Paula Trimble

Paula Trimble is a skilled strategist, project manager, analyst, and communications professional, who works with clients to identify funding opportunities and shape the development of future programs at the U.S. Departments of Defense (DOD) and Homeland Security (DHS).  With more than 17 years of experience in the government and private defense and aerospace sectors, Paula is adept at helping clients navigate the complex and often opaque national security research landscape.  Her experiential understanding of the defense research and engineering enterprise offers Lewis-Burke’s clients innovative approaches to national security interests.  She develops integrated legislative and federal agency strategies that position clients for strategic wins in the national security space.

Issue Expertise: Defense and intelligence community, defense planning, programming, budgeting, and execution (PPBE), homeland security, cybersecurity, emerging capabilities such as prototyping and experimentation, federal contracting and Other Transactions Authority (OTA), digital manufacturing, digital currency and blockchain, autonomy, artificial intelligence, and space.

Additional Experience: Paula brings a wealth of federal agency experience, having served in commercial space offices at the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) and the Federal Aviation Administration, and at the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), where she oversaw research and development programs aimed at rapidly producing and fielding technology prototypes, experiments, and demonstrations.  Prior to working in government, she gained government relations experience in the Washington, DC office of Ball Aerospace and Technology Corporation.  Early in her career, Paula was a news reporter for several publications, including Federal Computer Week and Space News. She remains engaged with the journalism profession as a judge for the Gerald R. Ford Award for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense.  Paula serves on the Board of Directors of the Coalition for National Security Research (CNSR).

Vital Statistics: Paula is a native of New York.  She attended The Pennsylvania State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism with honors in Media Studies, and earned minor degrees in rt history and science, technology, and society.  She is an avid runner and cyclist, and a volunteer with The Holiday Project, where she leads holiday visits and activities for residents at nursing homes and long-term care facilities in northern Virginia.