Good morning , everyone and welcome .
Uh We're excited to be here today to
celebrate the defense Senior Leader
Development Program graduates as we
prepare for the arrival of the official
party . I ask that you please turn off
all your cell phones and please put
away all your badges .
Good morning and welcome Mr Terry
Phillips , Mr Christopher Collins , Mr
Jeffrey angers Doctor Lisa Arfa , Mr
Jose Conejo , Mr Robert Burka , Mr
David Lathrop , Mr Richard Lombardi ,
Mr Steve Miska , Miss Glenda S Shiner ,
Miss Lisa Swan , Mr Jude Sunder book
and all distinguished guests .
Ladies and gentlemen , please stand and
remain standing for the arrival of the
defense Senior Leader Development
program graduates cohort 2022 . The
official party presentation of colors
and the singing of our national anthem .
Well ,
oh
colors . Oh
breath and heart .
Oh Say , can you
see by the dawn's
early light ? What so
proudly we held at
the twilight's last gleaming
whose bright arrives and bright
stars through the past
fight or the ram parts
we watched were so
gallantly streaming
and the Rocky Rich ,
the bones were sting
gave proof through the
night that a flag was
still there . Oh , say
does that star spangled
night would
or the going free
and the home of the
A right .
Thank you , sergeant , first class ,
Tua and color guard for singing our
national anthem and presentation of the
colors . Ladies and gentlemen , you may
be seated .
Good morning . My name is Ellen
Blumberg and I am the program manager
for the defense Senior Leader
Development program and your E MC for
today's event . We are here today to
honor our 14th graduating class from
the defense Senior Leader Development
program . It is my great pleasure to
congratulate today's graduates and
welcome all of you who have supported
them over the past two years and have
come here today to honor their
achievements . I would like to thank
your supervisors , your executive
advisors , coaches , families and
component representatives for their
support throughout the program . I
would also like to thank Doctor Timothy
mcwilliams , the previous DS LDP
program manager and Miss Monica Millard ,
the Deputy program manager for their
support and guidance throughout our DS
LDP experience . The
defense Senior Leader development
program is the Department of Defense's
Enterprise Leadership Development
Program for senior defense civilians
with the potential and aspirations to
serve as senior executives . The
program is designed to enhance
participants readiness for top
leadership positions and equip senior
defense department , civilian leaders
with the enterprise wide perspectives
and competencies needed to lead
organizations , people and programs to
achieve results in a joint interagency
and multinational environment . While
in the two year program the cohort
participants completed senior level
professional military education at a
war college . A series of leadership
seminars designed to challenge their
thinking and served in experiential
assignments upon graduation .
Participants are ready to lead in top
defense leadership positions amid
continuous change , increasing
complexity and intense competition in
the national security environment and
take on even greater responsibilities
in support of the nation's most
critical issues . As we begin our
program , I would like to introduce Mr
Christopher Collins , A DS LP DS
LDP , proud alumni to make opening
remarks . Mr Collins is the Director of
the Developmental Test evaluation and
Assessments within the Office of Under
Secretary of Defense for Research and
Engineering . His department provides
support to Department of Defense
acquisition programs in the use of
innovative and efficient developmental
test and evaluation strategies to
ensure production readiness and fielded
systems , meet war , fighter and user
needs and improve the defense
acquisition test and evaluation ,
workforce practice of the profession .
He also advances test and evaluation
policy and guidance and conducts
independent technical reviews . Mr
Collins was appointed to the senior
executive service in April 2020 before
his appointment , he served as the
commander NAV C Systems Command deputy
for test and evaluation . He also
served in various engineering and test
leadership positions in the eeasb
ballistic missile defense program
within the missile defense agency . And
he completed a one year experiential
assignment with the US Air Force on the
headquarters staff . Mr Collins
completed a combined active and reserve
navy career and retired with the rank
of navy captain . He completed several
deployments as a navy helicopter pilot
while on active duty and he supported
navy technology transition initiatives
and assessments at the Office of Naval
Research while on reserve duty during
his reserve tenure , Mister Collins
held command of two reserve component
commands . Mr Collins holds a bachelor
of science in electrical engineering
from the US Naval Academy and a Master
of science in aeronautical engineering
from the Naval postgraduate school . He
also graduated with distinction from
both the Navy Command and and Staff
College and the War College Air War
College program . Ladies and gentlemen ,
it is my honor to introduce Mr
Christopher Collins .
Thank you .
Good morning , everyone . Thrill uh
honor to be here today and , and a
chance to come back . I really
appreciate the invitation . Uh Ellen uh
so good morning everyone . Um
definitely first , good morning to the
DS LDP Cohort 2022 class .
Congratulations . It's great to see you
here . And uh not that long ago , both
uh Mr Phillips and I were sitting in
that seat uh so tremendous
accomplishment um to culminate in
today's graduation . I'd definitely
like to also welcome the friends and
family of the uh cohort 2022
employees , coworkers , mentors ,
coaches and other distinguished uh
guests and and honorary members here to
attend the uh graduation today . Thank
you and thank you for taking your time
out to come out and recognize uh these
individuals for the accomplishment uh
that they've achieved over the last
couple of years . Um
Definitely would also like to thank uh
MS uh Ellen Bloomberg um recently , uh
as she said , uh assigned as the uh
program manager . Uh Thanks for what
you've done in , in the short tenure
and looking forward to uh tremendous
things in your leadership uh with the
program , uh would like to give uh Andy
Harts a shout out uh since he's there .
Um uh I was Andy's executive advisor so
privileged . Uh Thank you for that
opportunity . Of course , uh For those
of you that , that have known Andy here
for a couple of years , I often felt
that I was on the hot seat instead of
him in , in the , in the discussion .
So all good though . Thank you . I
really enjoyed the uh the engagement .
