Tanja Guerra has spent decades in government contracting, and her frame has always been the same: culture, leadership and talent are as foundational to an organization’s performance as its operations and technology.
As CHRO at Alpha Omega, she connects workforce strategy to mission outcomes for an organization where over 20% of employees hold security clearances and the pressure to deliver — across cybersecurity, AI and digital modernization — is constant.
In this Q&A, Guerra talks about how she’s building the leadership infrastructure to match Alpha Omega’s growth, what the GovCon talent market actually demands right now and why she still approaches her own development with the same discipline she expects from everyone else.
Can you provide a brief overview of your professional background and career progression?
I have worked across talent strategy, culture, leadership development, and workforce transformation, always believing that people are central to business performance. That path led me to Alpha Omega at a pivotal moment in its evolution. What drew me in was the opportunity to help shape a mission-driven organization that is scaling with intention and investing in its future. As CHRO, I connect workforce strategy directly to growth, culture, and customer impact.
Why was this the path you chose, and how influential was it to your career?
My path to CHRO grew organically, starting in government contracting at CACI early in my career. I have always believed that culture, leadership, and talent are foundational to sustainable growth. I saw early on that organizations succeed when they invest in people with the same discipline they apply to operations and technology. That perspective shaped my leadership approach and led me toward roles focused on developing talent, strengthening culture, improving processes, and preparing teams to navigate change.
It continues to guide how I approach workforce strategy today, particularly in environments shaped by AI, modernization, and rapid transformation.
Do you have a personal connection to the current mission you support?
My connection to the mission is rooted in the work I have supported throughout my career. I have spent decades in GovCon, and that gives me an appreciation for how closely workforce culture, professional development, and holistic readiness is tied to mission success.
With more than 20% of our workforce holding security clearances, my role is not just about HR in the traditional sense. It is about ensuring we have the right talent, leadership, development pathways, and cultural alignment in place so that teams are ready to support critical national security and civilian missions.
What are your current top priorities and responsibilities? How do these relate to your company’s overall mission/growth strategy?
My top priorities at Alpha Omega are centered on aligning with our leadership team across maturity strategy to help scale in a way that strengthens both performance and culture. That includes integrating teams and capabilities following acquisitions, developing more robust and intentional HR infrastructure, building leadership at every level of the organization, expanding certification and development opportunities, and ensuring our workforce strategy keeps pace with a rapidly changing environment shaped by AI, cybersecurity, and digital modernization.
A major focus has been creating structures that allow people to grow with the business. That includes leadership development, career frameworks, mentorship, and our “Talent Edge” approach to workforce readiness.
These priorities directly support Alpha Omega’s broader growth strategy, as the company continues to evolve into a solutions-driven organization through our Continuum Automation Framework, where our people are directly enabling faster, more integrated delivery across design, modernization, data, and security.
Where do you and your team see growth opportunities in your current field or portfolio you support, or what do you anticipate to be your customers’ top pain points?
One of the biggest opportunities in our field is helping organizations build workforces that are ready for a more complex, AI-enabled, and mission-driven operating environment. At the same time, one of the biggest pain points for customers is accessing and retaining highly specialized talent, especially in cybersecurity, engineering, AI, and digital modernization. That challenge becomes even more pronounced in security-cleared or highly regulated environments.
We also see a broader leadership challenge across the market: companies are being asked to scale, modernize, integrate acquisitions, and innovate at speed, often without a shared leadership culture or enough investment in development. The organizations that can close that gap will be much better positioned to deliver consistent outcomes for customers.
How are you and your team planning to address/prepare for these opportunities?
We are addressing these opportunities by treating workforce development as a strategic advantage rather than a side initiative. At Alpha Omega, that means investing in certifications, structured career development, leadership programming, and cross-functional learning that prepare employees for both today’s requirements and tomorrow’s challenges.
In 2025 alone, our employees earned more than 1,000 professional certifications, and 30 employees completed company-sponsored PMP training, which reflects the level of intentional investment we are making in readiness and growth.
We also launched the Emerging Leaders Program to help build stronger leadership capacity across the company. That program brings together rising leaders from different teams and generations to strengthen collaboration, communication, and innovation. At the same time, we have modernized job architecture and career frameworks to improve agility, consistency, and transparency across the organization.
How important is mentorship and networking in GovCon?
Mentorship and networking are incredibly important in GovCon because this is an industry built on trust, relationships, perspective, and shared learning. Mentorship helps people recognize opportunities they may not yet see for themselves, while networking creates connections that broaden their thinking and help them navigate change. Both have been very influential in my own career.
That is one reason I care so much about building mentorship and leadership development into an organization’s culture. Through efforts such as the Emerging Leaders Program, leadership cohorts, and broader development opportunities, we are creating more ways for people to build confidence, learn from one another, and grow with intention.
I also believe leaders have a responsibility to be visible, engaged, and generous with what they have learned whether within the company or through broader participation in the GovCon, HR, and specialty groups like Women in Tech communities.
What is something most people don’t know about you personally?
I strongly believe in being a continuous learner, no matter your role in an organization. I still approach my own development with a great deal of curiosity and discipline, whether that means pursuing new credentials, participating in leadership forums, or exploring how emerging technologies like AI are reshaping the future of work.
Leaders must model the behaviors they want to see in others, and for me, that starts with staying open, engaged, and committed to growth. Another important personal value is giving back. Community engagement and philanthropy matter to me, and I am proud to support efforts that invest in children, education, and future innovation.