Stories of Technology, Innovation, & Entrepreneurship in the Southeast

“I am a big believer of to whom much is given, much is expected,” Misty Mayes said. And that’s how she’s lived her life, particularly in relation to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, since graduating in 1998.

That year, very few women graduated with degrees in engineering. It was a male-dominated field, and Mayes was one of the early few to squeeze into it. She leveraged her engineering skills and people skills to build a national company called Management Solutions LLC.

Under her leadership, the company has managed programs exceeding $38 billion across all 50 states, providing mission assurance, project delivery, and independent assessments that drive operational excellence for government and commercial clients. They serve federal clients like the U.S. Department of War (DOW) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

“Being a female engineering graduate, when there were almost none, opened so many doors for me,” she said. “I want to be able to open those doors for other students, as well.”

Stepping up to serve

In July, Rep. Cameron Sexton, the Tennessee Speaker of the House, appointed Mayes to the UT Board of Trustees, which is one of the highest honors from the University. The 12-member board boasts a prestigious list of executives with decades of experience and deep roots with UTK. For example, Rep. Sexton’s most recent appointee, prior to Mayes, was the Honorable Bill Haslam. See the rest of the members here.

This isn’t Mayes’ first time serving UTK. She has been on the board of advisors for the Tickle College of Engineering for almost nine years, even serving as the first female chair of the board. She then moved into a major-gifts fundraising role for the UT System by joining the UT Foundation board. Additionally, she co-founded the Women’s Engineering Council and co-chaired UT’s Women’s Engineer Day; these programs strive to assemble female engineering students and faculty.

“When President Randy Boyd called me and asked me if I’d be interested in possibly being a trustee, of course I said yes. It’s the highest honor you can have at the university,” Mayes said.

Mayes’ appointment adds a Knoxville-based executive with deep experience in national defense, nuclear energy, and federal project delivery, which is fitting for the state’s push toward becoming the hub of the nation’s nuclear renaissance. Her perspective comes at a pivotal time as the UT System advances academic pathways designed to meet high-demand workforce needs and strengthen Tennessee’s ability to compete in complex industries.

Representing nuclear and workforce needs

Mayes brings more than 30 years of experience delivering mission-critical solutions across energy, national defense and other complex industries.

“Workforce is a huge issue for all companies. We’ve got a small amount of workforce, and a huge amount of need,” she said. “The only way that that’s going to be sustainable and successful is if we can get a pipeline of well-prepared students who are smart, eager and passionate.”

One of the ways Mayes believes the University can continue to build this pipeline is through strategic partnerships – both with public entities like the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and CNS Y-12, but also through private companies that are innovating in these spaces.

“For example, we’re doing a partnership right now between CNS Y12 and the University of Management Solutions because we see that need at the state and at the federal level,” she explained.

Both from her business perspective and from a university perspective, ensuring that all the ecosystems function together is a big priority.

“You have to be able to balance what projects the federal government is funding with what the state is funding. Then, you have to ensure the university is producing the talent that businesses can depend on to go after those projects. It’s about all these different ecosystems working together,” Mayes said.

Her position on the UT Board of Trustees sets up the university for continued leadership steering them in the right direction to better position the university as a talent pipeline for the nuclear renaissance.

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