Um And as we get ready for today and
before I introduce the uh guest speaker ,
I have some thoughts for the class . If
you don't mind , I'd like to share
those with you . Uh some things to
think about as you embark on uh the ,
the next step in your career here and ,
and hopefully some things that , that
may guide you or give you uh some
things to think about on , on what to
do . The first
thing I would offer for you is look for
leadership challenges . You've , you've
have a tremendous uh opportunity here
and it's been a privilege to go through
the DS LDP program and the
opportunities with what you've learned
on the experiential assignment , the
engagement with your coach or executive
advisers , the insights that , that you
had from the , the senior service
schools take advantage of that and seek
out leadership opportunities and , and
I would say you don't have to be a
senior executive to make an impact from
a leadership perspective . So , so look
for those opportunities , make a
difference in , in what the department
needs . As you can imagine , there are
some cha challenging issues . You just
read the national defense strategy and
you recognize that , that we as a
country and as a , a global community
are close to an inflection point ,
given a lot of what's happening in the
world . And so the , the role that you
can play in whatever assignment you're
in , uh if it's making a difference
that's gonna help in the long run , um
That difference is , is critical and ,
and finding those opportunities are
essential . Also , I would , I would
offer , keep the end in mind as you get
started in the next phase of your
career , you'll get back into
recognizing that that a lot of it ends
up becoming a day to day and perceived
often as a grind . You , you're gonna
get frustrated , you're gonna get worn
out , you're gonna realize there's some
pretty big rocks that we're trying to
push within the department to make a
difference . Don't get discouraged ,
keep the end in mind that you are
making a difference . Recognize that it
won't be instantaneous . Some of it
will take months , may take years . But ,
but try to find an opportunity to
reflect each day on what you're doing
strategically and why it's important .
And I , uh , it's gonna help you have
that sort of motivation to say , you
know what I'm ready for the next day
and then I'm ready for the next day .
It , it's too easy and I've seen it
with a lot of , of my peers and , and
other uh individuals . I know if you
let the , the day to day just succumb
and overwhelm you , then you will get
frustrated . You won't feel like you're
really making the difference that I
know . I know you all can . I think one
of the challenges in making a
difference is recognizing that some of
us may have some hard authorities if
you will to affect change . Most of us ,
it's about soft influence . That's a
difficult skill and you uh certainly
talked about it . I'm sure during the
DS LDP program continue to work on that
and refine that and recognize that that
a lot of the change you're gonna make
is about influence and relationships
and the networking uh versus having
hard authorities to drive change . But
if you're successful in that influence ,
it makes a big difference and you build
those relationships that then can be
important in the next problem in the
next problem and , and that's critical
because there's always the next problem .
Um I would uh uh uh the third thing I
think is important is be a mentor . Um
Certainly , if you're selected for
senior executive service or as a senior
leader , take advantage of that in
mentoring . But even mentoring at , at
the senior GS 15 level , there ,
there's young individuals in the
department that need that mentoring and
can absolutely take advantage of your
experiences , your advice , your
thoughts about leadership to help them
be positioned to become that next
generation of , you know , senior
fourteens and fifteens in the
department that can make a difference .
So always look for opportunities to ,
to mentor , to share what you've
learned and to help uh individuals uh
in their career path . Certainly , if
you are uh able to get uh uh selected
as a senior executive , look for
opportunities to give back , even at
that level , formally participating
with the DS LDP program where they
could use some help , whether it's on
the upfront interview for class
election , the SES panels towards the
end of , of the , of the program or
even other opportunities to come talk
to , to the group about your
experiences and your journey post DS
LDP . That's critical because it really
opens up the , the , the eyes for
individuals that are interested as well .
Um to see those successes , to get a
sense of the enthusiasm that you can
bring about the perspective that you
had not only going through the program
but what does life really start to look
like afterwards ? A
something that's brought up a lot . I ,
I would offer , you know , we , we use
the term broadly work life balance . Um
I , I would offer it and particularly
because uh I've been in this position
for about four years , the challenge is
gonna be not , everything is super
important , you have to find and
recognize that that some things warrant
your attention as a leader and some
things you can't ignore it , but
put the requisite amount of time . One
thing I've learned being in the
building here is you , you generally
get a second or third bite at the apple .
It will come around again . So don't ,
don't agonize over the , the , the
perfect response focus on , on those
things are important because I've seen
it as well with , with some of my , my
peers and , and other leaders , you can
easily get sucked into the , the , the
focus of the job and all of a sudden 40
hours becomes 5050 becomes 60 . You're
home on the weekends , you're , you're
reading your blackberry . And I was not
suggesting there won't be important
requirements that you have to sort of
surge and deal with those critical
issues that come up . Um But as you
know , certainly with my team , most of
what we do is not life or death , we're
not on the front lines , making
decisions , uh that warrant that
constant engagement . So find that
right balance that will help you
personally . Um I think a critical
component of that balance is find time
to continue your learning journey .
You've had a wonderful opportunity
these last two years to expand your
reading . You know , the experiences
through the the senior schools . Not a
lot of people get that opportunity ,
it's great to be able to go to school
for a year and not have to worry about
a day job and , and the things you've
learned , the , the discussions ,
you've had the debates . If you will
find time to continue that , set aside
time in the mornings to read . If
you're a morning person or in the
evenings , um , be inquisitive as you
see topics that you're not familiar
with . Make a note . Yep , I need to go
look for that and , and one of the
suggestions I , I would offer and you
don't have to be an executive to do
this carve out some time each day again .
If you're a morning or an evening
person or a lunch person as best , you
can block that time , call it . I call
it executive time and , and my team
understands that . Yes , if it's an
emergency , sure , uh , I'm available .
But what we try to do is schedule
around it . It gives me a chance to
catch up on reading , to investigate
some things to maybe engage in , uh ,
discussion with a mentor , things that ,
that help me keep a perspective , keep
that right balance , keep me motivated
charge so that the next day , OK , I'm ,
I'm ready to go again . Um If you don't
carve out that time and it gets
subsumed with day to day tasking , then
you , you're gonna be very unsatisfied ,
you're gonna be worn out and , and not
really feel like you're making the
difference that you could . The uh last
thing I would offer as you get ready to
start on this next phase of your career
is don't be afraid to ask for help .
Even though you've gone through the
program , you feel like you're at the
top of the world with having just come
out of school and a sense of what's
happening in the world and , and all
the things that , that you've learned
over the last couple of years , that
journey of learning doesn't end . As I
said , it's gonna continue and there
are going to be problems presented or
challenges that you need help on .
