Melissa Mitchell joined COLSA in September 2025 as the Executive Director of Acquisition with 27 years of experience and expertise in Government Contracting and Business Operations. During the span of her Government career, she was a manager for 16 years and GS-15 equivalent for 10 years. As the first ever Executive Director of Acquisition at…
International Day of Women and Girls in Science is a day dedicated to recognizing the significant gender gap that persists in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field. Women have come a long way in gaining access to higher education, but there is still room for improvement. We need to ensure that women are…
While finishing his graduate degree last year, Ryan Shu was looking for internship opportunities from all over the country. He was drawn to the defense industry, specifically companies with a strong software focus. COLSA was one of the leading companies that Ryan was drawn to and wanted to work for. After interviewing with COLSA, Ryan…
Prior to COLSA, Morgan Garris was in college pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Management with a concentration in Human Resource Management. While in school, she had the opportunity to intern with COLSA. It was here that she realized that COLSA was somewhere she could see herself long-term. After her internship, Morgan applied to COLSA…
Six years ago, Wade Hawkins moved with his wife from Utah to Ohio so that he could start a new job with COLSA. After eight months in his first position, the need for a program manager position on one of COLSA’s contracts arose. Wade filled in temporarily but was officially promoted to the position within…
Larry Law started at COLSA a few years back under one of COLSA’s contracts and wanted something that would challenge him and help him to develop professionally. He previously worked with the Army, and being a Veteran; he was excited to return to his roots. Since starting at COLSA, Larry mentioned that he has “grown…
During the summer of 2020, Cecelia Poehlman started with COLSA as a summer intern in the Cyber and Information Warfare (CIW) Department. She was the intern team’s technical writer, which was something she had never done before but absolutely loved. After interning for two summers in a row, Cecelia’s name ended up in the proposal…
Q: What is your background, and how did you start at COLSA? A: I am a Native Huntsvillian and graduated from the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) in 2009 with my Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resource Management. While attending UAH, I was an intern as an HR…
Why COLSA Wednesday aims to show the world who COLSA is on the inside. In this article, you will hear from three employees: Stacy Bush, Omar Aponte-Rivera, and Dr. Samantha Garber. Stacy Bush worked for COLSA for a few years until she found an opportunity to grow elsewhere. COLSA, always putting the well-being of its…
We are celebrating Parents Day by interviewing a few of our own Family of Professional Parents. Read on to learn how COLSA supports parents throughout their career. Marcia Flatau is one of our long-time COLSA employees. She has risen to be a great leader within the Navy and COLSA but is also an amazing mother…
