Lisa A. Costa is an American computer scientist and defense official serving as the deputy chief of space operations for technology and logistics of the

United States Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

since 2021. She is its chief technology and innovation officer. Costa was the chief information officer of the

United States Special Operations Command The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM or SOCOM) is the unified combatant command charged with overseeing the various special operations component commands of the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force of the United States Arm ...

from 2018 to 2021.

Early life and education

Costa earned a B.S. in mathematics and computer science from

Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

in 1986. While attending school, she worked full time. She worked in the corporate computer center of the

Harris Corporation Harris Corporation was an American technology company, defense contractor, and information technology services provider that produced wireless equipment, tactical radios, electronic systems, night vision equipment and both terrestrial and spaceb ...

. At the age of 18, she became a junior programmer with a government contractor. Costa received a M.B.A. from

Tampa College Tampa College was a private business college founded as a coeducational, nonsectarian, and proprietary institution, in 1890. The school was originally located in Tampa, Florida. The final owner, Corinthian Colleges, folded the school into its E ...

in 1990. In 1993, Costa completed a doctorate of computer science and engineering management from the

Union Institute & University Union Institute & University (UI&U) is a private university in Cincinnati, Ohio. It specializes in limited residence and distance learning programs. The university is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and operates satellite campuses ...

Career

Costa was the director of the Non-Traditional Information and Knowledge Exploitation Cell in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

from September 2001 to August 2010. From September 2010 to September 2013, she was the executive director of enterprise integration of the Mitre Corporation's National Security Engineering Center. Costa was the director of counter weapons of mass destruction and violent extremism from September 2013 to March 2017. In March 2017, she joined PlanteRisk as its vice president of intelligence and chief scientist. In March 2018, she became the senior director of innovation and technology at

Engility Engility Holdings, Inc. is an American publicly traded company that provides engineering and logistics services to several United States military and civilian agencies. The company based in Chantilly, Virginia was formed in 2012 as a spin-off of th ...

. In October 2018, Costa became the director of communications systems and the chief information officer of the

. While there, where she ran the fourth largest information technology enterprise in the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secu ...

. With over 95,000 users in over 140 countries, she was accountable for the technical portions of no fail missions for elite military units and operations. She directly controlled and executed a >$1.2B per year budget which included global cloud infrastructure, mobility, satellite and terrestrial communications, and devsecops supporting just in time

artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is intelligence—perceiving, synthesizing, and inferring information—demonstrated by machines, as opposed to intelligence displayed by animals and humans. Example tasks in which this is done include speech re ...

at the edge. She advised on the spending of ~$13.2B per year. In November 2020, she joined the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of CarParts.com. In September 2021, Costa became the chief technology officer and innovation officer of the

Awards and decorations

Costa is the recipient of the following awards: * 1993 Best Paper Award in Technical Track – Evaluation of X-Based Desktops * 1998 Special Recognition Award – Integrated Survey Program * 1998 Program Recognition Award – Collaborative Contingency Targeting * 2000 MITRE Technology Innovation Director’s Award * 2001 MITRE Senior Vice President General Manager Award * 2002 Special Operations Joint Interagency Collaboration Center * 2002 AFCEA International Meritorious Service Award * 2002 MITRE Corporation President’s Knowledge Management Award – Intelligence Analysis Cell Initiative * 2003 AFCEA International Meritorious Service Award * 2004 AFCEA International Meritorious Services Award – Engineering * 2005 AFCEA International Commendation Award – Mid-Career Intelligence Contributions * 2008 Special Programs Award – Working in the Shadows * 2011 Program Recognition Award – Social Network Analysis Reachback Capability * 2011 Director DIA Award – Intelligence Transformation in Afghanistan * 2013 Officer’s Award – Scientific Contribution to MITRE’s Technical Stature * 2013 Officer’s Award – Development and transition of Research into Operational Capability * 2014 Officer’s Award – Leadership in Integration * 2015 Officer’s Award – Delivering Transformational Solutions that Drive Mission Success * 2016 Rollings College Alumni Achievement Award * 2020 Federal 100 (FED100) Award * 2021 Joint Chiefs of Staff Joint Meritorious Civilian Service Award * 2022 Washington 100 (WASH100) * 2022 Government CTO of the Year * 2022 Best IT Bosses to Work For * 2023 Science and Engineering Award,

Space Force Association The Space Force Association (SFA) is an independent, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves as a professional military association, space advocacy group, and space education association for the United States Space Force and space professi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Costa, Lisa A. Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American women computer scientists Chief information officers Chief technology officers 21st-century American women scientists Rollins College alumni Union Institute & University alumni United States Space Force civilians