Don't be afraid to ask , recognize that
that collectively , uh it may take that
information to come up with as best an
answer as you can get . Don't feel like
you have to solve that problem within
your own lifelines . And , and that's
where the networking becomes important
is you not only stay in touch with each
other , you're gonna meet people in
your new assignments , the , the
opportunities that you've had through
school , all of those people , you will
be surprised how many times you're
gonna run into somebody and go , oh ,
yeah , we met five years ago in , in
class or two years ago or in the case
of , of , of you all , you will run
into each other if you're here in a
building , take advantage of those ,
that network opportunity , that , that
ability because they can bring
something that you may not have and ,
and vice versa , or more importantly in
this building , they connect you to
somebody that can and has the right
insight or information that you might
be looking for . Um be open to looking
for that help . It's not a bad thing to
ask . And it'll make you a stronger
leader recognizing uh that , you know ,
really where to go get the resources
and that you don't have to own it
yourself with that . I would challenge
you all have fun . This is a great
journey . It's an exciting time .
You're coming off a really uh
interesting two years with what you've
learned a chance to , to think about
your leadership style , the role you
wanna play in helping ultimately the
department achieve its objectives . Uh
That's exciting and , and I , I would
offer from personal experience that ,
that it was exciting for me and I
looked forward to uh that , that
journey after DS LDP , I was able to uh
be fortunate and get selected for
senior executive service . So all
exciting and I'm excited that I can try
to make a difference . Hopefully you
will uh maintain that enthusiasm to do
that as well . Uh But at the end of the
day , I definitely would like to offer
my congratulations again uh to you all
uh tremendous uh accomplishment and uh
with the program and definitely look
forward to your role as senior leaders
in the department as we move forward
with that . If I could transition . It
is my honor and distinct pleasure to
introduce our guest of honor today . Uh
Mr Terry Phillips , um Mr Phillips
joined uh Northrop Grumman as the vice
president for Security in April of 23
just just over a year ago . Uh in that
position , he is the senior security
officer and the company Insider Threat
program , senior official . And prior
to joining North of Grumman , he was uh
a senior vice president and Chief
Security Officer at Lidos . And then
prior to that um uh senior executive
within the Air Force , his last key
assignments included executive director
for the Office of Special Projects and
the director of counterintelligence for
the Department of the Air Force and
Director of counterintelligence for the
United States European Command . Um as
mentioned by uh MS Bloomberg . Mr
Phillips is a DS LDP cohort graduate as
well 2015 if I recall . So you're
before me . Um And it's great again to
see and hopefully we'll hear on his
journey coming out of the program into
the senior Executive service and then
the and then what he's doing today to
contribute uh uh to the nation . Um He
uh Mr Phillips holds a Master Science
degree , National Resource Strategy
from , from Eisenhower , uh NDU Master
of Arts and Education Administration
and a Bachelor of Science in uh
mathematics uh from Auburn . Uh So ,
without further ado um my distinct
honor to welcome Mr Phillips ,
welcome , distinguished guest , uh
Steam Faculty , proud , proud , proud
family members , friends , mentors ,
guides , and above all the accomplished
graduates of the defense senior leader
development program . DS LDP is the
premier defense and national security
leadership program . It's the cream of
the crop . That's you . DS LDP
promotes leaders of visionaries that
will forge and deliver global security
for the future . It's gonna be a tough
job . I stand with your family ,
friends and faculty and citizens of our
nation who congratulate and are
cheering you on for your continued
extraordinary success . It
is uh it is with the pro profound sense
of honor and nostalgia as I come back
to the Pentagon , it's been over a year
since I've been here and uh I forgot
how far the walk was from the visitor
center , the auditorium . I think we
should put that in the uh note . Um But
I saw family members smiling and
looking around and enjoying being in
our nation's uh center of gravity for
uh national security and defense . Um
but um but I'm joining you now as a
speaker , but uh as , as Mr Collins as
a uh um a alumni of this transformative
program . It's an incredible program .
I remember sitting in your seats and
kind of the anticipation and the
eagerness to get out and start working .
I wanted to go out and make a
difference in the world of defense and
national security . DS LDP was more
than just a program . It was a pre a
platform that propelled my resolve and
honed my abilities to lead with vision
and integrity , these feelings that
you're having right now , remember them
because they will energize you through
the tough times because
the world is very different from when
you started DS LDP . I think you guys
were in COVID . Um I think you had
virtual meetings and , and in the
future was a little uncertain how we
would go forward . How would this
change ? The Department of Defense you
overcame that Russia invaded Ukraine
two years ago and continue to threaten
Europe , NATO . And global security
Middle East continues to be mired in
conflict and instability , promoting
terrorism . Just recently , Israel and
Iran traded direct attacks that
could hang the world on the precipice
of war . China's demanding territorial
sovereignty and economic dominance .
Our nation is experiencing deep
division in political , economic and
social issues propagated by evolving
influence and the role of A I is gonna
make that even tougher for influence .
I'm glad you're here . I'm glad you're
graduating . It's very exciting times .
We need you to be successful . Your
work is cut out for you , but you are
ready . Over the past 20 months , you
have been instilled with the knowledge
and skills necessary to navigate the
tapestry of joint interagency and
multinational environment . You've
learned that leadership is not just
about making decisions , but about
inspiring those around you to achieve a
common goal , a system of goals that
achieves our national strategy . I
wanna spend a few minutes talking about
inspiring others when I started DS
LDP in 2015 , um there was a phrase out
there that everyone kept repeating ,
what got you here , won't get you there .
I'm not sure if they're still saying
that , but it kind of made me mad
because I felt like I had worked really
hard and I felt like I had done the
right things to , to continue to be
successful to , to grow and become an
ses and , and , and make a difference .
And uh but all I heard was what got you
here won't get you there . That , that
famous quote by Marshall Goldsmith .
But really what he was talking about
and I learned later and I learned to
become a little more patient as I , I
grew more experienced , a little bit
older , more experienced is that
Goldsmith wants to emphasize the
importance of soft skills . And I heard
Mr Collins talk about the soft skills
and interpersonal behaviors uh that of
higher leadership . I thought I had
that I got in DS LDP . I thought I
gained that but I was missing some
things , but you have a license to
learn . Now , this graduation
certificate is a license to learn to
continue learning . Just like Mr
Collins talked about continue those
same habits that you developed when you
were in school . I wanna talk about
four things that were important to me
um that I've since looked back after
graduating DS LDP and kind of helped me
become AAA better leader and it really
involves some unusual people . Um A
four year old Taylor Swift
Superman and a CEO
um when I got back from Iraq , um it
was a , a nominal experience for me . I
was going outside the wire every day ,
sometimes twice a day . And we were
looking for , we were identifying and
neutralizing those individuals that
were targeting our aircraft in our base .
