Major Melissa Ken
Executive Officer to the Dean of the Faculty & Assistant Professor of Law
Bio
Major Melissa Ken serves as the Executive Officer to the Dean as well as an Assistant Professor of Law, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. She is the course director for National Security Law and teaches that class.
Major Ken is originally from Collingswood, New Jersey. She attended law school at Rutgers School of Law – Camden, during which time she externed with a federal District Court judge and interned for both a municipal prosecutor's office and a county public defender's office. After graduation, Major Ken served as a law clerk for a New Jersey Superior Court criminal judge. Major Ken received a direct commission as an Air Force Judge Advocate and entered active duty in May 2016.
Education
Master of Laws (highest honors), National Security and U.S. Foreign Relations Law, The George Washington University Law School, Washington, D.C. (2021)
Squadron Officer School, in residence, Maxwell AFB, AL (2018)
Juris Doctorate (Cum Laude), Rutgers School of Law – Camden, Camden, NJ (2014)
Bachelor of Arts, History (Magna Cum Laude), Messiah College, Grantham, PA (2011)
Professional Experience
Executive Officer to the Dean, US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO (June 2023 – Present)
Assistant Professor of Law, US Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO (June 2021 – Present)
LL.M. Candidate, Air Force Institute of Technology, The George Washington University School of Law, Washington, D.C. (August 2020 – May 2021)
Special Victims' Counsel, Special Victims' Counsel Division, Community Legal Services Directorate, Air Force Legal Operations Agency, Vandenberg AFB, CA (July 2018 – July 2020)
Assistant Staff Judge Advocate (Chief of Military Justice, Litigation, Administrative Law, and Legal Assistance), 2d Bomb Wing, Barksdale AFB, LA (September 2016 – July 2018)
Honors & Awards
Air Force Commendation Medal (one device)
Air Force Outstanding Unit Award (one device)
Nuclear Deterrence Operations Service Medal
Company Grade Office of the Year, Western Circuit SVC (2019)
Company Grade Officer of the Quarter, 2d Bomb Wing Staff Agency (2018)
Distinguished Graduate, Commissioned Officer Training, Maxwell AFB, AL (2016)
Research and Scholarly Interests
National Security Law, U.S. Foreign Relations, International Humanitarian Law
Publications
The Importance of Building Rapport with Crime Victims, JAG REPORTER, Jan 19, 2023, available at https://www.jagreporter.af.mil/Post/Article-View-Post/Article/3270122/building-rapport/.
The Real Cost of 5G Technology: National Security Implications of 5G Implementation and Impact on the U.S.-China Relationship, 9 NAT’L SEC L.J. 119-200 (2022).
Combating Domestic Terrorism: Constitutional Issues and Practical Solutions, 19 RUTGERS J.L. & PUB. POL’Y 43-79 (2021).
The Shadow Spreads: Impact of S.B. 1070 and Trends in Modern Immigration Law, 14 RUTGERS J.L. & RELIGION 551-72 (2013).