Influential Woman · Defense

Carmen Martinez

Federal Program Manager, RedSky

Tampa, FL

1Award received

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's Degree in Criminal Justice (2005) Degree Master's Degree in Justice and Security Administration (2010) Degree Associate's Degree in Education and Training Degree Associate's Degree in Intelligence Studies Cert PMP (Project Management Professional) Certification Member Women in Defense Tampa Bay Member Former Director of Community Outreach for PMI Tampa Bay (2024)

Her Story

About Carmen

I've dedicated over 25 years to serving in the defense industry, beginning with my military service as an Air Force Reservist where I completed 20 years before retiring. I'm also a retired federal employee, so public service has been the foundation of my entire career. My family has a history of being in the military - they are either retired military or retired civil servants, federal employees as well, so it was just a natural transition to exist in the defense industry. I joined Red Sky at the end of March as a Program Manager for Federal Programs. Red Sky is an IT service integrator and a small business, woman-owned company that has been in business for 10 years. In my current role, I handle portfolios for Special Operations Command and Central Operations Command, the unmanned aerial systems portfolio at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and the CENTCOM portfolio for executive communications. Before this position, I was supporting foreign military sales for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which involved traveling every 45 days. My journey hasn't been without challenges - I divorced mid-military career as a single mom, and I'm grateful for my parents who enabled me to carry on and complete my service. My son has been my driving force throughout everything, and he's now finishing his junior year in college.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Carmen

01What do you attribute your success to?

I attribute my success to faith, my parents, and my son. My son has been the driving force for me throughout my entire career. I'm grateful for my parents because when I divorced mid-military career as a single mom, they enabled me to carry on and complete my 20 years of service. Without their support, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish what I have. My faith has also been fundamental in guiding me through the challenges I've faced, both personally and professionally.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I've ever received is simple but powerful: do it scared. What I mean by that is your best results, the best work you've done, is when you were scared to do it. It's about getting out of your comfort zone. I've always told my troops the same thing - when they say 'I'm tired, I'm scared,' I tell them 'Okay, do it scared.' It's just that basic. This advice has shaped how I approach challenges throughout my career, and it's something I continue to live by and pass on to others.

03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I think being a woman in this industry is sometimes a bit challenging. Those are some of the barriers that we have managed to break. It can seem at first intimidating for some, but for me, that is a driving force. In the defense industry, they do have women, but we are not the majority. Last week I flew to Virginia for a woman technology conference, and for the first time in my career, we were the majority and the men were the minority. It really felt good. Here I am, and I've always been the minority - I'm a minority Latina, I'm a minority woman, and I'm in an industry where it's male-dominated, and technology is male-dominated as well. These barriers are just being constantly broken, which is aspiring. It was just mind-blowing to hear from the nominees, their story, and just be around amongst the recipients and the women who were there. It was so cool to see how we're leading the way in technology and in all aspects of the industry.

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