Mela Louise Norman brings a rare mix of backgrounds to venture investing, having worked as a partner at New Vista while also serving as deputy chief of staff to the Secretary of Defense, chief of staff to a member of Congress, and a campaign manager—work that earned her the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. That experience shows up in how she evaluates defense startups: she focuses on how government budgeting rules, like continuing resolutions and multiyear procurement, affect a company's ability to raise money and grow, and she's especially drawn to companies solving large-scale manufacturing problems like munitions production and battlefield energy systems.