4 Years Later, Women Who Drone Thrives
By Elena Buenrostro
Elena with her DJI Mavic Zoom in front of a NYC sunset
So, here we are! Had you told me four years ago when I came up with the idea to start Women Who Drone in NYC at a rooftop BBQ that I'd be growing an online drone community that would be impacting women and reaching people globally, I'm not sure I would have believed you, but knowing me, I'd be inclined to believe you. I'll tell you, it has been quite the journey. Four years can be a long time for some but very little to others, but I am so proud of all the things we've accomplished as a team.
Of course, it all started on The Great Wall of China. That adventure is truly the moment I started my drone journey and little did I know where it would take me in the next four years.
Elena on The Great Wall of China
And oh did my drone take me places. From moving to New York and coming up with the idea to start Women Who Drone, shooting an FPV drone commercial in Lisbon, Portugal to capturing cruise ships in the Cayman Islands and being invited to speak at a Women's University in Dubai, UAE, starting Women Who Drone has been quite an adventure and a dream come true!
Gallery of images where Elena has traveled to for Women Who Drone including Lisbon, Portugal, Dubai, UAE and the Cayman islands in the Caribbean.
Fast forward to 2021, had you told me that I would move back to my hometown, San Diego, CA working, speaking and teaching solely online all due to a global pandemic without the pleasures of traveling like I did before, there is NO way I'd believe you! However, that is the case and we have remained strong throughout it all as an online community and platform. I will say the pandemic did teach us a few things. Mostly, the importance of hosting virtual events and educational workshops for our global community, which makes a lot of sense but did not quite click pre-pandemic as we were hosting in-person events without even recording them! Nowadays, as you all might know, every live event is recorded! Oh, how we have learned so much!
Elena in NYC at the the Women Who Drone Office rooftop
Now, a year and half later after shutting down our in-person workshops and lessons and closing down our office in NYC (sad face), we have found a new way to conduct business and have become more productive and efficient as a team and organization. In just one year, we've produced 15 online workshops available as part of our drone academy, an ALL NEW Women Who Drone website, 12 Pilot Spotlights, over 100 blog posts and recently started a WWD podcast series available on Apple and Google Podcasts, highlighting women who are using drones for difference reasons around the world. This is double the content we produced pre-pandemic. Talk about getting things done while working from home!
The point is, even though the times have changed and we have been faced with some challenges and adversity, we learned and we continue to learn from the needs and wants of all of you, our community. We have learned how to share more content in a practical way so that we can continue to deliver more inspiring content, stories, education, news and resources to all of you that inspire us.
And THAT is what drives me and this wonderful team of ours to continue to do the work that we do.
So, I just wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. Thank you for all of the support you've shown over the years and the continued support you continue to provide as followers, readers, brand ambassadors and partners, WE appreciate you all!
On behalf of WWD, Elena, WWD Founder
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