As CEO and owner of AERODiMEO LLC., Karen DiMeo advises her clients on issues related to uncrewed and advanced emerging technologies in the commercial aerospace ecosystem. With 30 years of experience in the aviation industry from government, startup and fortune 500 corporate businesses, AERODiMEO is uniquely positioned to provide expert advice, support and strategy services for organizations seeking to advance in the UAS (drone) and Advanced Air Mobility markets.

As Head of Policy and Government Affairs for AiRXOS Inc., GE Aviation’s drone technology company, Karen DiMeo reported to the CEO and led government relations engagement to position the success and inclusion of AiRXOS products in government research and partnership programs, such as the Federal Aviation Administration Partnership for Safety Program.In her role, she developed and executed advocacy strategies to legislatively progress key industry enablers such as Remote Identification, Operations Over People, and Beyond Visual Line of Site regulations to advance company’s commercial aviation goals for scalable and economically viable UAS operations. Ms. DiMeo strategically aligned and prioritized internal policy and regulatory objectives with emerging public policy, by collaborating and facilitating discussion across product and safety teams for cohesion with product development and business goals.As the senior member of the company for Policy and Government Affairs, Ms. DiMeo was responsible for building and maintaining external relationships with key trade associations, industry leading corporate peers, and emerging partners to garner industry-wide policy consensus and maximize regulatory influence. She fostered and advanced AiRXOS’ reputation as an industry leader, liaised with multiple senior government executive offices (White House, Hill, NASA, FAA, federal and state Departments of Transportation), and served as an ambassador at industry events and conferences.

As Strategic Account Manager for AiRXOS, Karen DiMeo was responsible for the development and management of key portfolio accounts, and strategic policy positions for emerging regulatory issues. Her role included creating and maintaining liaison between key commercial customers and internal teams.

Facilitated the drone delivery service startup’s selection as part of 4 winning government teams for the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Unmanned Aircraft System Integration Pilot Program (UAS IPP); City of Reno, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, Memphis-Shelby County Airport Authority, and Kansas DOT. Built and maintained relationships with key government agencies, elected officials, legislators and embassy diplomats. Developed regulatory strategies for drone delivery operational approvals in the United States, and supported regulatory strategies being developed and sought abroad.

Provided technical expertise and support to the FAA UAS Senior Executive responsible for oversight of strategic plans for the agency’s enterprise-level UAS initiatives, integration progress, and scientific and research activities. Created and maintained liaison with top officials of special interest groups and key external stakeholders including the Department of Transportation, Executive Branch agencies, Congress, and the aviation industry.

Innovative thought leader on the safe and effective integration of drones, or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), into the aviation ecosystem. Determined research needs in the context of standards and policy gaps to drive technical direction for multi-disciplinary FAA teams that conduct research to support the safe and effective integration of UAS into the National Airspace System. Managed and executed validation and verification studies using a variety of methods including fast-time modeling, virtual reality simulations, demonstrations, flight tests, and engineering studies. Developed and nurtured key alliances with industry stakeholders to collaboratively address the crucial challenges facing the advancement of unmanned systems. Invited keynote, speaker, and panelist at major UAS conferences including InterDrone, Drone World Expo, NJ DroneBot Works, UAS Cape May NJ Conference.

Research expert and key member of FAA’s think tank team responsible for two high-priority special projects for the Air Traffic Organization. The first crash-basis challenge was in response to a Homeland Security Presidential Directive that imposed new requirements for federal agencies to better protect their infrastructure. We designed a Business Continuity Plan to enable the FAA to restore air traffic services in the aftermath of a catastrophic loss of a major FAA facility and/or its staff. Our second effort was the Future Facilities Project to develop a plan for radically transforming the FAA’s Air Traffic Management staffed facilities to keep pace with the required technical and operational changes expected with the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen).

Principal Investigator and Project Team Lead for multiple FAA research and development activities to validate near-term and future concepts in air traffic control. FAA liaison to NASA Ames Research Center with temporary duty station assigned as Moffett Field, California (1996/1997) . Projects led through the validation and verification process include; Integrated Arrival/Departure Control Service, Aircraft Landing Lights Enhance Runway Traffic Safety, GPS Outage En Route Study, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport Perimeter Taxiway Demonstration, Dynamic Density, the FAA/NASA/Volpe Air-Ground Integration Experiment, the Joint FAA/ARMY/NASA High Level Architecture Demonstration, Multiple Parallel Approach Program, Reduced Vertical Separation Minima Program.