Airborne International Response Team (AIRT)
Ex Vento Spes
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Drones and satellite imagery have historically been the domain of the military and foreign intelligence services. With the advancement in small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) and low-orbiting satellite constellations, this technology is now becoming readily available to the emergency management, disaster assistance, and humanitarian sectors. The problem is that these sectors are not well-versed in procuring, understanding, and using these aviation and aerospace systems. Airborne International Response Team (AIRT) members volunteer their time to assist end users across various domestic and international sectors with using UAS and other cutting-edge aviation technology to help communities mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from significant events complex emergencies, and major disasters.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance
The DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance was unveiled on April 12 at the UAS DRONES Disaster Conference in Miami to assist law enforcement, fire rescue, search teams, emergency management, and other stakeholders implement UAS technology and maximize its use for life-safety missions.
Led by Chief Charles Werner (ret.), Chairman of the National Council for Public Safety UAS and a nationally-recognized expert surrounding the use of drones by public safety organizations, the DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance will forge partnerships with other organizations across government, industry, and academia to continue the adoption and evolution of UAS.
DRONERESPONDERS will focus primarily on three core missions of:
1. PREPAREDNESS: Providing shared education and training capabilities surrounding the development, implementation, management, and flight operations of public safety-related drone programs to help first responders standardize UAS as a tool for everyday missions.
2. RESPONSE: Developing and maintaining a global directory of UAS teams, remote pilots, assets, and capabilities that can be deployed when emergencies and disasters strike.
3. RESILENCE: Deciphering and standardizing concepts, regulations, and procedures across like-minded organizations around the globe to develop consistent protocols for public safety and emergency management drone operations resulting in more resilient communities.
“Public safety agencies around the globe are yearning for additional knowledge about how they can effectively use drones for life-safety emergency missions,” says Werner. “DRONERESPONDERS will function as a support mechanism to help first responders better navigate the complex unmanned aviation landscape.”
DRONERESPONDERS will strive for standardization while effecting evolution within the public safety UAS realm via a series of three key objectives that support each the DRONERESPONDERS core missions. These objectives include:
1. LEARN: Producing conferences and large-scale regional events that unite UAS program managers, operators, and key stakeholders for educational presentations, workshops, and other programming that provides knowledge and develops the mindset needed to operate UAS safely and effectively for a wide range of public safety and disaster response missions.
2. TRAIN: Holding local training camps and clinics that provide detailed instruction to UAS field operations teams on specific functions and evolutions like search and rescue, damage assessment, HAZMAT response, newsgathering and public information, aerial forensic analysis, and more.
3. TEST: Coordinating drills and full-scale exercises predicated on the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and designed to validate the capabilities of UAS flight teams and operators in responding to various types of emergencies and catastrophes.
The DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance will operate as a program under the AIRT, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization formed in 2017 to help provide unmanned aviation resources for public safety and disaster response. DRONERESPONDERS will work in cooperation with the National Council on Public Safety UAS (NCPSU). Werner will serve as the DRONERESPONDERS program director, in addition to maintaining his position as chairman of the NCPSU.
About DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance
The DRONERESPONDERS non-profit mission is to facilitate preparedness, response and resilience using unmanned aircraft systems and related technologies operated by public safety, emergency management, and non-governmental volunteer organizations around the world. The DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance is a 501(c)3 non-profit operating program of AIRT, Inc. For more information on DRONERESPONDERS, please visit: http://droneresponders.org
DRONERESPONDERS Events
The DRONERESPONDERS Events program is predicated on the concept of Learn, Train, Test which is administered via the DRONERESPONDERS series of Disaster Conferences, Disaster Camp, and Disaster Exercise.
AIRT Task Force 1 (AIRT-TF-1)
AIRT Task Force 1 (AIRT-TF-1) is a team of multi-disciplinary subject matter experts who provide incident management, unmanned aviation (UAS), data management, and geospatial information systems (GIS) support to governments, industry, NGO's and at-risk and vulnerable populations threatened or impacted by complex emergencies and disasters.
