Lisa Pelled Colabella

Photo of Lisa Colabella
Senior Operations Researcher
Santa Monica Office

Education

Ph.D. in industrial engineering, Stanford University; M.S. in operations research, Stanford University; B.S. in systems engineering, University of Virginia

Overview

Lisa Pelled Colabella is a senior operations researcher at RAND.  She has led projects on Army logistics topics (e.g., fleet management, operating & support cost estimating, implications of emerging technologies, sustainment data quality, equipping strategies) as well as projects on Air Force system acquisition costs and business intelligence.  In addition, she has served as a team member contributing to a variety of other projects on Army logistics, personnel, and training; Air Force acquisition and workforce management; and homeland security technology and staffing.  Colabella also spent three years at the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), where she developed space system cost estimating guidance and conducted research on cost estimating techniques. Before joining RAND in 2000, Colabella served on the faculty of the University of Southern California, where she taught courses and conducted studies in the field of organizational behavior and received the Department of Management and Organization’s first annual Excellence in Research Award.

Colabella holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University, an M.S. in Operations Research from Stanford University, and a B.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Research Focus

Recent Projects

  • Sustainment Planning for Army Hypersonic Weapons
  • Hypersonic Technology Trends and Cost Analysis
  • Robotic Combat Vehicle Implications
  • Facilitating Army Vehicle Overhaul Planning
  • Enterprise Resource Planning data applications

Selected Publications

Dalzell, S., Schnaubelt, C.M., Linick, M.E., Gulden, T.R., Colabella, L.P., Straus, S.G., Sladden, J., Jensen, R., Olson, M., Donohue, A.G., Hastings, J.L., Reininger, H., and Speed, P., Main Command Post-Operational Detachments (MCP-ODs) and Division Headquarters Readiness, RAND Corporation (RR-2615), 2019

Colabella, L., Bower, A., Galway, L., Pint, E., & Eng, J., Measuring the Value of Renewal: Age, Operational Tempo, Deployment, and Reset Effects on the Readiness and Maintenance Costs of Army Vehicles, RAND Corporation (DB-648-A), 2013

Colabella, L., Bower, A., Eden, R., Peltz, E., Lewis, M., & O’Neill, K., Equipment Sustainment Data in Standard Army Management Information Systems: Needs, Gaps, and Opportunities, RAND Corporation (DB-643-A), 2012

Pint, E., Adams, J., Colabella, L., & Sleeper, S., Improving Recapitalization Planning: Toward a Fleet Management Model for the High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, RAND Corporation (TR-464), 2008

Butler, D.M., Bohman, A., Colabella, L.P., Thompson, J.A., Shurkin, M., Seabrook, S.B., Jensen, R., and Burnett, C.B., Comprehensive Analysis of Strategic Force Generation Challenges in the Australian Army, RAND Corporation (RR-2382-AUS), 2018

Honors & Awards

  • Ascending Scholar, Western Academy of Management
  • Excellence in Research Award, University of Southern California, Dept of Mgmt and Org