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 COLSA, Melissa oversees the purchasing, contracts, and subcontracts teams. In her role, Melissa operates as a lead, mentor, and guide for her team, assisting and working through complex challenges across the Contracts Department and in collaboration with the other COLSA Departments.
“I believe the strengths that COLSA wanted to draw on in hiring me is my in-depth knowledge of Government Acquisition and my proven record and commitment to building and leading a team that is integrated with the customers.”
Melissa graduated from University of Alabama in Huntsville with a Bachelor’s in business administration and a minor in accounting. While attending her last year at UAH, Melissa was hired through the co-op program by the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Huntsville Division. She worked for the Corps of Engineers for over 7 years. She also supported the Black Hawk Program for a couple of years and the Space and Missile Defense Command for over 10 years during her career.
Growing in Her Expertise
With 20 years of Government contracting experience, she decided to broaden her knowledge base by accepting a position with the newly formed Army Futures Command.
“I went to work for the Assured Position, Navigation and Timing (APNT), Cross-Functional Team (CFT) with the Army Futures Command for 18 months. They were just standing up the APNT CFT when I was hired. I was the 5th person onboard, via by-name request from the Director.”
Melissa was the Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Business Operations for the APNT CFT, where she worked as a GS15 with responsibility over budget, acquisition, and human resources. She described the position as, “something outside the wheelhouse of my contracting expertise. It was a challenging position, but it added breadth and depth to my skillset and was a rewarding and career broadening opportunity that I am thankful to have had the chance to experience.”
After her 18-month experience with the Army Futures Command APNT CFT, Melissa went back to her area of expertise, Contracting, as a Division Chief for Army Contracting Command, Redstone (ACC RSA) and was instrumental in assisting the ACC RSA Senior Contracting Official in standing up the Secure Environment Contracting cell (SECC). She worked closely with DASA(P) and quickly became the subject matter expert for all things Secure Environment Contracting at ACC. Upon the standup of the ACC RSA SECC, she managed multiple Branches supporting multiple customers for 4 years.
Transitioning to COLSA
After much deliberation and prayer, Melissa decided to take the voluntary early retirement being offered. She took a few months off between May and September to relax and recharge before joining the COLSA family.
Melissa’s favorite part about COLSA is the family-oriented values, citing that they care about their people and have supportive management and leadership, specifically mentioning COLSA’s Executive Vice President of Business Management, Cathy Dickens.
“I think she [Cathy] is a remarkable person. She has been a mentor and an inspiration over the years. I had the opportunity to work for her in the Government for a few years, and we continued to stay in touch from time to time after she retired. I consider myself blessed to have the opportunity to work with her again.”
Melissa chose COLSA because she wanted to join a company with family values and commitment to customer service, sharing, “I love the small town feel and the family atmosphere at COLSA.” Entering her second career and coming from a government contracting background, she is excited to dive in and embrace the industry side of the house.
“My favorite part about this job is the people. COLSA is filled with great people, and I have an amazing and experienced team with quite a few employees that have been here for a very long time. This excites me because it just tells me what an awesome company COLSA is. Being owned by the same individual (Mr. Collazo) for 45 years who is still active and involved in the company is inspirational. I hope to be an incredible leader to my team and bring value to the company as a whole.”
More about Melissa
Melissa has been married to her husband, Jay, for 37 years. They have two sons, Ryan (36) and Curtis (34). Ryan has been married to his wife Whitney for 7 years and they have one daughter, Isla. Curtis has one son, Bentley, and is engaged to be married to his fiancé Christina in March 2026. Melissa and Jay are very proud of their two sons and all they have accomplished and are absolutely thrilled with their two grandbabies. Bentley and Isla are a very precious part of their life. God, faith, and family are at the center of what matters most to Melissa.
Apart from spending time with their grandchildren, Melissa, her husband and both sons enjoy riding motorcycles together although her favorite toy is her bright red 2022 Can-Am Spyder F3 Limited SS. They also enjoy other outdoor activities including boating and golfing together. Melissa and her husband live on their 110-acre farm in TN with their three dogs and three horses.
“The biggest piece of advice someone has given me in my career is to work hard, and to let your work speak for itself. Don’t put others down or attempt to climb over them to get to the top. Let your work and your dedication speak for itself and it will pay off in the long run and always treat everyone from the bottom to the top with the same dignity and respect.”
Grow with Us
As COLSA grows, we continuously seek qualified talent to join our Family of Professionals. Check out our Careers page to learn more about working for COLSA.
