From environmental fieldwork to leading ESG at DroneDeploy, Rebecca Lehman is driving social impact, empowering women in technology, and proving that every career path can lead to meaningful innovation.
“It’s always easier, looking back, to write a story than to write about where you are now. Your path may not feel like you have that perfect line of sight to where you want to be, but that doesn’t mean you’re not taking the steps that are going to line up to something,” Rebecca Lehman says with a hearty laugh.
At the time of our interview, Lehman was the Senior Manager of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and Social Impact at DroneDeploy. She has since been promoted to Chief of Staff, and although her title has changed, her core mission hasn’t. Her work and passion remain firmly centered on driving positive, impactful change through drone technology.
A Non-Traditional Path to the Skies
Lehman’s journey into the UAV sector wasn’t linear. She studied biology before earning a Master’s in Environmental Management from Yale University, then moved into field research, where she published numerous white papers in environmental sciences.
Her career interests began to pivot during those fieldwork years. “I was doing a lot of field research in environmental science and I found they were using really antiquated systems that haven’t been updated since the 90s,” she recalls. “There’s a lot of older technology that’s still really common in science, in nonprofits and in the social sector…just because there’s not as big a market there, so people aren’t building [technology] for that audience.”
That changed when she witnessed a colleague using simple cameras to photograph fields and measure vegetation greenness, successfully correlating those images with intensive manual measurements. Seeing the integration of two, labor-intensive processes with newer and more efficient technology was a “wow” moment for Lehman.
Even as her curiosity grew, Lehman admits it was hard to see where her path was leading while working in the nonprofit space. A turning point came when she was awarded a Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship, which introduced her to geographic information systems (GIS) and funded her study of Swahili. “I ended up doing GIS for my area studies class. I was doing geospatial projects based in East Africa: one with the World Resources Institute and another with a Somali refugee group. I thought the GIS work was really interesting.”
After an internship at NASA working with satellite data, Lehman joined Esri as a product engineer. There, she developed government solutions addressing homelessness and public transit, consulted with nonprofit clients, and helped drive the company’s corporate sustainability program.
Redefining Social Impact in Tech
For Lehman, social impact means “all of the social sector work that is less tied to a direct business outcome, but more to a social outcome.” Improving environmental standards and expanding access to food, water, and housing are typical pillars of these initiatives. “Social impact is really about how we can take all of the amazing things that our companies do and apply them to a social issue,” she explains.
For organizations building or scaling a social impact arm, Lehman emphasizes that the foundation must start with direct community involvement and a clear intersection between business value and employee passion.
Driving Change at DroneDeploy
At DroneDeploy, Lehman’s team focuses heavily on external partnership development and internal collaboration. “We do a lot of internal programming for employees, and we support many nonprofit, education, and disaster response customers. These partners are working in different contexts and need help navigating the tools; whether something isn’t working right, or they want to explore a new feature and see what it could do for them.”
Her team also helps DroneDeploy customers design and launch their own social impact and ESG initiatives. Storytelling plays a crucial role here. When partners undertake innovative projects using emerging technology, they often lack the framework to share what they’re working on effectively. Lehman helps them connect the dots, ensuring technical achievements translate into compelling narratives.
This community focus extends further as DroneDeploy’s social impact team has actively partnered with organizations like the Boys & Girls Club of Napa Valley and Palomar College in San Marcos, California. Whether through volunteering or co-hosting events, Lehman remains laser-focused on aligning corporate resources with community goals.
Personal Passion Meets Professional Purpose
Working in the drone industry comes with its own rites of passage, including FAA Part 107 certification. When it comes to new hardware, Lehman’s enthusiasm is infectious. “I just got a new drone. I took it on a family vacation and onsite with a customer. I’m aiming to fly at least once a month and get some real aerial footage at the beach. The difference in landscape from beach to ocean to mountain…seeing that transition is really cool.”
As she discusses the capabilities of her new gear, she notes how seamlessly her professional ESG work aligns with her personal values. “I do feel quite value-aligned with what I do at work. And with this role in particular, I think, ‘How can I put more [work] into this?’ because I think there is so much potential.”
DroneDeploy offers numerous avenues for that engagement, from employee giving programs and nonprofit volunteering to community drone initiatives for adults and youth. Recently, Lehman helped launch an industry-wide scholarship program that covers the cost of Part 107 training and exams for students. This scholarship is a direct response to a known financial barrier.
Lehman is also deeply committed to encouraging more women to enter the space. For women entering the field, she stresses the power of community. “Find a group of women you can call upon when you have questions. They can be a space where you can grow together.” She points to organizations like Women & Drones as vital in dismantling the so-called “pipeline problem” by building robust, supportive networks in the drone sector.
Advice for the Next Generation
Lehman’s guidance for those looking to break into the industry, especially non-technical professionals, is straightforward: “You can transition into the work that’s more valuable or interesting to you through what you’re doing now and applying the skills that you already have. There’s so much more to the drone industry than being a drone operator. Keep your mind open to the many opportunities that are out there.