And I was changed when I came back . Uh
The Air Force gave me 14 days off and
um my wife asked me to paint the dining
room with the four year old
and , you know , I be honest with you ,
I was kind of looking forward to it . I ,
I'm not a good painter . Um I , I'm not ,
uh I'm not a details kind of guy and I
knew my wife would repaint over me . So
it wasn't , it wasn't a high motivation ,
but doing it with a four year old was
gonna be fun . So , um I got the paint
out and I got Emma with some paint
brushes and I said , hey , look , Emma ,
you can draw and paint on the wall . No ,
daddy . Uh , we live in a high
compliance home and we're not gonna ,
you know , paint on the walls . And ,
uh , um , and I said , no , no , no ,
daddy's gonna paint over it . And she
goes , no , no , no , no . So I wrote
on the wall . Dad . Dad loves
Emma . And she goes ,
oh , and so she gets the paint brush
and she goes below my letters , tracing
them out very well . And then she gets
to loves and then she writes dad , how
do you spell work ? Uh ,
my heart sunk and I said no , and
my dad loves you . He doesn't , you
know , love work is important and
everything . But dad loves you . She
goes , dad , it's ok . We love that .
You love work . You're happy when you
come home from work , we , you're
excited . You tell us cool things . We
love that . You love work . And you
know , now that I've sat back and
looked , you know , that made me happy .
It made me happy to go to work and
contribute . So these family members
that are here supporting you , that's
your base . These are the people that
are so happy that you are happy at work
and that you're making a difference .
And so whenever you feel that you
are , are , are making a decision or ,
or are having a tough time , go back to
the base , go back to that person ,
those persons that make a difference
for you . So don't forget your base as
a matter of fact , that four year old
is now 24 years old . And uh we went
for a walk on Wednesday night , a
couple of miles and I practiced this
speech with her . So she's a U VA grad
and she's a little high pollutant uh
for an Auburn grad . And uh , so she
gave me quite a few points here . Um
She added the Taylor Swift comment
though . So she thought that would help
some of the younger people here . So
Cameron , I'm , I'm watching you over
there . Um So , uh
to be honest with you guys , um when I
was sitting in your audience , I was
sitting in the audience here waiting
for graduation . I had a presentation
um with a small group of generals and
the Secretary of the Air Force . Uh It
was an hour's worth of time and I was
gonna talk about the state of special
access programs for the Air Force and I
was pretty nervous . I was thinking
about my speech and I probably didn't
listen to the keynote speaker very much .
Um But um my family was
here . I quickly said , thank you ,
goodbye , hugged them and they went on
their way escorted by a friend . Um and
then I came home late and I said ,
apologize , sorry guys . And they go ,
no , no dad . We know you're busy . Um
When I went back to work . I remember ,
um , someone coming and knocking on my
door saying , hey , I need to talk to
you but I know you're busy . I go , uh ,
no , come on in and then I opened up an
email and says Mr Phillips . I know
you're very busy , but I'd like to ,
you know , get some time with you and ,
um , I , the busy word bothered me and
probably still does a little bit . Uh ,
but a lot of people , you know , come
to me and say that and um I was driving
home and there's a Taylor Swift song on
and it said , um I've got a blank space
and I'll write your name . I think
that's , it's probably not in the right
tone . Um But the microphone is
inspiring up here and you guys look
like a good audience . Um And I
remember at DS LDP , we talked about
White Space , Blank Space on your
calendar , writing your name on it .
Writing executive time , Mr Collins
talked about to be able to make a phone
call to , to think to process , to
write a note to send an email um to
eat , to get a little gym time , you
know . Um I didn't think I could do
that because man , things were just
going spinning . I was trying to
accomplish 100 things . Um but you will
be uh uh more effective and efficient .
If you take that blank space , take
that time , figure out how to do it .
So um find that blank space , you know ,
Channel Taylor be a swifty .
Ok , Superman . Um when I first applied
for an executive um position , I sent
my E uh ECQS executive core
qualifications . I think I still
remember those . You start them in DS
LDP . You write a few of them , you go
through a panel interviews , you guys
just finish those up and I felt like I
was probably in pretty good shape . So
I sent my uh ECQS out and I met with uh
some sess one of them . Uh when we got
on the phone , he said , hello Superman .
And I go , yeah ,
they , that my ECQS are that good . You
know , I , I think you're being a
little uh but I'll take Superman . He
goes , yeah , Terry . Uh it seems like
you donned a cape , flew down from
outer space and rescued the world on
every ECQ I go . Uh I mean , they ,
they did want me to show my personal
actions , the challenge context ,
actions response . I mean , that's what
I'm supposed to do . And he said , yeah ,
everybody does that . He said , but how
did you advance a commander's vision ,
your boss ? How did you make him
successful ? How did you make your
peers successful ? How did you advance
the Air Force mission ? How did you
connect with the other services ? How
did you reach out to inter agencies and
help make them successful ? How did you
move dod S goals forward ?
Man , you know , I thought it was about
me , I thought they were hiring me . Um
But really when you look at the
executives and when you talk to sess
and when you look at executives in
industry , they want you to be a part
of their team . Um When I left Lidos ,
uh which was a great company , uh I got
to lead the hiring committee for my
replacement . And the exec the
executive leadership team said we want
someone that fits in , you know , so
they weren't looking for Superman .
They were looking for someone that was
gonna be part of the team collaborative .
And to , and to this day , I make it
one of my goals . Uh When I write them
down is uh for my , for my job is how
did I make others successful ? How do I
make my team successful ? And if you
start your year , that way you , you do
a few things and it , it creates a
little circular um uh where everyone's
helping everyone , everyone remembers
that person that helps them be
successful . So don't be Superman . Be
batman . No , just kidding .
Bubu . Um
um My ceo Ky Warden um for Northrup is
amazing , wonderful , smart uh person .
I had one hour for my interview with
her . I was like , oh my gosh , one
hour and we talked um about a
few things . But the first question is ,
what is your succession plan ? I go
well , well , I'd like to stay on the
job for a little while and she goes ,
no , um I want you on day one to have a
succession plan . Uh and I want you to
work that succession plan uh every day ,
you know , developing others , make ,
get someone ready to replace you .
