ABOUT
THE VOS FOUNDATION
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We ensure the diversity of life on earth by planting billions of trees to restore environmental balance, support imperiled populations, and advance thoughtful advocacy.

Our vision is a sustainable world that supports life in all its diverse wonder.

Dr. David Vos

Dr. David Vos Dr. Vos is co-founder of The Vos Foundation. He led Project Wing at Google [X] through Nov 2016, culminating in the world's first month long drone delivery service at Va Tech. Prior to joining Google [X], Dr. Vos was Senior Director at Rockwell Collins after their acquisition of Athena Technologies – a leading flight control and navigation systems company – in April 2008. Vos was Founder, CTO and CEO of Athena Technologies. Having worked in the unmanned systems industry for over 30 years, he is a pioneer and a thought leader in the area of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and Automated Aviation.

Born in South Africa and now a U.S. citizen, Vos is the inventor and developer of Athena’s core technology. He holds patents in nonlinear control systems, image augmented navigation, propulsion controls and more, and has broad experience in navigation, guidance and flight control systems. From August 2007 thru 2016, Vos was appointed by Virginia’s Governor to the Vint Hill Economic Development Authority’s Board of Commissioners. In June of 2007, Vos was named by Ernst & Young as an Entrepreneur of the Year in the Greater Washington area. Vos holds a B.S. in Engineering with Honors in Aeronautical Engineering from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, an M.S. in Dynamics and Control from MIT, and a Ph.D. in Estimation and Control from MIT, in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Patricia Vos, Co-Founder

Patricia Vos is Co-Founder and Vice President of the Vos Foundation. To this she brings her dual life experiences as a journalist (perpetual asker of questions, passionate researcher) and as a social entrepreneur/ small business owner (perpetual seeker of solutions.)


Patricia holds a BA from The New School for Social Research in New York, and an MA in Journalism from Northeastern University. Her co-op experience at Northeastern included work at the Christian Scientist's Monitor Channel, an early pioneer in the 24-hour cable news space. Vos subsequently worked at WGBH (PBS affiliate), NBC's Real Life, and WHDH (NBC affiliate), as well as for local independent producers who created program series for The History Channel, Telepictures, and others.


One freelance writing article led to a complete shift in gears. The article addressed the search for solutions among concerned race horse owners and activists on what to do with the "slow" race horse. With equine slaughter recently banned in the US, the question became ever more pressing. Vos founded Tebogo Sport Horses, creating a social entrepreneurial solution: slow racehorses were purchased and retrained on a Virginia farm as sport horses, and resold to that market. Communications strategies highlighted the viability of this solution to broader audiences.


Currently, Patricia Vos is an Advisory Board member at The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, as well as on the Eden Board of Directors for Eden Reforestation Projects, whose mission is to provide fair wage employment to impoverished villagers as agents of global forest restoration.

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The Vos Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization.
All donations are tax-deductible to the full extent of the law.


We do not accept unsolicited fund requests or grant proposals at this time.