Looking Back: The Long Road to the California Jobs First AAM Investments
Last week’s announcement of the $7.4M California Jobs First Regional Investment Initiative award to establish the California Advanced Air Mobility Corridors Initiative (CAAMCI) was more than just a win for the Central Coast region. It was the culmination of decades of vision, persistence, and collaboration that began long before “advanced air mobility” was a commonly used phrase.
I want to take a (few) moments to reflect on and celebrate the many DART-relevant* milestones, which along with broad collaboration with our many partners and collaborators over our 8-year history, brought us to this moment. I hope this timeline provides inspiration for other economic development practitioners working on complex, multi-partner initiatives. Making progress on these programs takes dedication, resources, skillful navigation, partnership and sometimes many years to realize.
As this next chapter unfolds involving the CAAMCI Award, the recently announced FAA eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), and the energized cross-sector (Industry, Government, Education & Community) partners, DART stands ready to support these exciting endeavors for the benefit of the Monterey Bay and Central Coast Regions, The State of California, and the Nation. Onward!
*While we made every effort to capture the milestones we felt most relevant to DARTs history, and contributions to the current moment, inevitably there will be those that we inadvertently missed, or left for other histories to be told. Feel free to reach out in the event you (the reader) have a particular milestone you feel should be represented.
From Fort Ord to New Futures (1994–2015)
- 1994: The closure of Fort Ord led to the creation of the Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) (mission concluded June 2020), which oversaw the guided billion in investment into cleanup, roads, housing, conservation, and new institutions like California State University Monterey Bay (CSUMB) and the UCSC Monterey Bay Education Science and Technology (MBEST) Center (notably envisioned in the National Award winning Fort Ord Base Reuse Plan as the home for up to 5000 university and private sector affiliated jobs from the planned MBEST research & development park).
- Conveyance of the former Fritzsche Field helicopter base to the City of Marina planted the seeds for today’s Marina Airport.
- 2009: Joby Aviation founded in Santa Cruz, CA.
- 2010: Kitty Hawk Corporation founded in Palo Alto, CA.
- 2012: Naval Post-graduate School (NPS) begins hosting Joint Interagency Field Experiments (JIFX) at Camp Roberts
- 2015: FORA launched its Economic Development Program, and the Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) was formed as a new non-profit regional economic development organization for the tri-county (Monterey, Santa Cruz, & San Benito) Monterey Bay Region.
Early Innovation Seeds (2015–2021)
- 2015: Insight Up Solutions (IUS) established by Chris Bley with operations on the Monterey Bay Academy campus.
- 2016: NASA established the Hollister test ecosystem for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) and autonomous flight operations.
- 2016: Elroy Air founded in South San Francisco, CA.
- 2017: FORA and IUS partnered to galvanize community support and produce and submit a response to the FAA UAS Integration Pilot Program.
- 2018: DART founded to sustain and accelerate the nascent UAS/AAM ecosystem and realize the long-dreamed of, post-Fort Ord, private sector jobs growth in the Monterey Bay and broader Central Coast region.
- 2018: Joby Aviation established its aircraft production line and flight test operation at Marina Airport.
- 2018: Archer Aviation founded in San Jose, CA.
- 2018: UCANR Drone Camp held at CSUMB & UC MBEST with key facilitation from DART connecting UCANR and CSUMB interests, resulting in the movement of the annual Drone Camp to Monterey (now in its 8th year).
- 2019: Inaugural DART Symposium (rebranded to LIFT Summit in 2025) organized by DART held at the Monterey Hyatt.
- 2019: Wisk Aero formed as a joint venture between Boeing and Kitty Hawk, and continues test flight operations at the Hollister Airport.
- 2020: FORA Sunset: As FORA’s mission sunset, local partners carried forward its economic development vision.
- 2020: Joby Retention Round 1, produced by RGS on behalf of the City of Marina, UCSC, CSUMB, MBEP, DART, and Go-Biz, kept high-quality jobs in the region.
- 2020: DART + UCSC CITRIS completed the Drones in Forestry Career Pathways Report in partnership with MBEP and Regional Government Services (RGS), an early example of using drone technology to link industry, environment, and workforce development.
- 2021: Drones & AAM were integrated into the Monterey County CEDS (p106-115) and highlighted in the Regions Rise Together report.
- 2021: Archer Aviation starts unmanned test flights at the Salinas Airport.
State & Federal Alignment (2021–2023)
- 2021: Central Coast region pursued an EDA Build Back Better Regional Challenge (DART + MBEP + REACH) including the “Central Coast air mobility innovation corridor” concept.
- 2021: The State of California launched the CERF process (ultimately becoming California Jobs First (CJF)). Uplift Central Coast coalition launched by MBEP + REACH + Ventura EDC to lead the CJF Central Coast regional planning process.
