanding of end use stakeholder needs, efforts to match requirements with potential solutions, and methodical pursuit to carefully develop and transition the best solution to meet those needs.
Aviation Challenge Adult Camp: April 17 - 19 (limited availability) $899
Aviation Challenge Adult Space Camp is a fighter pilot training based Space Camp. Trainees take part in hands-on activities based on the design principles of modern air systems in flight simulations and go through air combat maneuvering training to prepare for mission scenarios. Must be 18 or older to participate.
To register for Aviation Challenge Adult Space Camp Adult Aviation Challenge