MELISSA FRYE

When Melissa Frye found out her third child would be her third daughter, that news reshaped her focus at General Dynamics Information Technology. “It became very crystal clear that I was not only here to empower the current workforce but that I had to lean in, making the future workplace the best destination for my girls,” she recalls.

Frye co-leads GDIT‘s employee resource group called ForWARD (For Women’s Advancement Recognition and Development), and she recently helped plan and execute the annual Women + Technology event for the fourth year, bringing together experienced and aspiring tech professionals to empower career growth and close opportunity gaps. That’s in addition to her day job: leading a multibillion-dollar program that supports the Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security and overseeing a team of more than 300 employees.

In her 13 years at GDIT, a subsidiary of Fortune 500 aerospace and defense contractor General Dynamics, Frye has worked both in contracts and operations, and led the creation of new methodology to execute the project management lifecycle for a client that yielded more than $250 million in growth over a three-year period.

Frye aims to be a servant leader in her workplace. That may mean being empathetic with her team, approaching new projects with humility, leading with integrity and giving back. “Living a life of service is important to me,” she says.

RELATED STORY: 2024 Virginia Women in Leadership Awards