The Monterey Bay DART Initiative 501 c 3 corporation was established in January 2019 as a public-private non-profit organization to establish and facilitate a world-class drone, automation/autonomy, robotics technology development, testing, and manufacturing cluster in the Monterey Bay Region by supporting good fit, climate-smart, DART businesses for jobs growth and community vitality. 

DART works towards this mission with four program focus areas:

  • Innovative workforce development programs
  • Critical infrastructure & facilities access
  • Innovation, entrepreneurship & business development
  • Education & policy advocacy

DART’s Vision is to connect and coordinate industry, government, academic, and DART practitioners to pursue opportunities for regional advancement, innovation, and economic development.

DART performs five main functions in each above focus area:

Connect. Convene stakeholders and strengthen the DART community to coordinate action, advance projects, and establish productive cross-sector partnerships;

Manage. Manage new workforce and infrastructure project development plans and programs;

Fund. Identify, pursue, and secure public and private funding to support research and development, infrastructure improvement, and venture creation/growth;

Educate. Host industry and educational forums. Contribute to regional workforce solutions, curriculum development and education; and

Advocate. Advocate for safe and appropriate market, facilities and airspace access.

BOARD

Andrea Pesce

UC Santa Cruz | DART Board of Directors Member

Andrea Pesce is the Director of Industry Alliances for the recently launched Innovation...

Brad Barbeau

CSU Monterey Bay | DART Board of Directors Member

Brad Barbeau, Ph.D., is Professor of Entrepreneurship in the College...

Brooks McChesney

Independent Venture/Start-Up Consultant

Brooks McChesney has been an entrepreneur and senior executive in...

Chris Bley

Airspace Integration | DART Board of Directors Member

Chris Bley is a Santa Cruz-based serial entrepreneur and co-founder...

Cody Cleverly

Joby Aviation

Cody Cleverly is the Workforce Development Lead at Joby Aviation...

Michael Matkin

CITRIS, UC Santa Cruz | DART Board of Directors Member

Michael Matkin is the Executive Director of CITRIS and the...

TEAM

Josh Metz

Monterey Bay DART

Josh Metz is the Executive Director and co-founder of the...

Abigail Scott

Monterey Bay DART

Abigail joined the Monterey Bay DART Team in Summer 2022...

Jen Simon

Monterey Bay DART

Jen Simon as the Art Director, has been involved with...

 

ADVISORS

Yolanka Wulff

Community Air Mobility Initiative

Yolanka Wulff is Executive Director of CAMI, the Community Air...

Sean Hogan

UC Ag & Natural Resources

Sean Hogan is the founder and Director of the IGIS...

Rodrigo Nieto

Naval Post Graduate School

Dr. Rodrigo Nieto is a geostrategist and defense futurist focused...

Doug Erickson

Santa Cruz Works

Doug Erickson is the Executive Director of Santa Cruz Works a...

Andrew Lawson

California State University Monterey Bay

Dr Lawson serves as Dean of the College of Science...

Adam Cohen

University of California, Berkeley

Adam Cohen is a transportation futurist and researcher at the...