Michelle Padgett

With over 20 years of diverse professional experience, Michelle Padgett is a seasoned leader in strategic integration, bringing people, process, technology, and information together, and joins Elara Nova Space Consultancy as the Director of Business Operations. Throughout her distinguished career, she has consistently demonstrated a remarkable ability to align multi-business defense and aerospace divisions, translating strategic visions into high-impact results.

As Chief of Operations at Boeing ‘s Global Growth & Engagement, Padgett led transformative initiatives that redefined operational efficiency and corporate growth. She spearheaded the deployment of strategic priorities across Boeing’s defense, space, and government service portfolios, resulting in billions in new business opportunities within a year. These initiatives not only optimized resource utilization but also unlocked untapped synergies, positioning Boeing to deliver critical capabilities to allies and partners worldwide.

Her ability to bridge government priorities with corporate strategies positioned her teams as a trusted resource in the aerospace and defense ecosystem. In each career position, she has been a force-multiplier, focused on operational excellence, enterprise engagements and strategic efficiencies. Beyond operational achievements, she strengthened external relationships, collaborating with global influencers and forging public-private partnerships.

Prior to joining Boeing, Padgett served in pivotal roles at the U.S. Department of Defense, including Chief of Staff at the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the Director of Warfighter Health Predictive Readiness Analytics and Senior Advisor to the Air Force Chief of Staff. Her work supported global security cooperation initiatives valued at $662 billion across 157 nations, drove advancements in readiness analytics, saving taxpayers $7.5 billion in operational costs, advanced national strategic priorities through 140 visits to more than 20 countries and led the Air Force’s Invisible Wounds Initiative.

Padgett holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Business and a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology and Personnel Services from the University of Maryland College Park. She is a state and nationally licensed psychotherapist and an active member of the National Board for Certified Counselors and the National Council on Family Relations.