Agenda

Pre-registered attendees will be assigned to one of three departure groups—8:15, 8:30, or 9:30 AM—when they check in and pick up their event credentials. All groups will depart from outside the Marquis Ballroom, behind the Conference Center.

The Public Safety Training for DFR and UAS Program Managers is a full-day, immersive R10 Indoor Tactical DFR Experience held at the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s (LVMPD) Joint Emergency Training Institute (JETI), followed by a tour of LVMPD’s centralized Fusion Watch Center, Drone Operations Center, and Skyport.

Lunch will be provided for all groups from 11:00 AM–12:00 PM. All programming and return transportation to the JW Marriott will conclude by 4:00 PM.

Pre-event registration and Ascend credentials are required to participate.

The Public Safety Senior Leadership and Executives program is a full-day DFR Leadership Forum that includes a tour of LVMPD.

The day will include executive-level working sessions focused on building internal support, community trust, policy, funding, and scaling DFR. Participants will work alongside chiefs, sheriffs, command staff, and municipal leaders before concluding the day with a guided tour of LVMPD’s centralized Fusion Watch, Drone Operations Center, and Skyport.

Pre-event registration and event credentials required. Lunch will be provided to all participants from 12:00 PM -1:00 PM.

Ryan Quarto, Sergeant, Fairfax County Police Department
Jay Kemme, Sergeant, Cincinnati Police Department
Alex Kendrick, Detective, Rochester Police Department
Chris Stock, VP of Mission Success, Skydio

Part 107 is only the starting point. Public safety pilots need to make decisions during active calls, under pressure, and in coordination with patrol, dispatch, RTCC personnel, and command staff. Agencies with established training programs will share how they build readiness, evaluate performance, and keep standards consistent as their programs grow.

Steve Willoughby, Executive Director, Program Executive Office for UAS and Counter UAS, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Lucian Sikorskyj, Senior Director, Global Policy & External Affairs, Skydio

Unauthorized drone operations create risk for public safety agencies, critical infrastructure operators, and security teams. Recent federal law changes and new regulations are expanding what public safety agencies and correctional facilities can do, but important limits remain, especially for private organizations.

Ben Schlogel, Chief, Kansas City Fire Department
Tyler Grosser, Captain, UAS Program Manager, Kansas City Fire Department
Steve Willoughby, Executive Director, Program Executive Office for UAS and Counter UAS, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Kevin Orkin, Supervisory Special Agent (SSA), Unmanned Flight Operations Unit, Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

FIFA World Cup operations brought enormous visibility, complexity, and coordination demands to host cities. This session brings together leaders involved in World Cup planning and execution to share how drones supported security, situational awareness, emergency response, C-UAS operations, and coordination across public and private partners.

Nicole Lemus, Lead Dispatcher/DFR Pilot, South San Francisco Police Department
Lauren Veal, Lieutenant, Winston-Salem Police Department
Ben Croke, Sergeant, Winston-Salem Police Department
Noreen Charlton, Public Safety Strategy, Skydio

As DFR programs move from pilot projects to daily operations, agencies are rethinking how to maintain coverage without pulling more officers away from patrol. This session looks at how departments of different sizes are matching operator models to call volume, available personnel, and local constraints. Panelists will compare sworn, civilian, and hybrid approaches, including the supervision, training, and accountability considerations that come with each.

Jennifer Coker, VDC Project Engineer, Clark Construction
Jay Mulakala, Sr. Director, Solutions Engineering, DroneDeploy
Gary Chapman, Commercial Programs Manager, Skydio

Reality capture has become essential for progress tracking, quality control, safety, and digital twin initiatives, but scaling drone operations across multiple job sites remains a challenge. Learn how autonomous docked drone systems enable repeatable, RTK-accurate data collection that seamlessly feeds existing AEC workflows, reducing travel, increasing consistency, and accelerating project insights.

John Nelson, Inspections Operations Senior Advisor, Southern California Edison
Aleksander Borges, Remote Operations Lead, Southern Company
Richard Hurley, Senior Robotics Engineer, Chevron
Michael Dorr, Integration Specialist, Skydio
Suchet Bargoti, Director, Inspection & Mapping, Skydio

Discover how utility leaders partnered with Skydio to help shape Asset-Based Inspection (ABI) workflows before launch. Learn what they gained from early access, how they evaluated the technology in real-world operations, and what they see as the future of asset-centric inspections.

Jake Reed, Project Manager Principal, American Electric Power Ohio
Eric Elizondo, Continuous Improvement Lead, American Electric Power Texas
Jason Lawson, UAS Operations Chief Pilot, Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Katie Norris, Program Manager, Major Drone Program Deployments, Skydio

Every utility faces unique operational challenges, but many of the biggest obstacles are shared. Hear from leaders as they discuss how they're using drone technology to improve reliability, support storm response, and scale innovation across one of the nation's largest utility organizations.

Dan McMillan, Division Chief, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Samuel Palumbo, Captain, New Orleans Police Department
Ben Husch, Director, Policy and Community Affairs, Skydio
Phil Gonshak, Director of Strategic Relationships, Skydio

Public concern about public safety technology is shaping how DFR is understood, often before agencies have explained how it operates. This session offers a practical framework for defining incident-based response and distinguishing it from always-on data collection. It also addresses the questions councils and communities are most likely to ask.

Nate Robie, UAS Program Manager, Dominion Energy
Abrem Ayana, Captain, Brookhaven Police Department
Frank Peck, Chief Pilot, Omaha Police Department
Graham Campbell, Launch Team Manager, Skydio

A Dock-based drone site is not ready just because you have found a flat roof. Before the first operational flight, teams have to work through site access, power, connectivity, airspace, permitting, installation, and internal approvals. This session looks at the practical work required to move a site from selection to sustained operations. Learn the gotchas before they get you.

Brian Edinger, UAS Program Coordinator, State of Alaska Department of Transport & Public Facilities
Kevin Stuehler, Sergeant, Metra Police Department
Chris Grazioso, Chief of UAS Resilience Operations, MassDOT
Scott Cullinane, Key Account Leader - Critical Infrastructure, Skydio

Hear how transportation agencies are deploying DFR to accelerate incident detection, improve situational awareness, and build the operational muscle for always-on infrastructure monitoring. Learn from agencies running real-world programs across the country.

Joseph Russie, Police Officer, Lead DFR Pilot, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Jordan Pelley, Police Officer, Lead DFR Pilot, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department
Jakee Stoltz, Senior Director, Aviation Regulatory Affairs, Skydio

Multi-drone DFR is one of the most talked-about next steps in public safety drone operations — and one of the most misunderstood. This session looks at how LVMPD is using multiple aircrafts to keep eyes on active scenes, rotate drones without losing visibility, position ahead of pursuits, and extend coverage without adding unnecessary pilot workload.