- 2021: CITRIS Aviation Program launched linking research activities at 4 UC campuses (Berkeley, Davis, Santa Cruz, Merced), CITRIS Aviation Prize launched, expanding student innovation in emerging mobility, and CITRIS Institute for Drone Education and Research (CIDER) formed at UCSC.
- 2021: Airspace Integration (ASI) establishes UAS test range operations at the Monterey Bay Academy Airport (CA66)
- 2022: DART received an Irvine Foundation Priority Communities R&D Grant, and launched the DART-Joby Advanced Manufacturing Apprenticeship Program (AMAP).
- 2022: DART, UCSC CITRIS, ASI and ATA partner to launch the Central Coast Flight Information Exchange to inform users of low-altitude flight operations.
- 2022: DART and Ventura Tech Bridge at Fathomwerx execute Innovation Pipeline Collaboration MOU
- 2023: DART launched Monterey Bay Regional Workforce Training Center Feasibility Study to assess the need and demand for a regional workforce training center focused on preparing the local workforce for the jobs of the future in advanced manufacturing, drones, automation, and robotics technology
- 2023: The Uplift Central Coast Regional Plan published, integrating extensive community input, the Monterey County CEDS and highlighting the Monterey Sub-region AAM + UAS cluster.
- 2023: Partners advanced bold proposals: an NSF Regional Innovation Engines (MBEP-led), an EDA Tech Hubs (UCSC-led), and the UCB-ITS Golden Triangle – envisioning R&D linkages between regional GA Airports (UC Berkeley ITS + DART).
- 2023: Joby Retention Round 2 broad cross-sector regional and State participation. Process facilitated by DART resulting in Joby Marina Airport expansion.
- 2023: Salinas Inclusive Economic Development Initiative leaders (Mujeres en Acción, Building Healthy Communities, COPA), and partners (Hartnell College + DART) inspired Senator Anna Caballero’s interest in AAM, leading to SB800 and ultimately the $9.8M Joby CalCompetes award and 690 additional quality jobs in CA.
Building Workforce & Ecosystem Capacity (2022–2025)
- Workforce innovation became DART’s backbone:
- 2024: AMAP Case Study: Securing a Successful Future for Workers, Community, and Business published by Talent Rewire.
- 2024: Formation of the Monterey Bay Tech Hub (Co-founders and Executive Committee: DART +MBEP + UCSC) with DART leading the Infrastructure Working Group, MBEP leading on administration and policy advocacy and UCSC leading the Workforce Development Working Group.
- 2025: ASI hosts NASA Advanced Capabilities for Emergency Response Operations (ACERO) field tests at La Selva Beach and Salinas Valley.
- 2025: DART hosted the LIFT Summit, completed the SOAR AAM Airport Readiness Assessment, and published FLIGHT TO IMPACT: Economic and Workforce Outcomes from U.S. AAM Initiatives.
- 2025: DART and Skyway signed an MOU to complete a regional vertiport network feasibility study, building on the SOAR AAM Readiness Assessment.
- 2025: White House issues Executive Order “Unleashing American Drone Dominance”.
- 2025: PVUSD and DART partnered to launch the RV-12 Airplane Build Lab as a new Career Technical Education (CTE) Pathway.
- 2025: DART and Joby partnered to launch the first Aircraft Maintenance Technician Apprenticeship (AMTA) cohort.
- 2025: UCB-ITS & DART led the Center for Advanced Aviation Technology (CAAT) RFI response .
Culmination (2025)
- $2M Advancing Equitable Access to High-quality Jobs of the Future in AAM Irvine Foundation Renewal Grant awarded to DART and CSUMB.
- $500k Drone Uplifting Central Coast Communities Catalyst Award to UCSC CITRIS CIDER.
- $550k Advanced Air Mobility Innovation Center Catalyst Award to Ventura County
- $3.3M Drones Uplifting California Communities – Train the Trainer Regional Investment Initiative to UCSC CITRIS CIDER.
- $7.4M CA Jobs First Regional Investment Initiative award to CAAMCI (MBEP as lead applicant on behalf of MBTH).
Looking back, the through-line is clear: a community willing to invest, collaborate, and adapt, guided by a belief that the Central Coast can lead in climate-smart aerospace innovation.
This is not the finish line. It’s the foundation for what comes next: expanding opportunities, scaling workforce programs, building vertiport infrastructure, and ensuring this future is inclusive for all.
A heartfelt thank you to our many partners—FORA alumni, MBEP, MBTH, UCSC, CITRIS, CIDER, Joby, PVUSD, Skyway, the Irvine Foundation, Hartnell College, Mujeres en Acción, COPA, Monterey Black Caucus, our local airports, the Uplift Central Coast Coalition, and state/federal allies—who made this journey possible.
Onward!
