Future of Aviation Speaker

Justin Towles

Executive Director
Crown Consulting, Inc.

Justin Towles serves as the President of Crown Consulting, Inc. In this role, he oversees operations, partnership strategy and overall strategic growth of the organization.

Towles joined the Crown team in early 2022 at the height of a successful career in aerospace. He is widely recognized as a leading expert in advanced aviation policy and a fierce advocate for innovative technologies and systems. He is known for an ability to bring people together from across diverse ecosystems to forge coalitions and drive success. Through his work at the local, state and federal level, in...

Anuja Verma

Aviation Systems Principal
The MITRE Corporation

Anuja Verma is an Aviation System Principal at The MITRE Corporation, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to solving problems for a safer world. MITRE works across government and in partnership with industry through public-private partnerships and federally funded R&D centers (FFRDC). Anuja’s is part of MITRE’s Center for Advanced Aviation System Development, the Federal Aviation Administration’s FFRDC. She works with diverse stakeholders across the FAA, industry, and academia on the safe integration of new entrants into the National Airspace System. Her research interests...

Peng Wei

Associate Professor
George Washington University

Peng Wei is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the George Washington University, with courtesy appointments at Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science. By contributing to the intersection of control, optimization, machine learning, and artificial intelligence, he develops autonomy and certification tools for aviation, transportation and robotics. His current focus is on safety, efficiency, and scalability of decision making systems in complex, uncertain and dynamic environments. Prof. Wei is leading the Intelligent...

Paul Wheeler

Director - Aerial Innovation
WSP USA

Paul Wheeler is an internationally recognized AAM/UAS subject matter expert and was recognized by Commercial UAV Expo and InterDrone as one of the world’s top drone visionaries. His background in aviation, highway transportation, and technology has given him a unique perspective on how to innovative solutions across industries. Mr. Wheeler currently serves on multiple national committees to help foster innovation through AAM. He is passionate about the vision to enable a new revolution of aerial innovation and transportation.

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Beth White

Senior Strategist for Industry and Public Engagement
Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Organization

Beth White is currently Senior Strategist for Industry and Public Engagement for the FAA Air Traffic Organization. She is responsible for the coordination of a matrixed effort that develops standards for national and regional engagement efforts with aviation stakeholders as well as communication efforts with local communities.

Prior to her move to the Air Traffic Organization White was the Senior Advisor of Communications for the FAA.

Dr. Amber Woodburn McNair

Assistant Professor
The Ohio State University

Amber Woodburn McNair, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor of City and Regional Planning in the Knowlton School at the Ohio State University and holds an affiliated position with the Center for Aviation Studies. Dr. McNair’s research topics encompass "aeromobility" and “smart mobility” systems and infrastructure. She is most interested in studying the planning processes and power structures that facilitate the deployment of transportation services and facilities, as well as researching the resulting environmental, land use, and community outcomes. Specifically, she has written on...

Chris Worden

Chief of Staff to the Chief Legal Counsel
Federal Aviation Administration

Chris serves as chief of staff to the Chief Counsel of the Federal Aviation Administration. He previously managed the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce’s regional issues portfolio – including its transportation needs – before local, state, and federal legislative and executive agencies. Chris likewise assisted on transit issues before local elected officials and special districts as Senior Policy Manager with the Sacramento Downtown Partnership. Other positions Chris has held include district director/co-chief of staff for a member of Congress serving on the House Transportation...

Yolanka Wulff

Executive Director
Community Air Mobility Initiative

Yolanka Wulff is Executive Director of CAMI, the Community Air Mobility Initiative, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to support the responsible integration of aviation into community transportation through education, communication and collaboration. Yolanka is responsible for CAMI’s programs including the development of topical resources, webinars, conferences and collaborations. This includes the Urban Air Policy Collaborative, a cohort-based curriculum for state and local agencies and airports. Prior to co-founding CAMI in 2019, she was a sustainable aviation consultant...

Basil Yap

President
AeroX

Basil is a founding member and President of AeroX, a non-profit focused on building an AAM ecosystem in North Carolina. AeroX was recently awarded $5 million from the state legislature to build a UAS Traffic Management system in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He is a founding member and General Partner in Aero X Ventures, a venture fund focused on AAM.

Basil serves as Vice President of Hovecon Consulting, which provides subject matter expertise and program development for emerging aviation technologies to industry and state/ local governments. He previously served as UAS Program...

Dr. Pavan Yedavalli

Head of Product Intelligence and Systems Simulation
Wisk Aero

Dr. Pavan Yedavalli is head of product intelligence and systems simulation at Wisk Aero, where he leads the team developing large-scale simulation software and modeling tools to understand deployments, go-to-market strategies, and operational constraints. He completed the Ph.D in urban computing from University of California, Berkeley, with dissertation research focusing on simulation software to understand the impacts of urban air mobility on metropolitan environments. He also has received an M.S. in electrical engineering from Columbia University, and B.S. in electrical engineering...