As part of our Graduate Fellowship Program, the Foundation established the Alumni of the Year Award in 2022. The Award recognizes an alum who has demonstrated a commitment to public service, benefited the public good, and personifies the leadership qualities that the Rumsfelds hoped to encourage through the Fellowship's efforts. (Read more here about our previous talented 2024, 2023 and 2022 awardees.)
This fall, the Foundation was delighted to award the 2025 Alumna of the Year Award to Theresa Campobasso for her exceptional contributions to national security and her leadership across numerous fronts, including within our Fellowship Network. As a former Marine Corps intelligence officer and now a trailblazer in supply chain security, she has exemplified mission-driven leadership, inspiring optimism and high character throughout her professional journey.
Meet Theresa:
After earning a B.A. in English from the University of Notre Dame, Theresa entered the national security realm where she served as a Marine Corps Intelligence Officer in Afghanistan, provided counterintelligence support for special forces and supported the creation of DIA’s first Acquisition Risk Task Force, among many other accomplishments. She then pursued an M.A. in Security Studies from Georgetown University’s Security Studies Program, during which time she was a Graduate Fellow.
Following her graduate studies, Theresa transitioned to the private sector, where she continues to support America’s national security. For the last five years at Exiger Government Solutions, where she currently serves as Senior Vice President for Government Success, she has guided public and private organizations to predict, mitigate and manage supply chain risks. In her various roles, she has built and scaled Exiger’s Defense Programs team, launched communities of expertise in supply chain security, chemical security, and contested logistics, and founded the company’s Strategic Alliance Program.
Theresa’s academic credentials, professional designations and many honors further underscore her impact. She is a co-chair of the Intelligence and National Security Alliance’s (INSA) Insider Threat Subcommittee, a Certified Insider Threat Program Manager, a graduate of Harvard Business School’s CORe Program and a member of the Chief Executive Women’s Network. She was also named a Top Supply Chain Executive to Watch in 2023 by WashingtonExec Magazine, graced the June 2024 cover of Technology Magazine and serves as a 2024 board member of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA).
Beyond her impressive record of service, Theresa is deeply committed to advancing national security through mentorship, thought leadership and interdisciplinary collaboration – exemplified by her active engagement with our Fellowship Network since 2016. She also served as an inaugural member of our Alumni Leadership Council, offering unique insights and enthusiastic leadership in support of our network’s development.
Her Network Nominator writes, “Theresa embodies the values of service, leadership, and integrity – demonstrated through her military background, entrepreneurial drive, and deep expertise in supply chains and critical minerals. She has emerged as a passionate voice in shaping resilient, secure supply chains for the future, while also encouraging others – especially women – to step into hard problems with confidence and courage. A woman of faith, wisdom, and unwavering optimism, Theresa uplifts those around her with genuine kindness and clarity of purpose. She leads not only with intellect but with heart, making her an exceptional ambassador of the Rumsfeld Foundation's mission.”
At our recent 2025 Graduate Fellowship Network Conference, held on September 18th-19th in Washington, D.C., Theresa demonstrated her leadership and expertise once again, spearheading a breakout discussion session for attendees focused on “Emerging Defense Technologies.” At the conference’s closing dinner, attendees viewed recorded congratulatory remarks from her nominator as well as heard from President of Exiger, Carrie Wibben Kaupp, who offered a glowing tribute to her colleague in advance of her award presentation.
Ms. Kaupp shared, “Theresa brings an incredible depth of not just expertise, but integrity and generosity… She is a servant leader to the true definition of servant leader…Her work truly touches so many parts of our national security ecosystem…She leads with both extreme intellect and extreme humility and that is a very rare combination.” She continued on, “Theresa embodies everything we value at Exiger: service, integrity, leadership, but she also embodies kindness, faith, optimism…those qualities make her not just a standout in her field but also an incredible source of inspiration to all of us.”
In her acceptance remarks, Theresa reflected on what the Graduate Fellowship Network has meant to her: “This community has given me a close group of friends and mentors and a compass that points toward the value of public service. Professionally, the connections have been real and consequential. People who help turn ideas into outcomes and who remind me that competence and integrity are not old fashioned… This community has always stood for principles over politics, and outcomes over optics, and for doing the quiet necessary work that keeps the mission secure. The Fellowship has pushed me personally to find practical ways to serve in all elements of my life.”