Women in Unmanned Systems
Editor’s Note: In our ongoing effort to promote geospatial professions, we’re asking dynamic leaders what attracted them to UAS and other geospatial fields as well as advice they might have for young people considering choosing related career paths.
I’ve been fascinated by flight ever since I was little. If I were to trace back where my love of flight comes from, it would lead to my amazing dad, who’s an aerospace engineer. As I was growing up, our dinners were filled with interesting stories, and our walls always had framed pictures of my dad’s team members standing in front of the airplanes or helicopters they had built, tested, and certified.
Although I’m an avid fan of traveling, no matter how many flights I’ve taken in my life or how many times I’ve watched a plane take off or land, flight will always be a magical experience to me.
Technology is something else that has captivated me since I was 11 and would frequently ask my parents if I could have “just another hour” on the family computer before going to bed. The possibilities created by technology to connect and improve lives are incredibly exciting.
Rosalie Bartlett: Marketing manager at Kespry
So it’s no wonder that for most of my career I’ve worked in the aerospace industry. I jumped into the commercial drone industry almost three years ago, as a consultant focused on business development and marketing and as the creator and editor of Commercial Drone News.
Fast forward to today, where I’m very lucky to combine my love of flight and technology at an incredible commercial drone company called Kespry. Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Kespry provides drone systems for aggregates, construction, insurance, and mining. What I love at Kespry is the focus on a fully automated and integrated drone system that’s easy for companies new to drones to use on their own as often as they want.
The team at Kespry is comprised of talented and collaborative people who are passionate about using drones to change the world. Not a day goes by that I’m not excited to hop into an Uber and head to the office.
In addition to focusing on marketing at Kespry, I’m also the editor of Drones at Work, a commercial drone industry news site. We share all the interesting news about how drones are being used across a range of industries in agriculture, construction, delivery, inspection, insurance, mining, oil and gas, search and rescue, surveying, and many others. We’re now accepting articles on commercial drones, and we’ve partnered with drone media companies such as Commercial UAV Expo, Drone World Expo, InterDrone, and International Drone Expo to help share drone news with all our audiences.
My advice to women who are considering joining this exciting industry is to follow your passion and love what you do. If you love flight and would like to be part of a creative, challenging, welcoming, and rapidly growing space that’s changing so many industries and lives, then I’d highly recommend a career in the commercial drone industry.