Meet Melissa

Melissa Sutherland leads Booz Allen’s Air Power business, guiding 3,000 technologists and mission experts who bring advanced technology and digital transformation to the U.S. Air Force. She champions bold, tech-driven solutions that modernize operations, speed decision making, and tackle America’s toughest defense challenges head-on. 
 
A pioneer in cyber strategy, Melissa shaped the future of national security by partnering with U.S. Cyber Command and the National Security Agency to scale enterprise tech, analytics, and cyber solutions. She has led the delivery of mission-critical software and cyber systems across defense and intelligence missions. 
 
Melissa started her career as a U.S. Marine Corps signals intelligence officer and later was a director of the Joint Intelligence Engineering Laboratory at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Today, she contributes to the broader defense and technology ecosystem as a board member of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, Central Maryland Chapter. 
 
She holds an M.S. in telecommunications management from the University of Maryland, University College and a B.S. in biology from the University of New Mexico.