501(c)(3) Environmental Justice Nonprofit · Los Angeles & East Africa

Where Drone
Meets World

Planet Flight advances environmental justice by placing drone technology, aerospace education, and data sovereignty in the hands of the communities that need them most — rewriting who the aerospace era belongs to.

Our Programs Partner With Us
3
Pillars of change
2
Continents
∞
Community impact
Conservation Action◆ Workforce Development◆ Narrative Change◆ Data Sovereignty◆ The Asli Institute◆ East Africa◆ Environmental Justice◆ Aerospace Access◆ Conservation Action◆ Workforce Development◆ Narrative Change◆ Data Sovereignty◆ The Asli Institute◆ East Africa◆ Environmental Justice◆ Aerospace Access◆
The Problem

The tools exist.
The access does not.

“The people with the most at stake have the least access to the technology, training, and data that could protect them.”

Drone technology is transforming how the world monitors ecosystems, protects wildlife, and responds to environmental crisis. The institutions that can access it are pulling ahead. The communities that need it most are being left further behind.


Underserved communities bear a disproportionate burden of environmental degradation, wildlife loss, and infrastructure failure — while remaining the furthest from the aerial technology and data intelligence that could protect them. These communities are building their futures without the tools that could transform their outcomes.

Theory of Change

Three pillars.
One mission.

01
Conservation Action
The Problem

Wildlife is declining. Ecosystems are degrading. Critical infrastructure is failing silently. Communities without tools cannot document it, defend against it, or bring evidence to institutions.

Our Impact
  • Wildlife & ecosystem monitoring
  • Infrastructure assessment without human risk
  • AI-powered aerial analysis for advocacy
  • Rigorous environmental documentation
02
Workforce Development & Aerospace Access
The Problem

The green workforce is growing rapidly. The pipeline into it is not equitable. Structural barriers keep aerospace exclusive — and the industry is losing the talent it cannot see.

Our Impact
  • STEM programming from age 12
  • The Asli Institute — online, ages 16+
  • In-person operator training, East Africa
  • Managed employer talent pipeline
03
Narrative Change
The Problem

Drones carry a public identity shaped by war and surveillance — a story written without communities or the Global South. That story defines who the technology is for.

Our Impact
  • Digital campaigns & media partnerships
  • Speaking engagements & keynotes
  • Community storytelling & visibility
  • Environmental misinformation response
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From the Founder
✦
Rahma Wali
Founder & Executive Director
“The airplane began as a weapon and became the most powerful symbol of human connection the world has ever seen. Drones are at that same inflection point — and this time, communities lead.”

Drones have a story problem. They entered the public imagination as instruments of war and surveillance — tools of institutions, not people. But the history of flight has always been a history of transformation.

I founded Planet Flight because the communities most threatened by environmental harm, infrastructure failure, and ecological loss deserve to be on the right side of that transformation — not watching it happen to them, but leading it.

As a Somali-American aeronautics major with minors in uncrewed systems, security and intelligence, and airport management, I have spent my academic and professional life at the intersection of aerospace technology and the communities it has historically left behind. Planet Flight exists to change that — permanently.

— Rahma Wali, Founder
Our Story →
Vision

The airplane was supposed to belong to governments and militaries. Planet Flight exists because the drone does not have to end the same way — and because the communities written out of every previous technological revolution deserve to write this one themselves.

We are building a future where a certified operator in Somalia monitors the land her community depends on, where a young woman in Los Angeles builds a career in aerospace that no one told her was possible, where the next generation of environmental leaders wields the most advanced tools available in service of people and planet alike.

That future is not inevitable.
Planet Flight is making it deliberate.
Who We Serve

Four relationships.
Each essential.

Community Members, Students & Emerging Professionals
From a 13-year-old in a Planet Flight school program to a university student in The Asli Institute to a career changer entering aerial environmental monitoring — anyone seeking a credentialed aerospace pathway, regardless of background or geography.
Schools, Districts & Universities
K–12 schools seeking age-appropriate drone STEM programming. Universities and community colleges seeking to integrate The Asli Institute and create direct pathways from campus enrollment to credentialed aerospace careers.
Aerospace Employers, Corporate Partners & Industry
Companies seeking diverse credentialed operators from a managed talent pipeline. Corporate partners gain direct access to graduates and build the equitable workforce the industry urgently needs — a recruiting, sponsorship, and reputational relationship all at once.
Government Agencies, Conservation Bodies & Funders
Federal agencies, conservation organizations, and mission-aligned funders committed to equitable environmental technology and sustainable development across the US and East Africa. Planet Flight is built for long-term organizational independence — not funder dependency.