Joseph Wyno Named Executive Director of Oregon UAS Accelerator

Pendleton, Oregon – April 19, 2024 - The Oregon UAS Accelerator, Oregon's only Center of Innovation Excellence dedicated exclusively to unmanned aircraft systems and robotics, is thrilled to announce that Joseph Wyno has been appointed the new Executive Director. As an experienced business leader and entrepreneur, he assumed responsibilities on April 15, 2024. Tom Perkowski, the Interim Executive Director, will work with Wyno to transition the role.

Wyno has over 25 years of experience in the founder/startup ecosystem, both domestically and internationally. He previously served as a Senior Advisor and then Director for Octane's LaunchPad SBDC Accelerator, one of the nation's top non-profit tech accelerators. As an accomplished multi-award-winning business development consultant, he was instrumental in helping LaunchPad SBDC clients raise $230M of capital by developing teams that precisely address their business needs and capital objectives. In addition, in 2022 alone, his efforts led to startups creating over 5,000 high-paying jobs for their communities.

"With a track record of success as both an entrepreneurial startup leader and multinational corporate executive, Joseph's professional background is a great fit to launch the Oregon UAS Accelerator," said Tom Perkowski, Accelerator Interim Executive Director. "With his deep accelerator experience and knowledge of raising capital, our innovators will have a unique experience in both testing their innovations at the Pendleton UAS Range and learning how to grow a business from one of the best."

As the Director, Wyno will be responsible for leading the program and providing individual consulting, resources, and programming support to Accelerator startups. "With a people-over-process approach, I am committed to providing personalized support to help each startup reach its unique goals," said Wyno.

"The Oregon UAS Accelerator represents a strategic initiative to harness Oregon's competitive advantages and propel the state to the forefront of UAS development in the United States," said Steve Chrisman, Economic Development & Airport Director. "Joseph will offer our innovators incredible support to accelerate their commercialization process."

Wyno will represent the Oregon UAS Accelerator at AUVSI XPONENTIAL in San Diego, along with Interim Executive Director Tom Perkowski, from April 23rd to 25th in booth 4025.

For more information on the Accelerator, visit: https://www.oregonuas.org.

For headshots, pictures, and logos, please visit the Accelerator Online Media Kit: https://www.pendletonuasrange.com/accelerator-media-kit

About the Oregon UAS Accelerator

The Oregon UAS Accelerator is an initiative to facilitate innovation in the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) market. With generous funding from Business Oregon, the Accelerator provides innovators access to flight testing, workspace, partners, facilities, range staff, financial support, and mentorship opportunities. The Accelerator aims to establish Oregon as the nation's premier destination for UAS development and integration.

Contact

Joseph Wyno, Executive Director
+1 503-803-8304
joseph.wyno@oregonuas.org