Because here in industries , people can
leave . I mean , you , you have a vote ,
you can walk any time . She said , but
by you developing those people and
growing those people , you make her
company better . And so I want that to
be your first job . I go mom , I
thought first job you want me to go out
and , and , and , and do some work with
the security and she goes , no , no ,
no , I , I want you to , I want you to
develop people , develop your
succession plan . And she said , um ,
Terry , the reason we hired you is , um ,
to , to not report the news . We want
you to make the news . I go , well , I
mean , in security , we don't like
making the news . You know , we don't ,
we don't like telling the Air Force and
the Navy and stuff like that , that
things aren't good , things aren't safe ,
things aren't , are compromised , but
she goes , no , she goes , uh everybody
can tell us , you know what's happening
in the world . I want you to , to tell
me what you think is gonna happen in
the future and how we can posture our ,
protect our people , our facilities and
our operations and , and protect our
customers . I want you to , I want you
to be thinking that far down the road .
The , um she said another question uh
was um how much time will you
spend with stakeholders ?
And um I said , well , here's , you
know , uh if I tell her too much , she
will think that I'm not doing my job .
And so III I said 20% I wanna
spend uh eight hours , 10 hours a week
with customers with internal
stakeholders . I wanna meet with
associations . I wanna meet with
subject matter experts . I wanna meet
one of my peers . So 20 hours a week
and she said that's good . She goes ,
if you find yourself in the office
reading emails and answering emails ,
um and not out and meeting others ,
then you're , you're not gonna help
grow the company , make the company
better . That's pretty cool . Uh She's
telling me to go out and have fun , eat
lunches and eat dinners and all those
things . The , the last thing she said
is , um , there's very few people that
can see the vision of what needs to
happen . And I need you to do that . I
need you to see what a security program
for our company looks like in five
years . And then I want you to
show the path there because there will
be so many people in our company , very
conservative company that , that are
against change and don't want change to
happen . Um , are they happy with the
way things are ? So , I need you to
show them the path and they'll get lost
and I need you to drive them back .
That's what I think your job is . So
that's how a four year old , uh ,
Taylor Swift Superman and a CEO had an
impact on me and made me think about my
interpersonal , my soft skills and ,
and I learned all those things in DS
LDP and they were imprinted , but I
hadn't really uh uh uh I think fully
matured and , and so that's what got me
there .
I'm sure you have similar stories . You
should go home today or go to the
restaurant , go celebrate , go enjoy
yourself , but find some blank space to
figure out what your base is , what uh
and figure out those little things that
have happened in your life that are
going to drive you and help you see the
vision , help you uh inspire people to
accomplish that . Today
is an amazing day . Incredible day .
Congratulations . You guys deserve all
of this . You're the cream of the crop .
Our nation depends upon you to be
successful as you embark on
this path for senior leadership . I
want you to remember the core values
that Ds LDP has instilled in . You .
Embrace the uncertainty of the future
with confidence that you are well
prepared . You are ready
lead with courage ,
think about that , put it on a sticky
in your car lead with courage ,
act with integrity and serve of the
heart devoted to the
greater good . Congratulations ,
go BSL DP graduates ,
please .
Thank you Mr Phillips and Mr Collins
for sharing this uh wonderful remarks
with us on behalf of the graduating
class . Uh Thank you for sharing those
experiences and words of wisdom to
inspire these graduates as they move on
to leadership positions . Ladies and
gentlemen , it is now time to recognize
our graduates . We would like to
present the Doctor Fiona Jay Burdick
Excellence in Leadership Award to tell
you about the award . I will now
introduce you to Mr James Bookman , the
Dod Chief Learning Officer for the
civilian workforce and the Director for
talent development at the defense ,
civilian Personnel Advisory Service .
Well , thanks Ellen . And while I've
got the microphone , I'm gonna offer a
couple of comments myself . First of
all , I want to welcome all of you who
made time to , to show up today for our
graduates . Uh You know , there's
nothing in the rules that say you had
to , you made a choice and I really
appreciate that you did that because
that says something about how much the
graduates mean to you in whatever role
or relationship you have with them .
But also says a lot about you and the
importance that you place like we do in
professional development and outcomes
uh such as today that we're celebrating .
Uh I wanna particularly welcome you
graduates and congratulate you . I
don't know if you remember . But uh on
day one , when we got together , I
mentioned it was gonna be a real long
journey . I wasn't lying . It was a lot
that you all went through and you made
it through . And you know , the , the
nature of the program itself is , is a
challenge . All of our leader
development programs are experiential
in nature and they're different the way
they execute and what they focus on as
far as leadership competencies . But
this program itself is challenging
because of the length , two years and
three months , four months . Uh the the
complexity of what they're put through
uh multiple seminars a year away in
professional military education ,
experiential assignments , working with
mentors and coaches , structured
interviews and on and on and on and
think about the com the complexity of
how you actually executed this . We
started off looking at each other
through video screens right in the
middle of the pandemic . And then you
had to adjust back to in person
learning , uh and what challenges that
brought and even from a programmatic
standpoint , uh we went through two
separate contractor teams uh while you
were here and we went through four
different program managers and deputy
program managers because of uh career
development and opportunities . That's
a lot of change . That's a lot of
turmoil unturned , but you persisted ,
you were resilient . So if any of those
leadership comp we focus on resilience
is certainly one you got to practice a
lot . Uh And I , I wanna recognize that
and , and say that I'm grateful that
you were able to stick it through . Uh
one of the things I'm not even gonna
try to give you any advice because the
advice we heard was just fantastic and
I hope not just the graduates , but
everybody took something from what we
were offered uh for Mr Collins and Mr
Philps . I know I did . Uh It really
resonated with me and I thank you for
that uh Great insights , but the one
thing I will foot stop is the idea of
networking . You know , I , I , in my
time , both in military uh and my
service in the Air Force . And now uh I
manage a lot of curriculum uh and , and
professional development programs . And
the one thing that really is maybe the
most important for learning has nothing
to do with curriculum . It's the
networking relationships that you've
built . And so my small little advice
footstep is , don't let those atrophy .
You put a lot of time , invest in each
other , make sure you keep investing in
those because you're never gonna know
someday when it's really gonna pay off
and it'll be probably at the time you
need it the most . Um So that's my , my
two cents . Uh I , I also wanna take
note that , that notion of resilience
really applies to my 22 member talent
development team . Uh That , that uh a
bunch of very capable , energetic ,
enthusiastic and wonderful people to a
person . And I wanna recognize four of
them in particular uh that had a hand
in your experience over these past
couple of years , I mentioned there was
a lot of turnover . Uh Doctor Tim
mcwilliams who's way in the back there .
