Mayra G. Ugaz Rivera a senior defense and federal management professional with more than 11 years of experience operating at the intersection of strategy, resources, acquisition, modernization, and mission execution.  Throughout her career, she has operated across some of the federal government's most complex defense and civilian organizations, supporting senior leaders within the Department of War, including the Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD(A&S)), predecessor acquisition and enterprise integration organizations within the former OUSD(AT&L), the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense Comptroller (OUSD(C)), the Department of the Navy, Army Program Executive Offices, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Information and Technology.

Recognized for her ability to translate strategic intent into executable outcomes, Mayra has led initiatives spanning enterprise portfolio management, PPBE, acquisition planning, financial strategy, organizational transformation, and executive decision support. Her work has directly supported senior leaders responsible for managing billions of dollars in investments across modernization, readiness, information technology, training, sustainment, and acquisition portfolios. She has consistently operated at the point where mission requirements, policy, resources, and execution converge—helping organizations align priorities, manage risk, and make informed investment decisions.

Over the course of her career, Mayra has developed and defended resource strategies across the full Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution process; supported acquisition lifecycle planning and execution; authored enterprise-level financial management frameworks; and improved transparency, traceability, and accountability across complex stakeholder environments. Her experience spans every phase of the decision lifecycle—from defining requirements and shaping investment strategies to supporting execution, assessing performance, and informing future resource decisions.

Known for stepping into high-pressure environments, Mayra has built a reputation for bringing clarity to complexity. Whether supporting a Program Executive Office, advising senior leadership, modernizing business processes, or aligning enterprise stakeholders around a common objective, she excels at transforming complex information into actionable insight. Her ability to connect strategy, resources, acquisition, and operations has enabled leaders to better understand dependencies, evaluate tradeoffs, identify risk, and align investments with mission outcomes.

Throughout her career, she has served as a trusted advisor to SESs, Flag Officers, Senior Executives, Program Managers, Resource Sponsors, operational commanders, and functional leaders across financial management, acquisition, logistics, contracting, technology, and mission-support communities. She is recognized for building alignment across diverse organizations, navigating ambiguity, and creating decision-support mechanisms that strengthen organizational performance and stewardship.

As artificial intelligence, advanced analytics, and digital transformation continue to reshape government operations and national security decision-making, Mayra advocates for integrating decision intelligence principles into federal management practices. Drawing upon a career built around helping leaders make better decisions, she views AI not as a replacement for expertise, but as a force multiplier for analysis, visibility, and organizational effectiveness. By combining deep expertise in financial management, acquisition strategy, portfolio stewardship, and enterprise transformation with a forward-looking understanding of emerging technologies, she helps organizations bridge the gap between information and action—ensuring that critical decisions remain grounded in trusted data, strategic context, and measurable outcomes.

Her professional philosophy is simple: effective decisions begin with trusted data, informed analysis, and a clear understanding of mission priorities.