RPAS 2025 Speaker Bio

Renee Bartolo

Chief Remote Pilot and Director

DCCEEW 

Dr Renee Bartolo is Chief Remote Pilot and Director, Office of the Chief Remote Pilot , Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water and has over two decades of experience working at the intersection of science, technology, and field operations. She is part scientist, part strategist, and all drone pilot. By day, Renee oversees complex drone operations across some of Australia’s most remote locations sensor-integrated data workflows to support biodiversity conservation and environmental management. By night, she is detecting saltwater crocodiles or some of our more curious creatures in the desert. Renee is passionate about applying frontier technologies to real-world challenges and empowering First Nations rangers and operational field teams through accessible science and meaningful data. She is not afraid to get her boots dirty for a bigger cause and if it flies, glows, beeps, or streams to the cloud, she helped made it do that.