Leadership

Nick Dowling is the Chairman of the Board of IDS International, which he founded in 2006 to provide military and civilian customers with innovative solutions to complex and multidimensional national security challenges. Since that time, IDS has grown rapidly and emerged as a high-quality provider of training, data research, and engineering services to the US government and international partners.

Dowling has a B.A. in government from Harvard College and an M.A. in National Security Studies from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Noah Melgar, President of SITE 525, leverages his industry expertise in building cognitive Big Data intelligence tools, writing cutting-edge cyberspace training curricula, and creating realistic replicated internet environments for training purposes. In 2013, he developed a cyberspace training and exercise support program to help the Department of Defense (DoD) navigate the ever-expanding world of cyber and information warfare operations. This initial work grew into its own Cyber and Information Warfare department of IDS International in 2015 and into its own company in 2018. The group offers a range of capabilities that bridge the nexus of social media analytics, software development, network engineering, and cyber planning to help the US government understand and mitigate cyber threats.

Melgar oversees day-to-day operations and strategic planning for SITE, a scenario-based capability that provides social media inputs and cyber-attacks to help training units better understand the virtual human domain and its relevance to planning and operations. The technology is supported by teams of subject matter experts from Special Operations Forces (SOF) to the intelligence community. Through Melgar’s work, SITE has been used by US Army Special Operation Forces (SOF), Psychological Operations (PSYOP), and Civil Affairs (CA) units, from the team to the battalion level at the Joint Readiness Training Center, National Training Center, Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, and at civilian locations hosting mission readiness exercises. This is one of many capabilities that enable public and private sector clients to understand, engage, and harness the world of offensive cyber, defensive cyber, and information operations.

Melgar has embedded and served as an advisor to Special Forces in rural Afghanistan on population stability operations and The Royal Project in Northern Thailand on illicit crop alternatives. A combat veteran (US Marine Corps (Iraq), he has served on training missions with the Ugandan, Tanzanian, Rwandan, and Kenyan armies in East Africa.

Melgar holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and international business from the University of Kentucky.

Oron Strauss serves as the Chief Financial Officer for SITE 525. He is a results-driven entrepreneurial executive, with more than two decades of experience in helping to manage emerging growth companies across multiple industries. At SITE 525, he works alongside the other members of the leadership team to drive organizational strategy.

Strauss is chairman and cofounder of Babel Health, LLC, a healthcare data management software company. He is also chairman of Pantheon, a leading provider of online strategy and development services to mission-driven organizations and serves as a director of Bravely, a boutique creative consultancy.

Strauss previously founded Net.Capitol, Inc., a leading developer of Internet-based products and services for public affairs and political organizations. He managed the successful growth and eventual sale of Net.Capitol to Netivation. Following this transaction, Strauss served as president and CEO of Netivation’s political division, Votenet.

Strauss graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College with bachelor’s degrees in history and government.

Jefferson David Hoye (B.A. CS, Rice University) has over twenty years of experience designing and implementing systems for academia and government.  In 2000 he founded a startup that focused on real time business and scientific collaboration and raised a $2.3M investment. He has worked with numerous academic and research institutes to develop a variety of user facing computer systems. Prior to joining SITE 525, his clients included the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems, the Army Research Lab, and the Association of Computing Machinery.

Allison Sorce is the Technical Director at SITE 525, where she oversees the company’s technological vision and strategy, ensuring that all systems and applications are aligned with business goals. With over 25 years of experience in software development, systems architecture, and leadership, Allison has been instrumental in driving innovation and scaling the company’s tech infrastructure to support customer needs.

With a background in software development and systems engineering, Allison has successfully led the development of scalable, high-performance applications across industries ranging from finance to aerospace engineering. At SITE 525, Allison leads a team of talented engineers, fostering a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement. Under her guidance, SITE 525 has implemented cutting-edge solutions that have exceeded industry standards and delivered value to clients.

Allison holds a degree in Mathematics and Computer Science from Binghamton University. In her spare time, Allison enjoys mentoring aspiring engineers and giving back to the community through volunteering in hospice environments.