Uh He was the former program manager ,
uh uh that you all knew for quite a
while during your time . Uh He moved on
to a great opportunity with the Navy
and Tim , I just wanna thank you for
being here . Uh And also for all the
work you did to get them to where they
are today . Uh So I really appreciate
that . Uh As Tim left Monica Millard
who is hiding back here somewhere ,
you've probably run into Monica . She's
a deputy program manager there . She is
right back there . Uh When Tim left ,
she took over the program as the acting
uh program manager and I was asking a
lot of her and she stepped up and just
did a fantastic job keeping the trains
running into Monica . You were very
resilient , patient and persistent . I
wanna thank you for all the effort that
you put in uh particularly getting the
new cohort that just started this year
off and running uh Doctor Tanya Johnson
over here in the corner , uh She
volunteered , raised her hand when we
had this uh this manpower gap and she
said I'd love to help . And so , in
addition , to her career in
professional development work that she
does for a team . She took on the role
of deputy program manager , acting for
many months uh while we're waiting to
fill the vacancy . And so Tanya , I
really thank you for stepping up and
doing everything you did to help us
keep the program running smoothly . Uh
And then finally , Ellen , uh who
you've , you've met obviously uh
talking today uh literally when she
joined a couple of months ago , uh ,
day one , we welcomed her on a team and
then handed her plane ticket said , hey ,
welcome . Now you gotta get out to
Norman Oklahoma because the new D DS
LDP cohort seminar one starting in a
couple days . And so when you talk
about the proverbial fire hose , she's
lived it and she's still living it and
she's just had a resilient , wonderful
attitude . And Ellen back here , I just
wanna thank you for , for , uh , for
leaning into this as well as you have ,
uh , and making a difference . So
thanks to all four of you for really
having a large part of what , what's
going on today and the outcome that
we're celebrating . Uh , so enough
about that , really the main point of
why I'm here right now and I really
appreciate Ellen and Monica giving me
the opportunity . It's , it's to
introduce a very special part of this
program today and it , it has to do
with a very special person to us . Uh ,
Doctor Fiona Burdick . Now , uh many of
you never , never got the opportunity
to meet Fiona . Uh She was a very
special member of our talent
development team . She passed away over
four years ago . Um And it was rather
sudden for us and it really left a big
hole in a team one which we still feel
today honestly . Uh If in all my time
and maybe you can understand or , or uh
relate to this , any good team that
I've been a part of . There's always at
least that one person that's unassuming
behind the scenes doesn't wanna take
credit , lifting others up service
before self . Uh And , and just makes
things happen out of the spotlight .
That's who Fiona was . Uh she was
really by label our instructional
systems designer and evaluation lead
and that's how she got to interact with
a lot of uh members of the cohorts of
all of our leader development programs .
But I'll never forget the first time .
Uh I joined the team here . Uh And one
of my first activities , I got to sit
in the back of DS LDP seminar too . Now ,
at this point , they had just finished
their year long professional military
education school and they're coming
back to us for a week long seminar .
I'm sitting in the back of the room
watching this brand new guy . I don't
know what's going on . Uh But I'm
watching as the participants are
filtering back in , they haven't seen
each other in cases for over a year .
But as they go and they turn and see
Fiona who was standing next to me , the
reaction was stunning . It's like Fiona ,
Doctor Fee , Doctor Burdick , how you
doing ? And they come up and they were
just excited to see her . They shake
her hand , they gave her big hugs and
I'm sitting here watching and thinking ,
who is this person next to me ? What ,
what did she , how did they even
remember her ? And that's really the
impact that she had on persons , on
individuals . And I came to learn that
and appreciate it really quick . So
when she passed away , we decided we
want to find a way to honor her and
what she symbolized and what she meant
to us and keep her spirit alive so
quickly . Uh She passed away right
before the COVID pandemic started . Uh
So it was a really tough time for many
ways for the team . Uh We decided to
come up with a , a way an award to uh
to honor who she was and I'll read it
to you uh to explain exactly what the
Doctor Fiona J Burdick Excellence and
Leadership award . It is intended to
honor the life and legacy of F Fiona
who came to DC Pass talent development
in 2015 as the instructional design
specialist for our dod leader
development programs during her time at
DC pass , Fiona left a lasting impact
not only on our programs , but on each
of her teammates and colleagues and
every student she ever interacted with ,
she truly cared for every DS LDP
participant and took a genuine interest
in everyone's personal development ,
making a lasting impact on others in
ways that are difficult to measure in
total . She did this in an unassuming ,
often behind the scenes manner , always
putting others needs as a top priority
of her own . So this award goes to the
DS LDP participant who made a positive
difference in the lives of others
during a time and really embodies the
leadership qualities that we we found
with Fiona . This is the fifth award
that we've given now . Um And what's
really cool is two things about this
are really cool in my view . One has
nothing to do with I or our program
team or anybody on my team . It's a
pure award . The cohort decides based
on the criteria just read you who best
exemplifies uh the character and the
characteristics of Fiona held . The
other cool thing is how we actually
present this award . And the way we're
gonna do this is we have invited uh
Fiona's husband , Mr Dave Burdick to do
the presenting . Dave is an old friend
of ours . I knew Dave through Fiona
before I even actually got to Met ,
meet , meet Dave because Fiona was
always fond of telling stories about
Dave much as his expense . She had a
great sense of humor and uh and uh So
when we got to know we got to meet Dave
for the first time , it was like , yeah ,
we've been long friends , but he's a ,
he's a great friend , not only to my
team , but we also consider him an
honorary member of our talent
development team . Uh He always comes
to volunteer his time to do this .
We're very grateful . I can't think of
anything anybody better to do this to
talk . Not only about share a story
about Fiona , but also give you a
perspective of who she was . And I
think as you listen to him talk and
tell her story , you're gonna get to
understand pretty quickly why uh she
was meant so much to people that come
through our leader development programs ,
but why she meant so much to my team as
well . Uh Dave's well accomplished in
his own , right , by the way , he
currently serves as the Dean , dean of
Administration at the National Defense
University here in DC . He's got a
wealth of professional experience
during civilian time . He served at the
Army's Netcom NASA headquarters dod
Inspector General , Army Corps of
Engineers , several army installations
in Germany . Uh He was a professor at
the Army Management Staff College and
uh served at army installation
management command in Arlington . He
began as an army officer , a field
artillery officer before transitioning
to federal civil service after the
first Gulf War . Uh Dave is a
distinguished military graduate of
Brigham Young University . And he
earned his master's degree from the
Naval Postgraduate School school . Uh
I'm gonna get out of the way because I
want you to hear Dave talking not me
any longer , Dave , if you wanna come
to the stage again . Thank you for
being here and , uh , I invite you to
listen to what he has to offer .
