Executive Director for Advanced Aviation Technologies (AAT)

Jessica Jones currently serves as the Executive Director for Advanced Aviation Technologies (AAT). In this role, she provides executive leadership for the Federal Aviation Administration's efforts to safely integrate advanced aviation technologies into the National Airspace System (NAS), including uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS), electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, counter-UAS technologies, and other emerging entrants. She is responsible for developing enterprise-wide strategic and business plans, overseeing research and integration initiatives, coordinating with the Department of Transportation, other federal agencies, industry, and international stakeholders, and advancing policies that enable the safe expansion of advanced aviation technologies. 

Ms. Jones has more than 15 years of progressively responsible leadership experience in the Federal Aviation Administration, specializing in executive operations, strategic planning, national security, program management, and organizational governance. Prior to her current position, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Acting) in the Office of the Administrator, where she advised the FAA Chief of Staff and senior agency executives on aviation policy, strategic initiatives, and resource management while coordinating agency-wide priorities and executive communications. Before that, she served as Acting Chief of Staff for the Office of Security and Hazardous Materials Safety, providing executive leadership for organizational operations, budget planning, workforce management, congressional coordination, and cross-functional initiatives supporting the Associate Administrator.

Throughout her FAA career, Jessica has held a series of increasingly senior leadership positions, including Senior Advisor to the FAA Deputy Administrator, Program Manager for the Office of National Security Programs and Incident Response, Supervisory Management and Program Analyst, Business Manager, and Management and Program Analyst. In these roles, she directed national command-and-control communications programs, led strategic planning and budget execution, managed acquisitions and capital investments, supervised multidisciplinary organizations, and provided executive oversight of emergency communications, continuity of operations, and national security programs. Earlier in her career, she supported the FAA Office of Security and Hazardous Materials Safety as a contractor and held positions with the Department of War and private industry, building expertise in program management, financial management, acquisitions, and organizational operations.

Ms. Jones completed the Federal Executive Institute Leadership for a Democratic Society program in 2022. She holds a Master of Arts in Human Resource Management in the Federal Sector from the Catholic University of America and a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from the University of Virginia.