Teresa Carlson

Teresa Carlson leads the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Worldwide Public Sector business, which includes state, local, central and regional governments; educational institutions and Ed Techs, and non-profits and non-governmental organizations (NGO), and acts as an advisor to Amazon Public Policy on global policy issues. Since starting AWS’s public sector business in 2010, Carlson has driven the business’ growth, which today accounts for 2,000 government, 4,500 education, and 17,500 nonprofit customers, and a vast partner ecosystem across all geographies.

Prior to joining AWS, Carlson served as Vice President of Microsoft Federal Government, where she was responsible for defining the strategy for the company’s US Federal Government business. Before moving into technology, Carlson worked in health care, as a practitioner and consultant initially, then as a business manager and area vice president, responsible for national accounts, marketing, and business development.

Carlson dedicates much of her time to philanthropic and leadership roles to support her global community. This includes service as the Board Chairman of the American Red Cross in the National Capital Region, Board member of Visitors for Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), the USO of Metropolitan Washington Board of Directors, the Veteran Administration (VA) Advisory Committee, Princeton University’s Infrastructure Board, among others. Carlson has received many honors over the years, including being named as one of Business Insider’s Most Important People in Cloud Computing, and listed as one of the Washingtonian’s 100 Most Powerful Women and 100 Top Tech Leaders.

Carlson earned her undergraduate and Masters of Science degrees in Communications and Speech and Language Pathology from Western Kentucky University.