AFCEA Announces Winners of 2025 Intelligence Community Award

FAIRFAX, Va., March 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- A selection panel of current and former intelligence community leaders-including representatives from the private sector and academia-recently named recipients of the Award for Excellence in Defense Scientific & Technical Intelligence (S&TI). Sponsored by AFCEA International's Intelligence Committee, the award was created last year specifically to address the need for-and recognize the value of-innovation in intelligence. The awardees will be recognized on the second day of the AFCEA Spring Intelligence Symposium, on April 2, 2025. The Defense Intelligence Agency director, Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, USAF, will deliver keynote remarks and attend the award presentation. 

The individual award is open to active duty and Reserve members and federal government employees, and this year's individual winner is Dr. Lisa Costa, for S&TI contributions in space intelligence analysis, foundational military intelligence and intelligence innovation. Costa has spent much of her career "operationalizing innovation on a global scale” in the intelligence community and shaping and executing large-scale initiatives in emerging technologies and cybersecurity.

Dr. Costa's professional accomplishments exemplified S&TI analysis and innovation at its best, always in pursuit of more robust space and cyber intelligence capabilities to advance the Nation's security," remarked Capt. Ray Cross, USN (Ret.), vice president, Intelligence, at AFCEA International. 

The team award winner is Project LOWGROUND Development Team. Project LOWGROUND is a collaborative Defense Department and intelligence community team that developed next-generation signals intelligence (SIGINT) sensor technology for the U.S. Army. The team members are:

• Kakil "Kevin" Zibari, INSCOM G7
• Dr. Greg Mitchell, AirIn Tech
• Dr. Frances Zenzen, HQDA G2 S&T
• Alexander Aplan, HQDA G2 Army ISR Task Force
• Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jimmy Martinez, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Chief Warrant Officer 3 Derrick Hummon, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jamaal Alex, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Sgt. 1^st Class Andre Ferrell, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Staff Sgt. Kaleb Best, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Sgt. Kentrell Ayers, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Sgt. Alexus Allen, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Spc. Jalen Horton, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Pfc. Erika Swing, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade
• Pvt. Eli Hadsell, 513th Military Intelligence Brigade

"This unique award recognizes Project LOWGROUND's significant enhancements to the US Army's ability to detect, characterize, and track targets of interest,” said Lewis Shepherd, the AFCEA Intelligence committee chair. He added: "The team's extraordinary effort has resulted in a disruptive technology that is on a glidepath for integration into multiple Army modernization programs of record - as well as further proliferation of the technology across the DoD and IC.”

AFCEA International is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit international professional association that connects people, ideas and solutions globally. Established in 1946, the membership association serves the military, government, industry and academia by developing networking and educational opportunities and providing an ethical forum. This enables military, government, industry and academia to align technology and strategy to meet the needs of those who serve. AFCEA operates under the guidance of a board of directors, international staff and committees. A large network of chapters is managed by a group of regional vice presidents. Join online. 

Contact:

Howard Wahlberg

AFCEA International

[email protected]

(703) 631-6199