Yeah .
Well , Jim , thank you very much for
that . Uh , very nice introduction and
gentlemen , thank you both . Uh , I too
learned from your remarks today and
will take what you said into my own
life and my professional career . So I
really appreciate , uh , what you said
to the class and what you said to all
of us , as Jim mentioned , I'm here
because , uh , of my wife and , uh , to
present this award . And before I do
that , um , of course , as Jim told you ,
she lost a very courageous fight , um ,
with cancer four years ago , January of
2020 right before the , the COVID
business started . And it was quite
sudden she had thyroid cancer , which
as most of you may know is a very
curable , 95% curable c you know ,
cure rate . But she was the rare person
that , uh , less than 1% of the cases
of what they call anaplastic thyroid
cancer . It's the same cancer that
killed Chief Justice Rehnquist many
years ago and the physician that
operated on Fiona was on Chief Justice
Rehnquist team when , uh , he was
having surgery and they were trying to
treat him . So we had an experienced
physician attending to her . And he
told us at the time that , uh , most
physicians will never see a case of
anaplastic thyroid cancer in their
careers . And he had the fortune to
have now seen two cases and they pulled
out all the stops . We had the chiefs
of every department in the hospital
coming to treat her and to help her .
And nevertheless , she succumbed
because it is very aggressive and it
was a matter of about 88 weeks or so
from the time of her surgery until the
time of her passing . So it left a big
hole , not only in this program , but
also in my family as we , uh , were not
expecting this to happen at all . Um ,
up until a month before her surgery ,
she was actively participating in her
job with this program . Uh , she had
traveled to Boston in October , had
surgery in November and then passed in
January . So , uh , she was always very
engaged and very appreciative of the
team that she worked with . And so , um ,
as I spend a few moments here telling
you her story , I wanted to start , um ,
are there any NCIS fans in the room ?
The TV show maybe ? Ok . I like that
show . I watch it very religiously and
I've seen almost every season for like
the past 20 years . Um , the medical
examiner in that show is a guy named
Doctor Donald Ducky Mallard . And a
couple of months ago , that character
was killed off in the show . He died
because the actor that played him ,
David mccollum died last fall . And so
they had to write Ducky out of the
script and they did so in a very loving
and in a very moving way if you watch
that episode and they showed some
flashback scenes . And one of the
scenes , Doctor Mallard was speaking to
the NCIS director and he said this , we
all die twice once when our bodies give
out and again , when our stories stop
being told . And so when I heard
that I wrote it down , I was recording
the TV , backing it up to make sure I
got every word right ? Because I wanted
to put it in these remarks . As Jim
said , we've been doing this for five
years now and not only for this program
but for other programs , there's a
Doctor F and a Burdick Award . So I get
to come back quite often to uh present
these types of awards . But I wanted to
insert that quote into the beginning of
my remarks because that's what um it
will mean . I hope to you because none
of you have ever met her , the first
class that I did this for , knew her
because she died in the middle of the
program . And so , but since that time ,
it's been my responsibility , my uh
privilege to introduce her to you and
to help explain why this award is so
important . So let me spend a
few moments telling you about Fiona .
She was born in Calgary Alberta Canada
in 1967 the year that Canada
celebrated its centennial . And so all
the babies born in Canada , Canada that
year were called Centennial Babies .
And Fiona was proud to be a centennial
baby in Canada when she was just two
months old . she was adopted into a
loving family and was raised with an
older sister in a town called Tabor , a
little farming town three hours south
of Calgary and about an hour north of
the Montana border . This town even
today only has about 8000 residents .
It was a very small town 50 something
years ago . All through her life ,
Fiona was full of ambition and she had
a large group of friends that were
close to her her entire life and that
I'm still close with today . They stay
in touch with me which I appreciate as
a teenager . She worked in a flower
shop , she arranged and delivered
flowers with her aunt . And later she
worked at a NW when she was 16 , her
parents bought her a new car and just
two years later , she sold it so she
could go to college . And the college
that she wanted to go to was Brigham
Young University in Utah . She wanted
to leave Canada and go to BYU . It was
a childhood dream that she had . So she
sold the car and she moved to Provo
Utah in 1985 . And that's how we met
because I was attending Brigham Young
University and Fiona moved into the
apartment complex that I was living in .
She was my neighbor three doors down .
So we got to know one another . In the
first month of school , we attended
church together . And shortly afterward
I invited her out on a date . And by
the end of that semester , this 23 year
old fell in love with a young 18 year
old freshman . And a year later , we
were married in December of 1986
we settled at Fort Sill Oklahoma for my
first military assignment and she had
to transfer to Cameron University from ,
from BYU . And she there got her
bachelor's degree , double majoring in
sociology and psychology . Again ,
remember she was very ambitious and she ,
she did the double major program , then
went right into a master's program in
Germany . As soon as we P CS to Germany ,
she jumped into the Boston University
Masters of Education Program . And
while she was pregnant with our son ,
she had to drop out of her last
semester because he came six weeks
early . And so while she was on
maternity leave , she finished her last
two courses and graduated as an August
graduate from that program . Shortly
afterward . Less than two years later ,
our daughter was born and that
completed our family and Fiona
continued her work and college
experience working for army community
service , army child care , um army uh
drug and alcohol counseling . She had
jobs and leadership positions in all of
those areas . She also was in the
first phd program offered to soldiers
and family members in Germany offered
by Oklahoma University . She was
selected for a cohort of 30 out of over
200 applicants . And she was very proud
and very um excited to be part of that
program . And so eventually , she
received her phd in organizational
leadership , which helped move her into
the education career that she had most
of her life . She became an educator
and a trainer and that's how she
eventually ended up here with DC Pass .
As busy as she was . She also found
time to do volunteer work at church .
She enjoyed music , movies , travel ,
quilting , and uh being with her family ,
Fiona's life in service , her love for
her family and friends and her
persistence and all she endeavored to
do bring to mind one of my favorite
quotes . It's a portion of a speech
entitled Citizenship in a Republic that
was delivered in 1910 at the Sorbonne
in France by former president Theodore
Roosevelt . And the part that I'm gonna
quote is very familiar to you , I'm
sure because it has its own title .
