In March 2010, Mr. Edson became Vice President for Enterprise Development of Analytic Services Inc. (ANSER). In this position, Mr. Edson is responsible for strategic and transformational programs across the corporation including corporate research, knowledge management, and technical workforce shaping. Mr. Edson also serves as the Director of the Applied Systems Thinking Institute (ASysT), a position he has held since October 2009.   ASysT works to advance the application of systems thinking principles in the fields of national security, homeland security, intelligence, energy, environment, education, and healthcare. As Director, Mr. Edson leads broad efforts to build the community, capability and competency related to applied systems thinking.

Joining Analytic Services Inc. in 2005, Mr. Edson served in a number of technical and management positions and was responsible for overseeing and conducting science, technical, and engineering support to a variety of programs including ANSER support to the Strategic Technology Office (STO) of the Defense Advanced Research Programs Agency (DARPA); the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); the Pentagon Force Protection Agency; and the Intelligence Advanced Research Program Agency. Mr. Edson also held the analyst position of Fellow within the corporation.

From 1998 to 2005, Mr. Edson served in a progression of industry technical analysis and management positions in the defense industry, including Los Alamos Technical Associates and the Environmental Institute of Michigan/Altarum supporting a broad portfolio of policy, technical and science research.

Previously, Mr. Edson served in the US Navy, where he began his professional career as an officer in 1983. During his career in the Navy, Mr. Edson filled billets in both the Surface Warfare and Geophysics communities. Mr. Edson served as the Communications Officer and Main Propulsion Assistant on the USS Trippe (FF 1075), as Staff Oceanographer for the Office of Naval Intelligence and as Scientific Program Officer in the Office of Naval Research and the Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Environmental Security. 

In addition to research in applied systems thinking, Mr. Edson has been active in several technical areas including CBRNE and environmental sensor development, WMD counter proliferation, radioactive waste and nuclear materials management, and environmental management and assessment.   He has contributed to/led several national level science and technology studies and analyses including five NATO Science and CCMS committee studies. 

Mr. Edson frequently provides lectures and briefings on systems thinking. He is the author of a monograph titled System Thinking. Applied. He has authored or coauthored numerous papers and book chapters on a variety of topics. Mr. Edson is currently a member of the faculty of the Stevens Institute of Technology, and teaches courses on systems thinking and enterprise architecting.

Mr. Edson has a Bachelor’s of Science in Biology from George Mason University and a Master’s of Science in Physical Oceanography and Meteorology from the Naval Postgraduate School.