Like any other industry, aviation is a discipline that has many sides–pilots, lawyers, flight school instructors, mechanics, aircraft manufacturers, specialized accountants–all working together to create a distinctive culture.

For decades, it was restricted to three major regions with a combination of a strong regulator and a large manufacturer: the USA and Boeing, the European Union with Airbus, and more recently, Brazil and Embraer. The barriers to entry into the business of aviation were enormous, and the initial investments to become a player were almost prohibitive. All of that is changing with uncrewed aviation.

What makes this moment in aviation fundamentally different from the start of the industry in the early 20th century is three forces that simply did not exist back then. First, the internet has democratized information, allowing anyone in any part of the world to learn aerodynamics, regulation, or mission planning without ever stepping into a traditional flight school. Second, components are universally accessible, both physically and economically. Motors, sensors, batteries, and flight controllers can be purchased online and assembled in a garage, collapsing the obstacles that once protected the aviation industry from new entrants. And third, for the first time, women are an integral part of the aviation workforce, not as exceptions or symbolic figures, but as engineers, regulators, insurers, educators, and innovators shaping the future of uncrewed flight. Humankind is now using 100 percent of our available brain power, instead of just half.

These three tectonic shifts have opened the door for a new generation of leaders, among them four women whose work is redefining what aviation looks like in South America. Their names are Eloisa Ríos, Kasandra Leiva, Paula Velandia Congote, and Nathaly Arango. Each represents a different facet of the region’s emerging aviation identity. Together, they form a constellation of leadership that pushes South America into the global conversation about drones and advanced air mobility (AAM).

Their collective work has become impossible to ignore, as they are building companies, ecosystems, regulatory pathways, academic programs, insurance frameworks, and international bridges. They are proving that uncrewed aviation is defined by purpose, and they are doing it from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and beyond.

Eloisa Ríos

Eloisa Ríos: Opening Global Doors for South American Innovation

Brazil’s Speedbird Aero is one of the most recognized drone delivery companies in the world. Behind its expansion into 14 countries is Eloisa Ríos, a chemical engineer turned international business strategist who has become one of the most effective ambassadors of South American drone technology.

Ríos' work spans investor relations, government engagement, diplomatic coordination, and strategic partnerships. She has represented Speedbird Aero in Asia’s PIER71 Smart Port Challenge, strengthened ties with regulators and investors across Europe and North America, and built the institutional bridges that allow a Brazilian startup to operate at global scale. Her leadership demonstrates a truth often overlooked: aviation innovation is accelerated by people who know how to open doors.

Her international engagement has included collaboration with stakeholders across North America, Europe, Asia, South America, and the Middle East, contributing to the company's global visibility and commercial development. Ríos will play a key role in the expected expansion of Speedbird into the U.S. market in the coming months.

Kasandra Leiva

Kasandra Leiva: Professionalizing Drone Knowledge in Spanish

In 2014, when drones were still a novelty in South America, Kasandra Leiva saw something few others did: Technology was advancing more quickly than the knowledge needed to use it responsibly. A geographer and remote sensing specialist, she understood that drones were not toys, but data tools capable of transforming industries. That was only true, though, if people knew how to operate them safely, legally, and strategically.

Leiva's mission became clear: democratize drone knowledge in Spanish and professionalize the sector. Today, her ecosystem includes academic programs backed by Florida Global University, consulting services that help companies comply with aeronautical regulations, and the region’s most influential Spanish‑language drone podcast, now with more than 100 episodes. Her recognition as one of Chile’s 100 Women Leaders of 2025 confirms her impact: The future of uncrewed aviation depends less on the aircraft that fly and more on the people prepared to give them purpose.

Paula Velandia

Paula Velandia Congote: Building the Bridges the Industry Needed

Colombia’s drone ecosystem has grown rapidly, but its most important bridges, between regulation and practice, between industry and academia, between women and opportunity, were built by Paula Velandia Congote.

Velandia Congote's story is one of reinvention. After years dedicated to raising her children, she rebuilt her life from scratch and discovered the UAV industry during the pandemic. She learned its language, earned professional pilot certification, mastered regulatory frameworks, and became a connector in the truest sense. Through VOTIX, she led international marketing efforts from Medellín, proving that geography is irrelevant when purpose is clear.

Her most transformative contribution came from noticing that women were few in the UAV industry, but those present were essential. Instead of lamenting the gap, she built the bridge. Velandia Congote created Women Drone Nerds, Colombia’s first women‑exclusive drone event, gathering more than 70 participants in person and 650 online. The initiative sparked a movement, MID (Mujeres Innovando con Drones), and inspired hundreds of women to professionalize their roles in commercial, technical, and maintenance fields.

Her regulatory work is equally impactful. In 2024, together with aeronautical engineer Jaime Bastidas, she founded UAV MASTERS, where she has guided more than 345 individuals and 33 companies through Colombia’s certification process, with multiple operators now fully approved under RAC 100. Her work with the Advanced Air Mobility Institute places her at the frontier of urban air mobility, connecting Colombia with global research and trends.

Nathaly Arango

Nathaly Arango: Securing the Skies Through Insurance Innovation

While drones often capture attention through flight, data, or regulation, the industry cannot function without something more fundamental: risk management, and in South America, few people have shaped that space more than Nathaly Arango.

With 11 years of experience in the insurance sector, 10 of them dedicated specifically to drones and UAVs, Arango has become one of the region’s leading specialists in aviation insurance for uncrewed systems. Today, she manages a product with Zurich Seguros that provides coverage for industrial operations and both enterprise‑grade and consumer drones. Her team also offers fractional policies of 120 days, six months, and 12 months, adapting insurance to the realities of a fast‑moving industry.

Her portfolio now exceeds 900 million Colombian pesos (~$280,000) in collected premiums, a milestone that reflects both the growth of the sector and the trust operators place in her expertise. Arango issues an average of 15 new policies per month, plus renewals, an extraordinary evolution considering that a decade ago, the industry issued just one policy monthly.

Her admiration for the drone community is genuine. She speaks of the sector with respect, pride, and a sense of belonging. For Arango, being part of the uncrewed aviation industry stopped being a job a long time ago, now it is a badge of honor, and her work ensures that as the industry grows, it does so safely, responsibly, and sustainably.

A New Aviation Culture for South America

What unites Ríos, Leiva, Velandia Congote, and Arango is that they are architects of culture in a male-dominated industry that cannot rely solely on hardware or regulation. They are building the knowledge, networks, professionalism, safety frameworks, and purpose that will allow uncrewed aviation to mature responsibly in South America.

Their work shows that the future of aviation, crewed or uncrewed, depends on people who understand that technology is only as powerful as the minds that guide it. These four women are proving that the future of South America’s skies will not be shaped by machines, but by leaders who know how to give those machines meaning.

And the region and the industry are better for it.