Series Kickoff: Innovations in Advanced Air Mobility
Agenda
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Anne Aylward
Director, U.S. DOT Volpe Center
Robert Hampshire, PhD
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer, U.S. DOT
Laurence Wildgoose
Assistant Administrator for Policy, International Affairs, and Environment, FAA
Featured Speakers
Carlos Monje
Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, U.S. DOT
Katie Thomson
Deputy Administrator, FAA
Elan Head
Senior Editor, The Air Current
News and Video
Read the recap and watch the recording of our kickoff event.
*The views of the speakers may not represent the views of U.S. DOT.
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About the Speakers
Robert Hampshire, PhD
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer, U.S. DOT
Robert Hampshire serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology. He was previously an associate professor at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan (U-M). Hampshire was also a research associate professor in both the U-M Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) and Michigan Institute for Data Science (MIDAS), and an affiliated faculty member in the Department of Industrial and Operations Engineering (IOE).
Laurence Wildgoose
Assistant Administrator for Policy, International Affairs, and Environment, FAA
Laurence Wildgoose was appointed as the Assistant Administrator for Policy, International Affairs, and Environment at FAA in January 2021.
In this role, he is responsible for leading FAA's policy efforts to improve the safety and capacity of the global aerospace system in an environmentally sound manner. Wildgoose’s focus is coordinating FAA's reauthorization efforts before Congress, improving the safety and efficiency of the National Airspace System, and advancing innovation-friendly policies related to the safe integration of new entrants, including uncrewed aircraft systems. He also oversees the agency’s international activity, including advancing the FAA’s global leadership on safety and environmental initiatives.
Prior to joining FAA, Wildgoose served as a professional staff member on the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, where he handled aviation safety and security issues related to FAA, the Transportation Security Administration, and the National Transportation Safety Board. He most recently served under the leadership of Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), after joining the committee under then-Ranking Member Bill Nelson (D-FL).
Wildgoose earned an MBA from the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, where he was a member of the Bloomberg Scholars Program and a William C. Dulin Scholarship recipient. He received his Bachelor of Arts from Florida State University.
Carlos Monje
Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy, U.S. DOT
Carlos Monje Jr. serves as Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy in the Office of the Secretary. Monje managed the agency review process for domestic agencies for the Biden-Harris Transition. Monje previously served as Acting Under Secretary and Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy for the U.S. Department of Transportation where he oversaw implementation of surface transportation programs, the discretionary grant programs, and efforts to promote equity and economic development. Monje is the first in his family born in the United States. His family is from Argentina.
Kathryn "Katie" Thomson
Deputy Administrator, FAA
Kathryn “Katie” Thomson was appointed as the FAA Deputy Administrator in June 2023. She brings a 30+ year history of global aviation and transportation law and leadership experience to FAA. Previously, Thomson served as the FAA Chief of Staff where she was a key advisor to the FAA Administrator and provided leadership, guidance, oversight, and coordination of activities related to aviation policy and the resource management program. She oversaw and partnered with agency leadership on some of FAA’s most complex and controversial matters.
Thompson was the Director, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Implementation at U.S. DOT immediately prior to joining FAA. In this capacity, she worked with internal and external stakeholders to successfully implement approximately $660 billion in new and expanded programs across all modes of transportation over five years. This was Thomson’s second stint at U.S. DOT. She rejoined U.S. DOT from Amazon, where she was Vice President and Associate General Counsel, Worldwide Transportation and Sustainability.
Before joining Amazon, Thomson played a pivotal role in shaping national and international transportation law and policy as General Counsel of U.S. DOT (2013-2016) and as Chief Counsel of the FAA (2012-2014) during the Obama Administration. She also served as Counselor to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation (2009-2012) and was U.S. DOT’s first Senior Sustainability Officer. During her tenure as Counselor, Thomson led the U.S. DOT team that worked with the White House and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to develop and implement historic joint fuel economy/greenhouse gas emission standards for cars and trucks.
Prior to federal government service, she was a partner in the environmental group at Sidley Austin in Washington, D.C., where she supported clients in all industrial sectors. Immediately prior to joining Amazon, Thomson chaired the transportation practice group at Morrison Foerster, advising clients on emerging technologies in the transportation sector.
She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) and her Juris Doctor from the University of Pennsylvania.
Elan Head
Senior Editor, The Air Current
Elan Head is Senior Editor at The Air Current where she leads coverage of advanced air mobility and emerging technologies. She has received numerous accolades for her work as a professional journalist, including the National Press Club’s Michael A. Dornheim Award and multiple Aerospace Media Awards. Head is also an FAA Gold Seal flight instructor with helicopter and instrument helicopter ratings, who has held commercial helicopter licenses in Canada and Australia as well as the United States.
This series will be moderated by U.S. DOT Volpe Center Director Anne Aylward.
Anne Aylward
Director, U.S. DOT Volpe Center
Anne D. Aylward has served as director of the U.S. DOT Volpe Center in Cambridge, MA since 2016. The U.S. DOT Volpe Center is a unique fee-for-service federal organization that conducts more than $230 million annually in transportation technology and innovation projects.
As director, she steers the work of more than 580 engineers, scientists, and analysts engaged in a portfolio of projects carried out on behalf of all U.S. DOT modal administrations, numerous other federal agencies such as the Departments of Defense and Interior, state and local governments, as well as international, academic, private, and non-profit organizations facing transportation challenges.
Prior to serving in this role, Aylward was the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s deputy director for Research and Technology. She has more than 30 years of experience in transportation planning, operations, and program management, and she is a nationally recognized expert in freight and intermodal transportation planning, policy analysis, and operations.
Aylward began her career in public service with the Massachusetts Port Authority and served for 10 years as director of the Port of Boston. She began her federal career in 2006 as the U.S. DOT Volpe Center’s chief of Transportation Planning.