The 2025 LIFT Summit

The 2025 LIFT Summit, hosted by DART at the Monterey Conference Center from March 26–28, brought together leaders in advanced air mobility, workforce development, and public policy to chart California’s future in next-gen aviation.

Day one featured exclusive flight demos and facility tours from companies like Joby, Archer, and Guardian Ag—offered to government and nonprofit attendees under NDA. The following days included keynotes, workshops, and panels on workforce pipelines, infrastructure, and policy, with a strong focus on inclusive job creation through DART’s “Jobs First for AAM” initiative.

The event blended innovation, strategy, and collaboration—setting the stage for California to lead in advanced air mobility.

2025 Highlight Video:

Speakers Included:

  • Abigail Smith

    Founder/CEO

  • Adam Cohen

  • Alan Jon Van Nevel

    Associate Provost

  • Andrew Carter

    CEO

  • Anwar Elgonemy

    Hotel & Special Projects Director

  • Becca Fenwick

  • Bruce Stenslie

    President & CEO

  • Chris Lopez

    Chair

  • Clifford Cruz

    Co-Founder & CEO

  • Cody Cleverly

    Workforce Development Lead | Joby Aviation

  • David Dunning

    Director, Global Innovation & Policy

  • David Oord

    Senior Policy Manager

  • Dean Donovan

    Managing Director and Co-Founder

  • Don Berchoff

    CEO

  • Dr. Carl Dietrich

    Founder/CEO/CTO

  • Dr. David Merrill

    Co-Founder and Executive Chairman

  • Dr. Kristin Schauble

    Director of Systems Engineering

  • Dr. Peter Webley

  • Edgar G. Waggoner

    Senior Principal

  • Elizabeth Posey

    Senior Program Officer

  • Eric Allison

    Chief Product Officer

  • Erin Sheelen

    Transportation Planner

  • Ernest Huffman

    Aviation Planning and Education Program Manager

  • George Kivork

    Head of State and Local Policy

  • Henry Brinck

    Founder & President

  • Ingar Grev

    Director - Department of Defense Business Development

  • James Dorris

    Co-Founder and CEO

  • James Grimsley

  • James Parrish

    Business Director

  • Jaqueline Cruz

    Vice President of Advancement

  • Josh Metz

    Executive Director

  • Kenji Sugahara

    Director

  • Lt. Gen. Andrew A. Croft

    Military Deputy Commander, United States Southern Command, Doral, Florida

  • Marek Gootman

    Nonresident Senior Fellow

  • Maria Elena Manzo

  • Martha Danly

    Head of Marketing

  • Matt Beatty

    Founder

  • Matt Nelson

    Airport Manager

  • Matthew Friedman

    Chief of the Office of Aviation Planning

  • Melissa James

    President & CEO

  • Richard A. Gephardt

    President and CEO

  • Rob Heilman

    Director, Engineering and Product Development

  • Rob O’Keefe

    President & CEO

  • Robert Rose

    Co-Founder and CEO

  • Rodrigo Nieto

    Research Professor

  • Sarasina Tuchen

    Investor, Advisor, Board Director, Philanthropist

  • Stephen Zoepf

    Co-Founder

  • Steve Ellis

  • Tahra Goraya

    President & CEO

  • Tarek Tabshouri

    Chief - Division of Aeronautics

  • Ted Angel

    Executive Director

  • Thomas Swoyer

  • Tony C. Williams

    Senior Advisor

  • Walter Stockwell

    VP, Software Engineering

Sponsors & Partners: