New at the Top: Katherine A.W. McGrady

Position: Chief operating officer for CNA, a nonprofit research organization in Alexandria that runs the Center for Naval Analyses and the Institute for Public Research.

Career Highlights: Executive vice president and director of research, CNA; Vice president and director, Integrated Systems and Operations division; field representative, Mogadishu, Somalia, Unified Task Force; Analyst, CNA.

Age: 49

Education: AB, Chemistry, Smith College; MS and PhD, Polymer Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Personal: Shares McLean home with daughter and husband, Ed.

How did you get to where you are?

There ought to be plenty of things to do in the plastics industry as a polymer chemist. Due to the Equal Employment Opportunity lawsuits of the mid- to late-80s, many women in the industry were offered jobs to run laboratories. While I considered that type of position very flattering, I was concerned that I would have been chosen because of my gender, not ability.

CNA offered me an analyst position due to my analytical ability, particularly my aptitude to think through problems and devise solutions. There was also a travel component to the job that really appealed to me. I had not thought about a place like CNA, but it helps to take the plunge every once in a while.

I was assigned to work with the Marines in California just as they were deployed to the first Iraq war, Desert Shield and Desert Storm. I was really curious and wanted the experience of doing analysis in a real-life setting.

I became a field representative and worked as an embedded analyst trying to capture and analyze what happened, why, and how to make future operations more effective.

For example, we used trucks to move supplies -- water, fuel, ammunition -- from the southern part of Saudi Arabia to the northern part in a timely manner. The problem was getting the trucks there. There were logistics issues with choke points and speed bumps, and the trips took 18 hours.

Sometimes you find yourself in surprising situations -- you are out in the field and you have to hitch a ride by truck or helo [helicopter]. You're out there by yourself. I found it an interesting test of stamina. Deployment was a turning point [for me] professionally because I learned so much and I was establishing myself with Marines. As they move up to more senior level positions, they know you and ask you for help.

I realize that it's strange to stay in one place for your entire career, but at CNA I was always given something new -- a new project, a new position, a new location. The kinds of problems we work on change peoples lives and put my abilities to the test. We do research for the military, Centers for Disease Control, Department of Homeland Security.

People here stay here because they like the work and the people.

-- Charity Brown

Please send nominations for New at the Top to newatthetop@washpost.com.