2024 GMiS Luminaries

Education:  PhD in Cybersecurity and Masters in Information Technology, Colorado Technical University

Colleagues of Laura Medina are not shy about praising her for an unquenchable thirst for knowledge, individual and team development, and an uncanny ability to handle the workload of two or more people.  Her level of success helps explain why she’s frequently assigned near-impossible tasks.  In a testament to her flexibility, she’s led multiple teams, absorbing others, and even handled the duties of two leaders of large complex groups at the same time. She spearheaded and coordinated learning activities to spread the wealth of knowledge between teams, and her succinctness and laser- focus kept multiple complex efforts on target and successful. 

As a cybersecurity specialist with RTX, Laura is a recognized leader in the industry who’s had an immediate impact running multiple teams and applying advanced technology concepts in superior fashion. A subject matter expert in Agile Methodology and team management with a focus on the Atlassian JIRA tooling suite, Laura provides exceptional leadership qualities honed from years of successfully guiding teams first in the military and later the corporate world. 

Laura was called on to run a new team after a novel AWS effort centered in the hands of a few, organically and rapidly developed hands proved to be a game changer that promised exponential growth. Their mission was to master the technology and its specialized program deployment quickly, something she helped achieve by streamlining and providing continuity.  Her team saved this critical effort, which she presented nationally at AWS GovCloud during re-Invent. 

RTX initially hired Laura as a contractor in the very initial stages of the challenging GPS program.  Her outstanding performance and dedication to clearing obstacles led the company to instantly bring her on as an employee. Laura quickly broadened her experience with multiple OSs, technology platforms, and program life cycle knowledge, and she demonstrated unparalleled organization skills. 

She significantly impacted her program’s ability to get approval for some of the initial milestones that were critical to continued development through high-profile  challenges such as government mandated austerity.

Laura is deeply committed to empowering future generations, particularly young women in STEM. Through volunteer initiatives such as Girls Who Code, Girls Inc., and Colorado Dreamers and Doers, she strives to foster a culture of inclusivity and innovation. Her work as an ambassador for Pinups for Vets and her involvement with various Veteran of Foreign War branches underscores her dedication to supporting veterans and their families and embodies the spirit of military service that launched her career.