John is a U.S. Marine veteran, and a member of BridgelineTEK. As a part of John’s twenty-five years of working for companies like Rockwell and Esterline (TransDigm), John accumulated years of technical, project management and software engineering experience. John was responsible for the applied engineering of standard, modified standard, and custom industrial controls which included quoting, creating the bill of materials, designing electrical control and connection diagrams, panel layouts, panel building and testing. John’s experience with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) certification requirements and complexity of avionics systems supported numerous DO-178 software engineering projects. John applied his expertise to ensure projects were successful, delivering quality solutions, reducing risk and continually seeking ways to improve processes.
John was a founding member of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Heartland (IL/WI) Chapter and was instrumental in coordinating their first annual event. He was also a founding member of the Wisconsin Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Advisory Board. John is a member of Team Rubicon (TR).
John enjoys mentoring and teaching at a local university. He has called the Driftless region of Wisconsin his home for 20 years. During his spare time, you can find him outdoors kayaking, hiking, fishing and spending quality time with his family.
Michael Letson
Michael is a U.S. Army veteran, and a member of BridgelineTEK. Michael served as a U.S. Army Captain and Aviation Officer as a CH-47 Chinook pilot and later transitioned into aerospace manufacturing. His passion and drive to succeed are evident in his multitude of accomplishments in both military and civilian industries. In the U.S. Army, Mike successfully rose through the ranks to become a Captain, having started his military career as a Combat Engineer and later transitioning to meet the challenges and demands to become a CH-47 Chinook pilot. Michael is a FAA Part 107 Remote Pilot with a small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) rating and currently holds a Commercial Helicopter (FAA) License with Instrument Rating since 2004. Michael is the Vice President of Membership for the southern California chapter of the Army Aviation Association of America (AAAA).
Michael is proven leader, and has worked with Fortune 500 companies as well as small and medium-sized businesses. Michael has served key roles in supply chain management, operations, repair and overhaul, sales, materials management, engineering and program management. Certified Six Sigma DMAIC Black Belt and Lean Green Belt American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS) • Certified in Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) • Certified Supply Chain Professional (CSCP) • Certified Scrum Product Owner.
Michael leads Evolutionary Measures a corporation focused on assisting companies with improving their internal processes in order to increase profitability.
Michael enjoys sharing his knowledge, expertise, and experience through training and mentoring at all skill/ knowledge levels. Michael reviews and develops custom training curriculum and teaches in several subject matter areas for businesses and colleges in California.