American Drone Leadership Awards
Presented July 31, 2026
Congratulations to the American Drone Leadership Awards Recipients
American Drone Innovation Individual Award
Peter White
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
For years, Peter White has helped push the boundaries of what’s possible in advanced aviation—across roles at the Domestic Policy Council, FAA, and now the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. During the first Trump Administration, Peter played an instrumental role in developing the UAS Integration Pilot Program, bringing states, localities, industry, and the federal government together to test new approaches and move drone integration forward. Today, the industry is ready to scale—and Peter has remained focused on creating the conditions to make that possible. Over the past year, his work has helped advance the Drone Dominance Executive Order and regulatory clarity for the commercial drone marketplace—all with the goal of unleashing the benefits of commercial drones for the American public. We appreciate Peter’s tireless efforts and his commitment to American drone innovation.
American Drone Security Individual Award
Matt Whitehead
White House National Security Council
The past year has brought significant momentum around drone security and airspace sovereignty—from new policy initiatives and authorities to increased focus on counter-UAS capabilities. Behind that progress are people who have spent countless hours working through some of the hardest questions facing our industry.
Matt Whitehead is one of those people. During his time at the National Security Council, Matt has approached the drone security challenge with a willingness to listen, ask questions, and engage. Matt understands that drone security is about the entire ecosystem: enabling detection technologies to distinguish friend from foe, supporting a strong domestic commercial drone market, and bringing government and industry together to enable the good drones can do while protecting against their misuse.
Matt, thanks to you and the team at NSC for your steadfast commitment to moving this important work forward.
American Drone Innovation Team Award
FAA UAS Waiver and Exemption Teams
Liam Andrews
Ewan Compton
Chris Doherty
Jody Hemler
Gavin Hill
Derek Hufty
Joe Morra
Dan Ngo
At CDA, we often describe the challenge of enabling UAS operations under legacy aviation regulations as trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. For years, the FAA’s UAS Waiver and Exemption Team has helped make that fit possible. Waivers and exemptions have enabled countless operators to build businesses, test new concepts, and expand real-world drone operations while the broader regulatory framework catches up with innovation. What makes this team stand out is how they approach that challenge: with responsiveness, creativity, resourcefulness, and a willingness to solve problems across organizational lines. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗴𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗯𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱, 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗻𝗲. That mindset provides a critical bridge to the more scalable regulatory framework we’re all working toward.
American Drone Security Team Award
DHS Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Steven Willoughby
Aliya Boyer
Michael Baliles
Jose Cantu
Samantha Connelly
Shane Cullen
Mary Rupert
Thomas Salima
NUSTL
At CDA, we view security and innovation are two sides of the same coin. The DHS Program Executive Office for UAS and Counter-UAS has put that principle into action. Since DHS consolidated its drone security efforts under the PEO, the team has transformed how the Department engages with industry while helping turn policy into operational capability. The team has overseen significant investments in counter-UAS technology, supported the expansion of C-UAS capabilities to trained state and local law enforcement, and supported the enormous security effort surrounding this year's World Cup while ensuring compliant commercial operators can continue to serve communities. The PEO has also built a strong partnership with the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) to evaluate technologies for use by law enforcement agencies and first responders across the country.