"My Strayer education still serves as a valuable reference point."

Ellie Nazemoff (MSCT '93) is the president and chief executive officer of Acolyst, which builds government risk analysis software. In her 10 years as a government contractor, Nazemoff has learned to deftly navigate complex government bureaucracies in order to build her business into one of the more innovative public-sector solution providers.

Over the past two years, Acolyst has earned numerous accolades for its success in technical engineering, security, and program and project management. In 2005, Acolyst was named the second-fastest growing solution-integration company nationwide by CRN, a business and technology magazine. In 2006, Nazemoff herself was recognized as one of the Top 50 Women Executives in the IT Channel by VARBusiness magazine and named one of the "Most Powerful Women of the Channel" by ChannelWeb.

Acolyst recently debuted a new solution center that showcases working proof-of-concepts for the company's various technology solutions. The company specializes in storage management, security, network management, back office tools and conferencing applications.

"In my industry, people want practical, viable IT solutions," Nazemoff says. "My Strayer University education not only helped me get to where I am today, but still serves as a valuable reference point to which I often return."

Succeeding in the cutthroat government contracting arena hasn't been easy, but Nazemoff thrives on competition. "Being a woman in the cost/risk analysis business is challenging," she notes, "but I am enjoying my success in rising to those challenges."