OUR TEAM LEADS

COL Robert J. (Jay) Wisham

Director

Director Jay Wisham is leading the charge to reshape how the U.S. Army works with industry through our mission to connect the right people, problems, and organizations to drive innovation. His expertise in emergent technologies and outreach helps shape AAL’s vision and strategy, strengthen relationships with industry, and foster connections with key stakeholders.

Prior to joining AAL, Jay was a Senior Army Fellow at the University of Texas at Austin, a Lead for Artificial Intelligence Applications for Army Futures Command's Next Generation Combat Vehicle Cross-Functional Team, and Program Director for Project Convergence.

Daniel Padgett

Deputy Director

Dan manages a diverse team of military, science, technology, and academic resources to answer the big questions about what’s possible. He is a critical force in our efforts to nurture and sustain strategic connections with military stakeholders and a wide range of organizations, from start-ups, VCs, and other new commercial Army partners to universities, research labs, and Army decision makers.

Brian Halloran

Director of Solution Innovation

Finding answers is the holy grail for Brian as the lead of AAL’s Solution Innovation team, which brings Army and industry connections and relevant tech together to solve real problems. He manages a wide range of tech development methods, including targeted efforts for specific solutions and broader efforts as part of AAL's Cohort Program.

Dr. Casey Perley

Director of Insights & Analysis

With her background in Army biodefense, Casey brings unique expertise to the challenge of rapid discovery of emerging and disruptive technologies. She leads our efforts to evaluate tech from both scientific and commercial perspectives to ensure the best — not the biggest — businesses are selected for tech development. As the driving force behind AAL’s Special Program Awards for Required Technology Needs (SPARTN) model, her team has made the Army’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program a powerful tool to address priority tech needs, from major systems to operational units.

Ralph (Rocky) Gay

Director of Operations

In an organization built to be diverse and disruptive, Rocky brings a “be ready for anything” approach to operations at AAL. His team focuses on the people, procedures, and policies that ensure AAL can function and scale. They manage the creation of new processes and standards to increase AAL’s operational output and support our mission to export better ways of doing business with the Army.

Scott Stanford

Director of Communications & Strategy

With a mission like ours, transparency and credibility matter. Count on Scott and his team to bring an expert hand to public and internal relations. Whether the focus is outward to industry, government, and media, or inward to Army stakeholders and AAL staff, Scott and his team focus on maximizing the reach and results of our engagements while assisting the director to guide AAL’s strategic direction.

Arthur Trevethan

Director of Corporate Ventures

Art has found his sweet spot leading AAL’s Corporate Ventures team, which focuses our outreach to find and champion the businesses that can provide the best tech for Soldiers. His extensive start-up and industry experience shapes how AAL discovers and interacts with the commercial ecosystem — especially solvers who may be new to working with the Department of Defense — and makes the Army a better business partner to the tech community.

Lee Short

Director of Program Integration

Lee oversees AAL’s experienced acquisition professionals in blazing a better path forward in agile contracting to make Army opportunities viable to the commercial tech ecosystem. His team is responsible for managing AAL’s current contracts, while exploring future vehicles to accelerate the Army’s processes to the speed of business.