Deputy Executive Director for the Office of Aviation Policy & Plans (APO)

Danny Blum serves the Office of Aviation Policy and Plans as a leader in developing aviation policies, goals, and priorities that cut across lines of business and staff offices, representing new and unique work for the agency. Mr. Blum spearheads critical analyses supporting the National Air Space, the Airport Improvement Program, agency policy initiatives, strategic planning, forecasts, and the economic impact of proposed regulations, policies, and congressional proposals. Mr. Blum manages high-visibility collaborations with the aviation industry, the Department of Transportation, the Office of Management and Budget, Congress, and the American public.

Mr. Blum has worked for the FAA since 2013. Most Recently, Mr. Blum served as the acting Deputy Director of National Security Programs and Incident Response. Mr. Blum led multiple divisions responsible for identifying, reporting, and managing incidents across the National Airspace System (NAS) and around the world. His tenure as Deputy Director included critical support to the U.S. military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan and agency-wide mitigation planning in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Prior to that, Mr. Blum served as the Deputy Chief of Staff to the FAA Administrator leading agency development and planning of key strategic priorities. This role required a high level of dexterity, leadership, and coordination due to the required development, strategic planning, and implementation of initiatives such as Flight Plan 2021, tracking the implementation of legislative requirements of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018, and the Aircraft Certification, Safety, and Accountability Act. He also represented the Administrator as needed in Crisis Response Working and Steering Groups, led FAA Deputies Meetings, and responded to high-profile and sensitive matters related to the internal and external operations of the FAA.

Before his role as Deputy Chief of Staff, Mr. Blum served as the Administrator’s Strategic Initiatives Group (SIG) lead. In support of the Deputy Administrator, Mr. Blum played a key role the United States Government delegation to the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Council Aviation Recovery Task Force (CART), which produced a global framework for the recovery of the aviation industry after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr. Blum was also an FAA Fellow, detailed to the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In this role, he was responsible for supporting the Subcommittee’s efforts to draft authorizing legislation for the FAA. He also supported the Committee’s work on legislation and nominations for the Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), and the Transportation Security Agency (TSA).

Mr. Blum was also an FAA Fellow, detailed to the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. In this role, he was responsible for supporting the Subcommittee’s efforts to draft authorizing legislation for the FAA. 

Prior to joining the FAA, Mr. Blum worked for Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led the development and execution of FAA Technical Operations’ Safety Stand Down program and supported the development and implementation of Environmental Management Systems (EMS) and Quality Management Systems (QMS) for the FAA Flight Inspection Program at the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center and flight inspection bases across the NAS, along with providing regulatory guidance to clients such as the Department of Transportation and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Mr. Blum received a Master of Science degree in environmental science and policy from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Environmental Studies from Dickinson College. He is a certified Project Management Professional and received Georgetown University’s Change Management for Advanced Practitioners certificate. He graduated from the Office of Management and Budget’s Performance Ambassador Program and the Congressional Research Service’s Advanced Legislative Process Institute.