authors

Expertise

Cyber systems, leader development, strategic planning, crisis management, diversity & inclusion, special operations, program management, and logistics

Experience
Lee entered the Army in 1975 as a Private First Class when 2% of the Army workforce was female and retired over 38 years later as a Major General. Upon her retirement in 2014, only seven women had gone further in the Army. During her almost four decades of service, she supported our Nation’s operators across the globe in multiple combat zones and left a legacy of delivering groundbreaking technologies to U.S. Forces.

In her last assignment, Lee upgraded the Army’s global mobile communications capability and networked computer applications. This encompassed the management of nine of the Army’s 27 major programs with an annual budget that topped $6 billion. In 2009 and 2010, her team was awarded the Packard Award for Excellence, the Department of Defense’s highest acquisition award. Her team remains the only organization within the Department of Defense to win back-to-back awards.

During her career, Lee delivered a vast array of communications and cyber capabilities to U.S. Forces and the U.S. State Department in Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, and South Korea. She served as the Deputy Acquisition Executive for the Special Operations Command (SOCOM) at a time of unprecedented growth in Special Operations missions, acquiring gear for the SEALs, Rangers, and the Marine and Air Force Special Operators.

Scholarly Work/Awards
Lee has been awarded numerous military awards to include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Combat Action Badge. In 2014, she was named the Distinguished Alumna for the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her book, No Greater Honor: Lessons Learned from my Life as a Soldier, was released in November 2020. She was inducted into the Command, Control, Communications, Computer, Cyber, Intelligence, and Reconnaissance Hall of Fame in 2020.

Education
Business Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Certificate, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL

MA, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL

MS, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ

MS, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, DC

BS, University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), Birmingham, AL

Organizations
Director, Board of Directors, Institute of Advanced Engineering, University of South Florida

Director, Lakeshore Foundation

Member, Advisory Board, University of Arizona, the Eller College