We’re a mission-first team built at the intersection of aerospace innovation and real-world agriculture. Cooperative DRONE is driven by practical engineering, field-ready execution, and a belief that the best solutions are built with the people who use them.

From leadership and operations to client success and strategy, we’re here to deliver performance that actually changes outcomes, and to do it with integrity and long-term commitment to the farm world.

Meet the Team

  • Trey sharpe

    FOUNDER

    Trey is a founder and strategist with experience spanning military intelligence, federal contracting, and engineering innovation, with prior work supporting complex federal services and supply chain systems. He is building Cooperative DRONE around practical, purpose-built design, including an aerodynamic approach shaped by real-world constraints he witnessed firsthand (including time spent in Ukraine).

  • Julie Newton

    PRESIDENT & CEO

    Julie brings a life sciences and commercial leadership background, with experience across molecular imaging and business development, plus a track record of building trust and negotiating complex partnerships. As CEO, she is merging biological insight with aerospace innovation, leading with a sustainability-first mindset and hands-on, iterative execution.

  • Nate Barnhardt

    Nate Barnhardt

    SENIOR SYSTEMS ENGINEER

    Nate is a systems thinker and mechanical innovator with nearly 24 years of licensed experience in wastewater treatment operations, including work as a senior operator at OWASA in Chapel Hill. He brings deep process control, automation, and hands-on troubleshooting experience, with an engineer’s instinct for improving how complex systems run. 

  • Dick Pedersen

    SENIOR SALES STRATEGY ARCHITECT

    Dick has over four decades of experience building scalable, acquisition-ready organizations in healthcare practice management and EMR innovation. He is known for developing high-performing sales teams and driving transformative growth through multiple successful exits and leadership roles.

  • Jay PEDERSEN

    VP OF SALES

    Jay brings sales leadership and a builder mentality shaped by growing up around entrepreneurship, plus a hands-on, team-first approach rooted in discipline and execution. He is focused on early-stage growth and direct user engagement to uncover real use cases, training gaps, and ROI opportunities in the field.

  • RICKy WHITTAKER

    SENIOR DIRECTOR OF CLIENT SERVICES

    Ricky is a drone technology pro with experience across agriculture, energy, telecom, and logistics, focused on real deployments that improve safety and operational efficiency. He specializes in AI and sensor integration, autonomous operations, and regulatory adherence, and has collaborated with drone companies like Precision Hawk, VisieDrones, and Bees360.

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