Women Leading in Defense: Beyond the Titles
Tech Talk Team Room Participants
HOST:
Steve Trevino – SOFtact Solutions, Director of Innovation and C5, retired CSM, USSASOC G6 Steve Trevino | LinkedIn
GUESTS:
Mary Allison Brinker - SOFtact Solutions Founder and CEO | LinkedIn
Jessica Gronert - Women in Defense Greater Tampa Bay President | LinkedIn
Women Leading in Defense: Beyond the Titles | STS Tech Talk Team Room Ep. #10
What does it really take for a woman to lead in the defense industry?
In Episode 10 of the Tech Talk Team Room, SOFtact Solutions CEO & Founder MA Brinker and Women in Defense Greater Tampa Bay President Jessica Gronert have the unscripted conversation you won’t hear at a conference. MA went from selling knives and wanting to be a sports broadcaster to founding a defense contracting company with three kids under three. Jessica went from dreaming of flying F-22s to Air Force Academy graduate, Lieutenant Colonel in the Air Force Reserve, and senior BD at Leidos. Along the way, she was the only woman to pass the Air Force portion of the 2015 Women in Service Review.
Together they cover:
✅ Proving yourself as a woman in a male-dominated industry
✅ Whether you need to be technical to lead in tech and defense
✅ Motherhood, maternity leave, and the question no one asks men
✅ The behaviors that erase credibility fast
✅ Why you should “increase your acceptable level of discomfort”
Neither started out expecting to be exactly where they are today. But through unexpected opportunities, tough decisions, and a willingness to figure things out along the way, they've built careers worth learning from.
This episode gets into the conversations you don't always hear at industry events, including the realities of being a woman in defense, the importance of mentorship, and what it takes to lead when you don't have all the answers.
And trust us, these two have some stories. Catch a preview below, then head to our YouTube channel for the full episode!
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