Meet the Team: Adrienne Yandell
Meet Adrienne Yandell, PartnerTulsa’s Senior Workforce Development Manager. In a new role for our organization, Adrienne is spearheading the advancement of the region’s unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry. Her primary focus is to identify crucial workforce needs and establish programs to nurture top talent. Get an in-depth look at Adrienne’s career journey, including MIT and the U.S. Foreign Service, and her perspectives on the exciting developments propelling Tulsa’s growing UAS sector in this month’s exclusive Meet the Team feature.
What is your role at PartnerTulsa, and how does it support the growing tech ecosystem in Tulsa?
I’m PartnerTulsa’s Senior Workforce Development Manager, which is a new role for our team. At present, my work is focused on end-to-end growth of the unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry. Of course, I’m not alone in this work—Tulsa has one of the best workforce development ecosystems I’ve ever seen! PartnerTulsa’s role in this landscape is keeping an eye to equity—and getting out into the community to turn our workforce strategies into reality.
On a day-to-day basis, you’ll find me identifying workforce development needs across the UAS industry, and then going out to pilot workforce programs—starting with our communities of greatest need. For example, I’ve spent most of the summer developing and then implementing a program to introduce youth to UAV (“drone”) flight, coding, and basic engineering. In its first few months, well over 100 youth have flown a drone for the very first time and close to 400 individuals have been introduced to the technology. Moving into the fall, we’re working to share what we’ve learned with other youth organizations across Tulsa as these drone programs are scaling citywide. In the fall, I’ll also be piloting UAS programs for professionals from across industry segments, career interests, and regional zip codes. Long-term, these pilot programs are laying the groundwork for a strong talent pipeline from K-12 to retirement, a cross-functional industry network, and healthy industry growth that benefits ALL Tulsans.
You’re clearly very passionate about this work, can you share a little about your background in the industry and what drives your passion?
My background for this work began at MIT where my research focused on biomimetic unmanned undersea vehicles. I was also the president of MIT’s Ocean Engineering society, which gave me a unique front-row seat to what makes a tech industry achieve its full potential—as the marine technology industry had done for decades in New England. That foundation set me up for success and the environment around me established a habit of continually learning new things and always staying curious. Upon graduation, I worked as an engineering program manager and later in the US Foreign Service, eventually obtaining an MBA from Oxford University.
Following my MBA, I worked on the startup of three workforce and education-focused international social enterprises where I connected refugees, women, and under-resourced youth to software development training and jobs to support Amman’s fast-growing tech sector. The career shift into workforce was never really planned. I just couldn’t live with myself if I sat back and did nothing while I saw people displaced and suffering due to the Syrian war. So, I dropped everything and moved to Jordan with a less-than-spectacular business plan. Thankfully, I found collaborators and champions around me, and together we enabled hundreds (might be thousands now) to re-establish their livelihoods and thrive!
As for what drives my passion,I’d say that my favorite career moments have been the ones where I’ve been able to have some small role in guiding a person to achieve their full potential. I love being able to pay forward the opportunities I’ve had, and my work at PartnerTulsa enables me to do that at scale. Oh, and getting to work with cool technology will always energize me!
Tulsa was recently awarded a $51 million federal Tech Hub grant and received a $38.2 million grant as a part of the Build Back Better Regional Challenge nearly two years ago. What excites you about the progress made, and what’s on the horizon?
As a design engineer, the part of BBBRC that excites me the most is the state-of-the-art drone testing and certification hub being developed in my backyard. Our Skyway36 testing range will bring UAS developers from all over the world to test and certify their systems, bringing the latest advances in technology straight to our door. And I don’t expect these advances to be limited to nuts or bolts. As companies come to test their designs, they’ll be met with a diverse set of UAS users, enabling advancements in operational concepts that will be envisioned, built, and tested here.
As this industry and its commercial customer base grow, Tulsa sits at a critical nexus of manufacturing talent, energy reliability and affordability, and materials shipment that is hard to beat globally. Tulsa investments in the Fair Oaks industrial park build upon these strengths and additional grants—such as DOE’s MakeIt challenge and Tulsa’s TechHub in autonomous systems—will grow the complementary technologies critical to scale commercialization of these new technologies.
Finally, as companies come to and launch in Tulsa, they’ll find a city where every K-12 student has hands-on experience with UAS technologies. They’ll find professionals with the programs and networks to continue their skills development beyond their formal education. And they’ll find a city with approachable leaders, a drive for growth, and a track record of turning dreams into reality.
You’ve lived and traveled abroad, so we’d love to know what is your favorite thing about Tulsa.
My personal favorite thing about Tulsa is being able to share in my parents’ senior years. Skype is absolutely NO substitute for a real hug and a real sunset over the lake!
For Tulsa as a whole, though, it’s definitely our sports scene! A huge shoutout to my friends at RunnersWorld Tulsa, the Tulsa Area Triathletes, and RiverParks Authority, who welcomed me with group runs when I returned to the US, made me the envy of my international friends with a divided run/bike trail, introduced me to new friends for those SUPER long Ironman training rides, and continue to create an extremely welcoming sports community in our city. Tulsa wouldn’t be the same without you all!