The Unmanned Safety Institute (USI) has established its first Industry Advisory Board, uniting leaders from across the unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) ecosystem to help align education, training, and industry-recognized credentials with the workforce demands of a rapidly evolving industry. The board held its inaugural meeting on September 2, 2026, at the Commercial UAV Expo and Conference in Las Vegas.
The board will provide strategic insight, practical guidance, and candid feedback as USI evaluates existing programs and develops new pathways for students, educators, operators, and employers. Members will be asked to challenge assumptions, identify emerging skills and roles, and help ensure that learning outcomes remain connected to real-world operating environments.
The timing is significant. The Federal Aviation Administration's proposed Part 108 framework is intended to create a more predictable pathway for routine, scalable beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. The proposal addresses far more than piloting: it includes operating authorizations, aircraft airworthiness, separation from other aircraft, security, recordkeeping, third-party services, and organizational responsibilities. As the industry awaits final action, employers and educators face a shared question: how should the workforce prepare for operations that are more automated, more distributed, and more closely integrated with the National Airspace System?
"The strongest training programs are built with the people responsible for putting technology to work safely," said Josh Olds, President and CEO of USI. "This board is not ceremonial. We are asking these leaders to examine our assumptions, challenge our priorities, and help us keep education aligned with what employers and operators will actually need as the industry moves into its next phase."
Part 108 will not simply introduce another set of rules. If finalized broadly as proposed, it could accelerate the transition from individual flights to repeatable programs that use fleets, remote operations, automation, and UAS Traffic Management services. That transition will require professionals who can operate within safety management systems, maintain aircraft and systems, coordinate missions, manage data, assess risk, and lead accountable programs.
Those needs reach beyond commercial operators. High schools and colleges need clearer signals about the knowledge and capabilities employers will value. Companies need reliable ways to identify and develop qualified talent. Individuals need pathways that connect learning to credible career opportunities. The advisory board will help USI interpret those signals and translate them into practical education and workforce-development decisions.
The Industry Advisory Board will advise USI in four primary areas: validating curriculum against current operating practice; identifying emerging job roles and skill gaps; strengthening the connection among education, credentials, and employer expectations; and maintaining an aviation-grade focus on safety as technology and regulation change. USI will also use the board's feedback to evaluate where programs should evolve, where new learning pathways may be needed, and where industry expectations are still unsettled. The board will serve in an advisory capacity; USI will remain responsible for curriculum, certification, and program decisions.
The inaugural board includes Andrew Spiegel, Senior Vice President and Head of Unmanned Aircraft Underwriting at United States Aircraft Insurance Group; Calvin Rieb, Senior Director and Global Remotely Operated Systems Leader at Cargill; Drew Talley, Head of Flight Operations at Skyways; Jim Ogletree, Chief Pilot at Amazon Prime Air; Joseph Keck, Aviation Safety and Drone Manager at MGM Resorts International; Kyle Miller, Head of Infrastructure Markets at Censys Technologies; Matt Gulsvig, founder and Chief Pilot of American Tower's UAS Program; Nate Robie, who leads unmanned systems strategy and operations at Dominion Energy; Rita Castonguay-Hunt, a pilot and program director specializing in crewed and uncrewed aviation operations; Toni Drummond, Founder and Managing Director of Future Flight Global; Will Dawson, Founder of the Agricultural Drone Initiative; and Will Wheeler, Principal, UAS for Southern Company.
For HR and talent management vendors, the formation of this board signals a coming shift in workforce requirements that will ripple across recruiting, learning and development, and credentialing. As Part 108 moves closer to reality, employers in industries such as energy, agriculture, insurance, and logistics will need to hire and train professionals with skills that barely exist in today's job descriptions. That demand will create opportunities for HR technology providers that can help organizations identify, assess, and develop UAS talent. Vendors offering learning management, skills assessment, and credential verification tools should watch how USI's advisory board translates industry needs into education and certification standards, because those standards could become the benchmark for hiring and development in the drone sector. To learn more about USI's Advisory Board, visit https://www.flyusi.org/about/advisory-board. For more information about USI, visit www.flyusi.org.
