MELE Hires Kiersten Harris as New Director of Human Resources
Rockville, Maryland, February 1, 2024—MELE Associates, Inc. (MELE), a veteran-owned (VOSB), minority-owned small business with more than three decades of success in the government contracting space, announced today that it has hired Kiersten Harris as its new Director of Human Resources.
Harris brings 20 years of human resources experience to her role at MELE. Across her career she has served in a variety of senior HR leadership roles. Harris specializes in operational excellence, organizational transformation, talent acquisition strategy, and HR infrastructure development. She has applied her HR expertise in the government contracting industry, as an executive consultant, at small and mid-size organizations, and at large, multinational corporations like Coca Cola and the Bechtel Corporation.
Harris earned her MBA at Hood College and holds her BS in Finance from Virginia Tech. She also holds an executive certificate in HR transformation from Cornell University.
“Kiersten is a wonderful and important addition to our HR team,” stated MELE’s Chief Legal Counsel Kimi Murakami. Her diverse background as a consultant and business partner coupled with her experience at Coca Cola and Bechtel is a great fit for where we are headed as a company.”
With the addition of two new NNSA contracts late in 2023 and the recent reorganization of its C-suite and leadership team, MELE is poised for significant growth in 2024 and beyond, making talent acquisition and talent retention a key focus area for the near future. MELE is also actively seeking to expand its strong partnership with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Nuclear Science Administration (NNSA) while simultaneously growing its award portfolio to include new federal, state, and local government agency contracts. The MELEMAX team, led by MELE and comprised of various teaming partners over the years, has been the incumbent for the DOE’s NNSA TEPS BPA contract since 2007.
“We have amazing pool of talent already on board and great teaming partners that we trust and have worked with for years. Kiersten’s experience in organizational transformation and talent acquisition is exactly what we need to keep adding the right people with the right skills to the MELE team. This isn’t just about growth; it’s about smart, strategic growth, and we’re very excited to have Kiersten on board to help us grow intelligently,” stated MELE’s President Al Chiogioji.
With over 250 employees and offices in Rockville, MD, Washington, DC, and Albuquerque, NM, MELE is a veteran-owned (VOSB), minority-owned small business empowering its customers with innovative solutions for more than three decades. MELE has team members located across the U.S. and has served more than a hundred countries across hundreds of project locations. The company offers technical, engineering, and programmatic support expertise to a host of U.S. federal and international agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of Energy, the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice, INTERPOL, and the International Atomic Energy Agency. MELE’s services include national security, intelligence, law enforcement and emergency response training, IT/cybersecurity, facility management and engineering, CBRNE defense and nuclear security, and mission and program support.
Media Contact:
Steve Surdez, Communications Specialist
