Sabrina Saunders-Hodge

Sabrina Saunders-Hodge is the Director of the Research, Engineering and Analysis Division within the FAA’s UAS Integration Office.

She is the FAA’s focal point for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) research with responsibility for leading the evolution of the agency’s strategic framework and innovative planning for the applied research portfolio to support the safe and efficient integration of UAS and AAM into the National Airspace System. Ms. Saunders-Hodge collaborates with U.S. federal agencies and international civil aviation authorities (CAAs) to lead the establishment of FAA’s UAS & AAM research partnerships.

Prior to joining the UAS Integration Office, Ms. Saunders-Hodge was the manager of the FAA’s NextGen New Entrants Division with program management responsibility for executing UAS research as well as standing up the FAA’s first UAS Center of Excellence.

Over the past thirty plus years Ms. Saunders-Hodge has worked in the fields of unmanned aircraft systems and satellite communications, contributed to the development of ICAO’s global plan for transitioning to future communications, navigation, surveillance and air traffic management systems for civil aviation, and co-managed the oversight of FAA/European cooperative research and development initiatives.

Ms. Saunders-Hodge holds a B.S. and M.S. in Computer Science from The University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University respectively. She is also a certified Project Management Professional.