Nancy Dolan, a member of the Senior Executive Service, is the Deputy Director of Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. In that role, she assists the Director of Staff in providing advice and assistance to the Chief of Staff and Vice Chief of Staff on numerous aspects of Air Force policies, plans and programs. As Deputy Director of Staff, she maintains a continuing extensive interface with elements throughout the Air Force, White House, Department of Defense, Joint Staff and other Executive Agencies. She coordinates, integrates and synchronizes the efforts of the entire headquarters staff while planning, coordinating and executing programs, policies and procedures for unique and politically sensitive projects.
Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Dolan served as the Director, Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia. She was responsible for organizing, coordinating and resourcing the Legislative Liaison Directorate. She developed and executed the Air Force legislative program, and ensured the Air Force provided a consistent and cohesive message through congressional engagements, inquiries and correspondence. She worked with members of Congress, congressional staffs and senior Air Force leaders on legislative issues that affect Air Force programs, policies and weapon systems. She prepared senior Air Force leaders for congressional hearings, providing critical oversight of the legislative process of Air Force nominations requiring Senate confirmation.
Ms. Dolan served as the Deputy Director, Strategy, Concepts and Assessments, Deputy Chief of Staff for Strategic Plans and Requirements. She was responsible for developing and synchronizing Air Force strategy and strategic planning efforts and assessing alignment of planning products with strategic guidance. She supported the Chief of Staff of the Air Force with U.S. and Allied Strategic Studies Group, led Air Force transformation by developing, exploring and advocating joint/combined force employment concepts and executed the CSAF's Title 10 Futures Capabilities and unified engagement wargames.
As the Staff Director in the U.S. Congress for the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, where she was responsible for the operations of three legislative and one investigative subcommittee, she coordinated the work of the Full Committee minority, led by ranking member Michaud, to provide and update the legislative and fiscal authorizations for the Department of Veterans Affairs.
As a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Ms. Dolan was responsible for the forward-leaning concept analysis that identified long-range issues and drove innovation and transformation within the VA. She managed a planning and governance process focused on outcomes that influenced strategies, programs and resources. She was also a key advisor to the Secretary of the VA on defining the strategy and planning components of the VA’s new Planning, Programming, Budget and Execution System.
EDUCATION
1990 Bachelor of Science, Human Factors Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y.
2006 Seminar XXI, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
2007 Leadership in a Democratic Society, Federal Executive Institute, Charlottesville, Va.
2009 U.S. Navy Executive Business Course, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2010 APEX Senior Executive Leadership Program, Department of Defense, Washington, D.C.
2010 Strategic Communications, Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism, Los Angeles
CAREER CHRONOLOGY
1. 1996–2002, Human Factors Integration Analyst, Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md.; and Naval Sea Systems Command, Dahlgren, Va.
2. April 2002–November 2005, Director, Navy Human Systems Integration Directorate, Chief of Naval Operations (N1), Washington D.C.
3. November 2005–December 2007, Chief Strategist, Chief of Naval Personnel, Washington, D.C.
4. January 2008–January 2009, Department of Defense Legislative Fellow, Washington, D.C.
5. January 2009–December 2009, Deputy Director, Logistics Planning and Innovation, Chief of Naval Operations (N4), Washington D.C.
6. December 2009–December 2010, Deputy Director, Strategy and Policy, Chief of Naval Operations (N3/5), Washington, D.C.
7. December 2010–January 2013, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C.
8. January 2013–January 2015, Staff Director, House Veterans' Affairs Committee, U.S. House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
9. January 2015–October 2017, Associate Director, Strategy, Concepts and Assessments, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
10. October 2017–April 2021, Deputy Director, Secretary of the Air Force Office of Legislative Liaison, HAF, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
11. April 2021–present, Deputy Director of Staff, HAF, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
(Current as of April 2023)