Melinda Lyles is a Professor at Florida Southwestern State College. She previously served in Information Technology in the United States Navy and retired with with over 21 years combined service as an officer in the United States Public Health Service. During her service time, she held many titles in multiple agencies of the federal government, including system administrator, project manager, IT investment officer, and cybersecurity analyst.

Melinda is currently attending Capella University as a doctoral student with a concentration in information assurance and cybersecurity. Her undergraduate degree is from Colorado Technical University.