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Day 2 - A1: Security and Automation: Mike Hardin
Michael Hardin is a policy analyst at the Department of Transportation where he focuses on aviation competition and emerging aviation policy issues. Most recently, he served as lead drafter for the DOT AAM National Strategy released in December 2025 and also on the technical panel recommending selections for the AAM e-IPP in March 2026. Prior to coming to DOT, he served as Director of Aviation at the White House National Security Council (NSC) where he led an interagency team consisting of over 20 different federal departments and agencies to complete a National Action Plan for Counter-Uncrewed Air Systems (C-UAS) and planned and led the first-ever White House summit on Advanced Air Mobility in August 2022.
Mr. Hardin has over 25 years of experience in government working on issues related to aviation, travel and tourism, transportation, immigration, biometrics, and counterterrorism. He also has served in a variety of roles within the Department of Homeland Security at DHS headquarters and at Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). On assignment from DHS, he also served in Canberra, Australia from 2008-2009 assisting the Australian government in development of their security and cross-border travel programs. Throughout his career, Mr. Hardin has spoken at the International Civil Aviation Organization multiple times and at a variety of travel-related conferences in the United States and around the world. He has a bachelor’s degree from Villanova University and a law degree from George Washington University Law School.
