Tara Houlden '05

Raised in western Nebraska, Tara graduated from the United States Naval Academy with the Class of 2005. 

Tara is a lifetime member of the U.S. Naval Academy Alumni Association.  She is currently serving as part of the USNA Women’s Special Interest Group (SIG) Distinguished Graduate Award Nominating Committee. 

Currently, Tara is a Principal Information Security Risk Analyst at Red Hat, Inc., helping deliver hardened, open source solutions that make it easier for enterprises to work across platforms and environments. Tara is a risk management evangelist, working across the organization and with partners to identify and control risks. Tara joined Red Hat and the private sector in February 2020, after gaining experience as a 10-year federal civilian employee, most recently serving as the Cybersecurity Director and Command Information Security Officer (CISO) for Naval Facilities and Engineering Command (NAVFAC) in Washington, D.C. 

On active duty, Tara served as an Information Warfare Officer, attached to Navy Information Operations Command, Yokosuka, Japan, and the USS JOHN S. MCCAIN also out of Yokosuka, Japan, where she earned her Surface Warfare Officer qualification.  She also served as the first Information Systems Security Manager (ISSM) for Commander, Fleet Activities Yokosuka, Japan.

She has earned academic degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy and the National Defense University. 

Tara and her husband Jeff live in Colorado where they enjoy their mini-farm, 2 goats, 2 chickens, and 2 puppies.