LIFT Summit Agenda

Registration at the Monterey Conference Center
1 Portola Plaza, Monterey, 93940

Two months after publication of the Advanced Air Mobility National Strategy 2025, this fireside chat will explore how the work of the USDOT AAM Interagency Working Group is shaping the path from federal strategy to on-the-ground implementation. The discussion will center on the role of coordinated policy and transportation planning in integrating AAM as a viable mode within the broader multimodal network.

Conversation will highlight priority use cases aligned with national mobility objectives, the workforce systems required to support scale, and the regional economic benefits that expanded mobility may unlock. We will also examine infrastructure considerations—from vertiport planning to multimodal connectivity—and the importance of stakeholder and community engagement in building durable public trust as AAM moves toward deployment.

The LIFT Summit 2026 Opening Plenary convenes a high-level coalition of federal and state aviation authorities to transition the United States from demonstration to commercial adoption. Grounded in the 2025 AAM National Strategy and the Administration’s Executive Order on American Drone Dominance, this session addresses the critical integration of electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) systems, uncrewed aircraft, and counter-UAS modernization as pillars of both economic security and national defense. By deconstructing the eVTOL and AAM Aircraft Implementation Pilot Program (eIPP), leaders from the USDOT, FAA, and the National Association of State Aviation Officials (NASAO) will define the regulatory sequencing and public-private partnerships necessary to move toward scaled, revenue-generating operations. Attendees will survey the federal landscape and gain a definitive roadmap for how advanced aircraft will integrate into the National Airspace System, providing the infrastructure and supply chain frameworks required to secure American leadership in the emerging low-altitude economy.

As Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) transitions from demonstration to deployment, states are emerging as the critical architects of integration—aligning infrastructure, workforce, airspace policy, community engagement, and economic development into cohesive implementation strategies. In addition to operational concepts, this discussion centers on governance frameworks, interagency coordination, infrastructure planning, public acceptance strategies, and financing mechanisms that enable AAM integration. This LIFT Summit session will spotlight the state-led visions reflected in recently submitted FAA eVTOL and AAM Aircraft Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) proposals, featuring public-private leadership from New York, Ohio, Texas, and California.

The FAA’s recent proposed Part 108 rulemaking represents a pivotal step in defining operational pathways for certification, training standards, and commercial service frameworks for large drones and other uncrewed eVTOL. In this high-level investor-focused discussion, Diamond Stream Managing Director Dean Donovan brings together AAM CEOs, policy experts, and enabling technology providers to unpack how proposed Part 108 rulemaking reduces uncertainty, de-risks capital deployment, and accelerates commercialization timelines. The session will explore what the rulemaking clarifies, what risks remain, and how companies are aligning certification, infrastructure, workforce, and capital strategies around this evolving regulatory foundation.

This fireside chat brings together California transportation leadership for a forward-looking conversation on what it takes to successfully integrate advanced air mobility into an evolving transportation system. With experience spanning innovative mobility research and applied state-level implementation, the discussion will focus on translating lessons learned into actionable strategy.

Topics will include insights from past innovative mobility rollouts, key research findings relevant to emerging transportation technologies, and how those lessons inform AAM planning and deployment. The session will also explore policy implications, implementation strategy at the state level, and the role of programs such as eIPP as next-step demonstration opportunities. Together, the conversation will examine how research, policy, and practical experience can align to accelerate responsible AAM integration.

Community acceptance has become one of the most critical determinants of success as the low-altitude economy moves from testing to early deployment. This session brings together civic leaders, environmental advocates, public-health experts, airport managers, and AAM operators to explore how trust is built—and sometimes lost—in the early stages of AAM rollout. Panelists will examine lessons from recent test operations, the importance of transparent data, how to co-design mobility solutions with local communities, and the governance approaches that best balance innovation with public confidence. The discussion will highlight practical tools for airports, OEMs, and local governments to meaningfully engage residents and ensure that AAM deployment is responsive, fair, and community-led.

