Melissa Thomas is a professor at the College of Information and Cyberspace at the National Defense University. She holds a BA in computer and information science from UC Santa Cruz, a JD from UC Berkely, and a PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University. Previously, as a subject matter expert in governance, she worked with donors and partner low-income country governments, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa, participating in negotiations, providing support, and conducting mixed methods and computational research. She has held academic positions at The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University; the US Army School of Advanced Military Studies; and the Air Force Cyber College. Her work has appeared in leading academic and policy outlets, including Foreign Affairs, International Affairs, Defence Studies, Columbia University Press, and Oxford University Press. Her current research interests are cyber strategy, hacking, and artificial intelligence.