AIRT-APD
A partnership with the Asociación de Profesionales de Drones (APD), a specialized professional organization based in Bogotá, Colombia with a presence in six countries in Latin America, to promote the use and standardization of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and associated technologies throughout the Caribbean and Latin America for emergencies and disasters.
The memorandum of understanding also calls for mutual-aid and support capabilities for disaster preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities for complex incidents and significant emergencies such as hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides, and a range of other disasters.
Where we work
Affiliations & memberships
Academy of International Preparedness at Florida International University 2018
External reviews

Photos
Videos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of public events held to further mission
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of affiliates speaking at conferences
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of people trained
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of organizational partners
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of leadership positions held by organization staff in community initiatives
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of new organization members
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Number of press releases developed and distributed
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Total number of conferences held
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults
Related Program
DRONERESPONDERS Public Safety Alliance
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
We use unmanned aviation and aerospace assets to bridge gaps between stakeholders and provide rapid aerial data to those most in need during significant events, complex emergencies, and major disasters.
We will protect vulnerable populations by helping mitigate the impact of emergencies and disasters through research and knowledge sharing.
We will help communities prepare for disasters through training and exercises involving unmanned systems.
We will take direct action to respond to those most in need when disaster strikes.
We will work with our partners to help communities and families recover from disaster by providing crucial aerial data and other aviation resources.
To accomplish these goals, we seek to fund at least one significant project across each of our core missions areas of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery for calendar year 2019 with measurable results and transparent reporting to our supporters to enable significant program expansion in CY 2020.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We are a young organization in the planning process for our first formal awareness and fundraising campaign. Yet we have an incredible interest, enthusiasm, and momentum. The short-term goals for our organization are as follows:
1) Position the organization for success by establishing solid management and fiscal practices to ensure longevity.
2) Deploy cutting-edge, cost-efficient, and savvy programs for marketing, fundraising, logistics, and operations.
3) Establish working relationships with like-minded organizations and key influencers to expand. our support network.
4) Recruit over 1,000 volunteer remote pilots from across the globe before January 1, 2022.
5) Fund three significant projects across each of our core missions areas of mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
We have a core team of 10 volunteer staff combined with a global network of our 500 remote pilots with unmanned systems who have been trained and are willing to respond to emergencies and disasters. We have a fleet of over 16 unmanned aircraft systems at our disposal.
Our partners include Esri, the Eig Watson School of Aviation at Miami-Dade College, the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), the Miami-Dade Beacon Council for Economic Development, and others.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Within our first three years we have achieved the following milestones:
1) Established the organization, defined the mission, developed the brand, and generated momentum with key partners, staff, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
2) Deployed operational teams to several training exercises, complex emergencies and major disasters including:
- Hurricane Irma, September 2017
- 8th Street Pedestrian Bridge Collapse at FIU, March 2018
- UAS DRONES Disaster Exercise, July 2018
- 5800 Collins Avenue Building Collapse, July 2018
- Dual Aircraft Collision in Western Miami-Dade County, July 2018
- Hurricane Florence, September 2018
- Hurricane Michael, October 2018
- Hurricane Dorian, October 2018
- Hurricane Eta, November 2019
3) Organized and produced one-of-a-kind events under our UAS DRONES Disaster brand to include:
- UAS DRONES Disaster Conference - Miami, April 2018
- UAS DRONES Disaster Camp - Miami, July 2018
- UAS DRONES Disaster Exercise - Miami, July 2018
We project that AIRT will at least double the output of these programs depending on available support in FY 2021.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Airborne International Response Team (AIRT)
Board of directorsas of 02/22/2022
Mr. Christopher Todd
Airborne Response
Term: 2020 - 2022
John Ciampa
Altametry, Inc
Andy Jaques
Airborne Response
Thomas Oatmeyer
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department
Judith Hudson
U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary
Anthony Loperfido
Miami-Beach Police Department
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? GuideStar partnered on this section with CHANGE Philanthropy and Equity in the Center.
Leadership
No data
The organization's co-leader identifies as:
No data
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
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Sexual orientation
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Disability
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