The low-altitude economy is no longer theoretical—it’s hiring. From electric aircraft production and maintenance to UAS operations, sensor integration, and data analytics, the Monterey Bay region is rapidly building the workforce infrastructure needed to support advanced air mobility (AAM), defense-aligned UAS applications, and next-generation aviation manufacturing. This afternoon session spotlights how DART and its partners are translating industry demand into tangible education and career pathways.

As airports across California and the nation prepare for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS), and next-generation cargo operations, the central question is no longer whether to modernize infrastructure — it’s how to pay for it. This LIFT Summit panel convenes federal, state, airport, and private capital leaders to explore the evolving capital stack behind airport and vertiport infrastructure. From traditional grant programs to innovative public-private partnership (P3) models, we will examine how airports can align funding strategies with the demands of the emerging low-altitude economy. With new use cases emerging, early funding decisions for infrastructure will shape economic competitiveness for decades.

As electric air mobility moves from vision to implementation, the energy demands of vertiports are emerging as one of the most critical and least understood factors shaping system-wide readiness. This session brings together leaders from utilities, OEMs, airport authorities, and energy-storage innovators to explore what it will truly take to power next-generation vertiport operations across California and the nation. Panelists will unpack the evolving electrical load profiles for eVTOL charging, address interconnection and grid-capacity challenges, and highlight opportunities for microgrids, renewable energy integration, and demand-management strategies. Through real-world case studies and near-term deployment lessons, this discussion will help airports, planners, and policymakers understand how to future-proof vertiport infrastructure while ensuring affordability, resilience, and scalability in the low-altitude economy.

While commercial passenger and cargo operations frequently dominate the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) narrative, the most immediate and profound societal impacts of airspace modernization will emerge from applications dedicated to public service. The transition of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) and AAM from conceptual frameworks to operational realities presents an unprecedented opportunity to enhance emergency response, natural disaster mitigation, and equitable healthcare access. This panel, featuring leading voices from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and premier academic research institutions, explores how airspace management is being actively engineered to serve critical public needs.

As climate change accelerates and urban regions confront congestion, housing pressure, and infrastructure strain, governments are increasingly looking beyond borders for practical, scalable solutions. This high-level fireside chat brings together California and Dutch leadership to explore a dynamic international partnership advancing innovative mobility as a climate strategy. The Governors Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation Director Samuel Assefa and Dr. Peter Van Deventer will discuss the origins and evolution of the California–Netherlands collaboration, including the development of shared frameworks around climate-smart land use, zero-emission transportation systems, and next-generation mobility infrastructure.

The future of airspace integration depends not only on procedures and rules, but on the digital infrastructure that enables safe, automated, and scalable flight. From sensing to data exchange to service-based architectures, the emerging low-altitude NAS will require a new generation of digital systems that can support mixed-use traffic, higher volumes, and diverse aircraft capabilities. This session brings together leaders from the field to explore the technical backbone of tomorrow’s airspace. Panelists will discuss lessons from UTM and early AAM test corridors, the role of automation in mixed IFR, VFR, and potential AFR environments, requirements for data-sharing and cyber-resilience, and how digital infrastructure investments can accelerate integration across airports and regions. The conversation will focus on actionable pathways to build the data-rich, interoperable, performance-driven systems needed for the low-altitude economy.

While the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) sector rapidly advances vehicle certification, airspace integration, and physical vertiport infrastructure, a critical and historically overlooked variable threatens to bottleneck operations at scale: weather. Recognizing this vulnerability, the AAM National Strategy has formally incorporated meteorological integration as a foundational element for safe and scalable low-altitude flight. This panel brings private and public sector leaders in AAM weather capabilities to explore the intersection of localized weather risk, mitigation technologies, and federal policy, examining how atmospheric intelligence must transition from an operational afterthought to a core pillar of the national blueprint for advanced aviation.

The transition of eVTOL operations from conceptual frameworks to a reality on the tarmac forces airports to confront the immediate, practical challenges of integrating a novel class of aircraft into legacy systems. This session brings together leaders with real-world experience to discuss early lessons from pilot operations, evolving regulatory pathways, and the infrastructure investments needed to safely and efficiently support eVTOL activity. Panelists will explore what’s worked, what hasn’t, and what airports of all sizes should be preparing for as Advanced Air Mobility scales.