Yvonne Becker
Yvonne Becker is a senior special agent for Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), a licensed FAA Part 107 Pilot, and is certified with North Carolina and the U.S. Department of Justice for Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS). She co-authored a formal request from the FAA and was granted a Certificate of Waiver for Daylight Operations, 14 CFR 107.29. She has more than 350 flights and almost 100 hours of operating time with several sUAS platforms and vehicles. Her experience with drones includes planning all sUAS missions and operations for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), as well as handling the pre-planning for flights, including requesting airspace authorization (if necessary).
Yvonne has been involved as a UAS instructor with Central Piedmont and has participated in several other training sessions with UAS. She also worked as a detective with the Prince William County Police Department in Virginia and as a National Park Ranger in Yellowstone National Park prior to becoming an ATF agent.
She earned a bachelor’s degree from Radford University in criminal justice. She attended Oklahoma State University’s School of Forensic Science and obtained a master’s certificate in arson and explosive investigation. Yvonne also graduated from the Virginia Forensic Science Academy with a specialization in crime scene investigation.
Linda Hudson
Prior to joining Central Piedmont, Linda Hudson was the president of Pro Sky Photo, LLC, where she honed her experience flying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and taking photos with drones. Her company, Pro Sky Photo, has had numerous official photography jobs with several companies and conferences in North Carolina. She was the official photographic provider for the yearly Gastonia Sniper Conference, using three different sUAS platforms, as well as DSLR cameras. She has more than 350 flights and almost 100 hours of operating time with several UAS platforms and vehicles. Linda is a licensed FAA Part 107 pilot and is North Carolina certified and permitted as a UAS Operator.
Her law enforcement experience includes work as a deputy sheriff in Fairfax County Virginia, a patrol officer with Prince William County Police in Virginia, and working traffic accident/ reconstruction cases with the Special Operations Division. She has also worked with Search and Rescue and as a crime scene technician. After seven years, she was assigned to the Criminal Investigations Division as a detective. Linda completed her career working as a detention officer with Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Scott Logue, PLS
Scott Logue is the president of The Survey Company, Inc, a Charlotte, N.C., survey firm. Scott is a professional land surveyor in North Carolina and has more than 28 years of experience with topographic, boundary, and environmental surveying, as well as highway and construction layout, Global Positioning Systems, computation, and CADD drafting. From 1998 to August 2001, he provided field engineering and construction layout assistance for lntercon Builders in Charlotte. He joined The Survey Company, Inc. in 2001 as head of operations, managing office technicians and field crews on boundary, topographic, environmental, and construction staking surveys. Scott purchased the company in April of 2016. He is a graduate of York Technical College in Rock Hill, S.C.
Andrew Phillips
Andrew Phillips has extensive law enforcement, military, and unmanned aerial experience. Andrew recently retired after more than 28 years with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department where he most recently served as a financial crimes detective. Andrew joined the U.S. Marines in 1982, served eight years of active duty, and then joined the Reserves in 2012. In deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, he was assigned to the Marine Corps War Fighting Lab where he was involved in the development of small unit concepts utilizing Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS)/Drone assets for combat operations.
Andrew flew and operated experimental and commercial aerial and ground unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) while assigned to the U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Lab. Using his military experience and Remote Pilot certification, Andrew is introducing UAS concepts to local law enforcement and fire departments in the Charlotte, N.C., region. When not in the classroom, Andrew serves in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves with a rank of master sergeant E-8 and is the owner and operator of SOAR Imagery, an aerial photography business.
Joe Valasquez, PE
Joe Valasquez is founder of DroneScape, PLLC. DroneScape is a professional engineering and training company that focuses on drone applications with major contracts with the North Carolina Department of Transportation. In addition to being a part-time instructor at Central Piedmont for various drone-related classes, Joe is a registered professional engineer with more than 20 years of experience as both a private pilot and an Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) pilot. His experience spans 30 years in varying engineering assignments with Fortune 500 corporations, including five years experience as a quality director for allied-signal designing and manufacturing FAA-certified commercial aircraft cockpit instrumentation. Joe is an Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) certified adjunct professor in instructional development, who has taught at Queens University of Charlotte and Central Piedmont. He earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Southern Illinois University.
Dr. Taurean Walker
Tarean Walker has been a criminal justice instructor at Central Piedmont since August 2011. His teaches classes in criminology, corrections, juvenile justice, criminal justice, intel analysis and security management, border and transportation security, victimology, criminal law, and crisis intervention. Taurean has also been an instructor at Brightwood College, Limestone College and ITT Technical Institute.
He earned a bachelor's degree from Appalachian State University, a master’s degree from North Carolina Central University, and a doctorate from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.
He is a Federal Aviation Administration Licensed Pilot, a Certified Drone Pilot in Command, and is a subject matter expert on unmanned aerial vehicles, having flown numerous types of drones.