I work where government, industry, and technology meet.

Lawyer by training, strategist by trade. Business developer, entrepreneur, nonprofit champion; I direct civil and homeland solutions capture for a government contractor, started a software company and a training firm, and built three nonprofits along the way. If we met somewhere and you’re here, let’s talk.

LinkedIn·amy@amymarden.com·Alexandria, VA

Roles

Several hats, one throughline.

SOSi: Capture Director, Civil and Homeland Solutions. Capture, strategy, and the proposals that follow.
Tenaxiom Technology: Co-Founder and CEO. Software for government operations in high-compliance environments. Ask me to tell you more.
SOF(t): Co-founder. Bespoke corporate training and wargames, designed by people who have run the real thing.
Arrowhead Research: Co-founder and vice president. Developing nontraditional tech talent in mid-career servicemembers.
Donovan Discussions: A fifty-person forum, named for Wild Bill Donovan, where special operations, intelligence, industry, government, and academia work the same problem in the same room. A project of Arena Advantage Group in collaboration with Arrowhead Research.
REACT DC: Founder, 2021. Resettlement assistance for Afghan allies after the withdrawal, when the official channels weren’t enough.

On the record

Engagements with a point.

I say in public what I say in private, just polished. I’ve done it in a House hearing room, on national television, and on the record with reporters, and I’ll do it on a panel, a podcast, or a stage when the subject is worth the room’s time.

Amy Marden testifying at the House Foreign Affairs Committee roundtable on Taliban reprisals — House Foreign Affairs Committee roundtable on Taliban reprisals. Testimony, January 24, 2026.

Amy Marden on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper, discussing Afghan allies left behind after the U.S. withdrawal — CNN, *The Lead with Jake Tapper*, with Tito Torres. On the allies the withdrawal left behind, January 30, 2024.

Amy Marden on CBS Mornings, on military families helping Afghan refugees resettle — CBS Mornings. On military families resettling Afghan refugees, from my living room.

Op-edOur closest Afghan allies deserve better than what we’ve given them, with Tito Torres, The Hill
PodcastYour Next Mission, Ep. 14: REACT DC, with former Sergeant Major of the Army Jack Tilley, April 19, 2022

How I work

Excellent, on purpose.

I expect excellence, from myself first and then from everyone I work with. I say excellent on purpose, because good is what people settle for when nobody is watching. I write up to the reader, never down. I code-switch between a proposal room, the Hill, a nonprofit board, and a secretary-level briefing without losing the thread, and the thread is what I love.

I am also, apparently, on Team Optimist. The shirt was a gift, the attitude was earned.

Amy mid-sentence, seated, notebook in lap

Writing

Published, more to come.

Writing for myself is good therapy; writing for others is a privilege. If a story makes a stranger feel something, I’ve done my job.

The Parts We Lost, a novel by Amy Marden — *The Parts We Lost*
A novel

Mirror, Mine, a novella by Amy Marden — *Mirror, Mine*
A novella

So Much To Say, a short story by Amy Marden — *So Much To Say*
A short story

Say hello

LinkedIn is the fastest way to find me. Email works if you have something specific. If you’re in Washington, the coffee is on me and the conversation is yours.