This feature was originally published in the Winter 2026 issue of Tenant Digest Magazine – Read the full issue here

I-97 Business Park
1110 Benfield Boulevard, Suite G
Millersville, MD 21108

ut-services.com
(301) 345 -3797

University Technical Services (UTS) is a women-owned business that was founded in 2008 when the nonprofit University Research Foundation (URF) received a government contract that needed to go to a for-profit company – thus UTS was born to take the contract on. Melissa Allen, who was CFO for URF at the time, became CEO for UTS in 2023. Natalie Kneisly came on eight years ago and has grown to become not only Vice President of the special communications division, but also program manager of the company’s successful government contracts team.

UTS focuses on data center and secure space (SCIF) buildouts, telecom and fiber for both government and commercial clients. Technicians lay cable, fiber, racks and switches for IT installations at data centers and commercial spaces. Many of these technicians travel OCONUS and CONUS, government terms for in and out of the country. UTS’s technicians don’t just work in Millersville, Maryland; they’re sent across the world.

Since its formation in 2008, UTS has expanded into several different areas – aviation, drones, SBIR work, and STTR work, to name a few. And once Allen became CEO, UTS began focusing on what they did best – telecom infrastructure contracts.

UTS eventually made a major move from their home of 30 years in Prince George’s County, to St. John Properties’ I-97 Business Park in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. “The move has been awesome. We’ve met so many people and connected, and we are just growing in our connections with the data center world up here near BWI Airport and the National Security Agency,” said Allen. Allen decided to lease the space at I-97 Business Park after meeting with a colleague in the business community. She fell in love with the area and how her colleague had created such an inviting office space.

At the time, Allen and Kneisly said they were working out of a 40-year-old building. “When we found St. John Properties, it was a no brainer, with not only how responsive they were [but] how accommodating. We didn’t want to break our lease, so St. John worked with us to find a place that worked with our timeline,” said Kneisly.

It’s been a busy past year, but Kneisly said she’s proud of how they’ve grown, particularly doubling the size of their current contract, as well as rebranding and redoing the company website. “We’ve done a lot in a small amount of time, so that’s been huge as well.”

Allen and Kneisly still remain grateful to all of UTS’s past mentors and CEOs who paved the way for UTS’s growth. “We are looking forward to continuing to make new connections, to grow hopefully in the data center installation world.”