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OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM

Women Who Drone® is a team of dynamic individuals with a passion for drones and empowering women in their respective areas of expertise.

Elena Buenrostro

Founder & CEO

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Elena Buenrostro is a content creator, Part 107 licensed drone pilot, educator and the Founder of Women Who Drone, an organization that inspires, educates and empowers women and girls with drone technology. Elena is also an international public speaker sharing her drone knowledge at conferences and universities worldwide including World of Drones & Robotics Congress, AUVSI FAA Symposium, Girl Scouts of America, Girl's Inc and Columbia University amongst many more. Elena's work has been featured in The Washington post, Fast Company, DJI, The Verge, FierceMitu, Drone Life and many more publications.

Elena is also an Activation & Engagement Marketing Manager at Google leading global activation and engagement strategies for Google Play, (Android's app store).

Recent experience includes developing content and social media strategies for global social channels, working with top developer companies to execute sponsored content with Youtube influencers.

Past experience includes producing online courses and weekly Facebook Live content with celebrity influencers. Elena's TV experience includes pitching, writing, hosting and producing award winning luxury lifestyle, travel and documentary TV shows for an international television network, AWE.



In addition to creating content at a professional level, Elena is an engaged international speaker, educator and FAA Part 107 remote licensed drone pilot with experience teaching K-12 video production and drone workshops.

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Eliza Sarobhasa, PMP

Chief Technology Officer

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Eliza Sarobhasa is a Certified Drone Pilot, and currently test flights her DJI Phantom 3 in the forests, mountain peaks, and oceans of Vancouver, BC. Her drone projects include wildfire prevention, fire surveillance, SAR, robotics, 3D mapping, geospatial, and satellite imagery projects.

Eliza joined the Women Who Drone team in 2019 and runs large-scale projects and programming, global content marketing partnerships, fullstack front/back-end website development, and everything technical-related to WWD.

She has been marketing for over 11 years, and works in both advertising and software products. Her many hats include roles from Data Science, Project Management, UI/UX Design, Open Source Software, and Linguistics. 

She holds four degrees - BA (English Literature, Interaction Design, Communications, Linguistics) from Simon Fraser University, Arts degree from Langara College, and Technical degrees in Project Management and Agile Development from British Columbia Institute of Technology.

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Ella Sophia Garcia

Social Media Marketing Manager

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Ella is a Part 107 licensed drone pilot, lead drone instructor and the Assistant Director of Marketing and Communications at Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. She brings her expertise in digital marketing, education, and entrepreneurship to the forefront. Additionally, she is the founder of Maven Media House, a company specializing in crafting compelling brand narratives. Her passion lies in empowering individuals and businesses to excel in the ever-evolving digital landscape through creative storytelling and innovative marketing strategies.

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Psyona Williams

Content Producer & Editor

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Psyona has always loved photography and filmmaking since she can remember, she purchased her first drone in 2017 and went on to obtain her PfCO in 2018. Psyona graduated university in Film Studies in 2018 and now works as a freelance drone operator and video editor.

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Akshata Appaso

Editorial Writer

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Akshata is a writer based in Banglore, India. She is known for her deep passion for drones and her ability to overcome challenges in this rapidly-evolving industry. She has spent countless hours researching and experimenting with various drone models, honing her skills as a pilot and innovator. She continues to inspire others with her passion for innovation and her commitment to pushing the boundaries of what's possible with drone technology.

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Vanessa Townsend

Web Designer & Licensed Drone Pilot

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Vanessa is a multi-talented designer with extensive experience in web design, graphic design, and marketing. She graduated from Ivey Business School where she specialized in marketing.

Her passion for drones started back in 2017 when she bought her first DJI Spark. After her first flight, she instantly knew that drones were going to change photography and videography forever. Since then her drone has never left her side and has become her #1 travel companion.

As the designer at WWD, she is able to combine both of her passions: designs and drones and is excited to see what's next for WWD and the drone industry.

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Karla Centeno

Treasury & Grant Writer

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Karla Centeno was born and raised in San Diego, CA. Throughout her career, she has sought experiences that allow people to see the world as it is while imagining what it could be.

Currently, Karla is the Director of Education and Engagement at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego (MCASD), where she provides external and internal strategic leadership in the development of the Museum’s educational initiatives, public programs, and community engagement. She is also Co-founder of All of Us, an artist-run collective and online gallery.

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Dr. Catherine Ball

Advisor

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Associate Professor Catherine Ball is an advisor, author, founder, executive producer, executive director, company director, and diversity advocate working across global projects where emerging technologies meet humanitarian, education and environmental needs.  Catherine also likes to create businesses and champion movements, collaborate with peers, and advise game-changers.

A sought-after voice across the start-up, futurist and tech world, Catherine works globally across a wide range of projects from creating documentaries and world leading conferences and events, to advising on the use of drones across environmental and humanitarian projects.  Catherine is a proponent of community engagement with technology and likes to demystify emerging tech.

Catherine holds a BSc Honours (Environmental Protection) and a PhD (Spatial Ecology, Descriptive and Predictive Statistics) from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne in the United Kingdom. 

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