The team
Operators, not consultants.
Michael G. Dickerson
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER& MANAGING PARTNER
Mike founded The Tacitus Group to bring over 25 years of operational, staff, and programmatic experience across the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, and private sector to Tacitus' clients. He's served in operational leadership roles at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), and the Joint Staff, and spent over a decade at Booz Allen Hamilton managing IC program portfolios.
His federal service includes: Staff Director (COO) and Deputy Staff Director for Mission Integration at ODNI; Chief of Staff (CAO) of the National Intelligence Management Council; Staff Director at the Joint Staff Deputy Directorate of Intelligence Strategy, Plans, & Policy; Director of Operations for a White House-level resilience program; Chief of Operations at the Office of the IC Chief Financial Officer; and Chief of HR Operations at NRO. He's held various other enterprise, component office, and program management roles across the most complex operational environments in the national security enterprise as both a federal employee and a Booz Allen management consultant.
Mike's operations and staff background covers the full spectrum: process design, organizational optimization, communications, HR operations and workforce strategy, mission execution, intelligence integration, program management, fiscal discipline and programming, senior front office leadership, and executive advisory. In addition to staff leadership roles, Mike has substantive experience as an intelligence analyst, leader of enterprise-level IT programs, and strategic planning.
Mike is a graduate of Virginia Tech's Pamplin College of Business and lives in Sterling, VA with his wife, son, and rescue dog.
Eileen Ayala
MANAGING DIRECTORof enterprise services
Eileen leads the Enterprise Services practice at The Tacitus Group, bringing two decades of operational, staff, and program leadership across the Intelligence Community and Department of Defense to Tacitus' clients. She's served in operational leadership roles at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and supported the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), and the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) as a contractor. At Tacitus, she leads delivery of the firm's embedded executive offerings: its fractional Chief of Staff, Chief Administrative Officer, and Executive Office services.
Her federal service includes: Chief of Staff and Program Manager at ODNI, where she stood up a new office from the ground up within ODNI's Mission Integration; Deputy Chief of Staff of the largest directorate within the National Counterterrorism Center; Program Manager for the IC Centers for Academic Excellence, overseeing grants to more than 70 colleges and universities; Executive Officer; and Contracting Officer Representative (COR) over multiple contracts. She's held these and other enterprise and component-office roles across some of the most complex operational environments in the national security enterprise, as both a federal employee and an IC contractor.
Eileen's operations and staff background covers the full spectrum: organizational design and change, budget execution and fiscal discipline, contract oversight and compliance, process improvement, executive advisory, interagency and stakeholder engagement, workforce and personnel operations, and program management.
Eileen is a graduate of the University of Maryland Global Campus and lives in Sterling, VA, with her rescue dog, Fiona, and enjoys spending her free time giving back through mentorship.