It's called The Man In the Arena and
quoting now from President Roosevelt .
It is not the critic who counts not the
one who points out how the strong
stumble or where doers of deeds could
have done them better . The credit
belongs to those who are actually in
the arena whose faces are marred by
dust and sweat and blood , who strive
valiantly , who , er , who come short
again and again . And because there is
no , because there is no effort without
error and shortcoming , but who
actually strive to do the deeds , who
know great enthusiasms , the great
devotions who spin themselves in worthy
causes , who at their best know in the
end , the triumph of high achievement
and who at their worst if they fail at
least fail while daring greatly so that
their places shall never be with those
cold and timid souls who neither know
victory nor defeat . Fiona lived her
life in many arenas but she was never
the center of attention as Jim
mentioned instead , she used her
humility , her charm , her learning and
her skill to show others the way always
there to encourage excellence and to
praise achievement and always there
with a warm embrace and a listening ear .
When things went sideways , she enjoyed
observing how members of teams
interacted . And she concluded that
more often than not informal leaders
become more influential in a team's
productivity and su success than those
perhaps was specified or assigned
titles or roles . And Mr Collins , I
appreciate you talking about soft
influence because that's what Fiona
believed in very strongly , the soft
influence that we have as leaders .
Fiona was what I call a compassionate ,
perfectionist . She is firmly committed
to the details of everything she did to
ensure mission success or task
accomplishment . But more importantly ,
she was always caring for the members
of teams that she was a part of . She
was truly a people . First mission ,
always person and she always got the
job done upon his retirement . Fiona's
old boss , Jim and Jim Bookman's
predecessor , a gentleman named Tim
Fennell sent Fiona a note while she was
in the hospital . In that note , Tim
thanked Fiona for always showing up .
He said , whatever the issue , event
program , et cetera . I could always
count on you to show up . You have been
involved in every aspect of what we do
and when I knew you were involved , I
could always be comfortable that the
outcome would be good because you
showed up , although very gifted in
leading and facilitating classes and
group discussions as a Myers Briggs ,
INFP Fiona's best moments were never on
the platform in front of large groups .
She dreaded that actually , but she'd
rather have impromptu chats with
participants on breaks , discussions
over lunch or dinner , mingling with
teams during group work . That's where
she truly made a difference . I didn't
get to witness what Jim did when all of
your previous cohort came back from
that one year break . But I can see
Fiona in my mind exactly how that
interaction would have occurred because
she knew everybody by name in every
class to include the , the larger
programs where there's over 100 and 50
students in the class . By the end of
the first week , she knew them all and
she never forgot them , would run into
them time and time again . One of the
things that , uh she believed strongly
in was feedback and she used to talk
about feedback . She was known to say
that feedback is a gift . Like many
husbands , I was a recipient of many
such constructive gifts throughout our
marriage , often pertaining to how I
did the chores , how I disciplined the
kids and how I drove the car . And so
I understand feedback . But all kidding
aside , Fiona approached giving
feedback in a positive light and she
truly went out of her way to catch
people doing good . And that's an
important leadership trait I learned
from my wife was to try to catch people
doing good among the highest
compliments one could receive from
Fiona was to be called a good egg . She
had a mug that said good egg on it and
she used to use that phrase constantly .
There were lots of good eggs in her
circle . And one of them was a person
named Melissa who was a former graduate
of the ELDP program and later mentored
other ELDP graduates or participants as
a graduate . Melissa and Fiona had
become friends over the course of her
time as a mentor . And while Fiona was
dealing with her cancer diagnosis and
hospitalization . Melissa wrote her a
note of encouragement . Unfortunately ,
the note that she wrote was dated the
day Fiona died . And so I didn't
receive it in the mail until a few days
later . So I got to read what Melissa
had intended for Fiona . And what she
said was , you have taught me that
quiet , calm voices are powerful . You
have highlighted to me that if you want
something , it requires daily work and
discipline , you have reinforced that
pondering a thought is ok and doesn't
always require a response . You have
reminded me to have fun and to laugh ,
especially with coworkers , but mostly
to laugh at the wonderful differences
and uniqueness in human behavior and
preferences . Fiona's favorite quote
was from Ralph Waldo Emerson who said
that which we persist in doing becomes
easier to do . Not that the nature of
the thing has changed , but that our
power to do has increased . I truly
hope that through your participation in
DS LDP , these past two years that your
power to do has increased . And now as
you prepare to return to the arenas of
your lives , I'd ask that you please
remember Fiona , she truly loved
helping leaders such as yourselves ,
learn about themselves and develop new
skills and abilities . And I'd like to
think that now that you've been
introduced , she'll be there with you
in spirit in your arenas , silently
rooting for your continued success and
empathizing with any occasional
setbacks . Thank you . Once again for
including me in your special day . I
invite you now to join me in
congratulating your cohorts recipient
of the Doctor Fiona J Burdick
Excellence and Leadership award . MS
Amy Osborne Brayshaw .
I was asked to read the citation . So
if you'd please take a seat , I'll read
the citation that we just presented to
Miss Brayshaw . Amy Brayshaw served as
the defense Senior Leader Development
program cohort cohort 2022 president
from the 18th of January 2022 to the
26th of April 2024 . During her tenure ,
MS Brayshaw demonstrated servant
leadership by establishing monthly
recurring engagements , routinely
communicating program status and
upcoming events facilitating a
collaborative environment for for which
to network in to share information and
break through roadblocks . MS Brayshaw
set up multiple avenues for
communication including virtual
meetings , email list , social media ,
chat sites and after hours group
gatherings . She conducted these
activities with an unwavering positive
attitude and professionalism . Beyond
cohort 2022 M . Brasel built bridges
between other DS LDP cohorts from the
past and newly selected cohorts to
share real time lessons learned and
establish broader networks with the
intent to improve overarching DS LDP
experience . MS Brays Shaw's actions
over the last two years provided
tremendous benefits to all involved .
During cohort 2022 MS Brayshaw set the
standard for future cohort leadership
and her actions reflect great credit
upon herself . Cohort 2022 Ds
LDP and the Department of Defense
signed Mr Jim Bookman , Director of
Talent Development and Dod Chief
Learning Officer Defense Civilian
Personnel Advisory Service 26 April
2024 . Again , congratulations .
Thank you .
Thank you Mr Burdick for joining us
today and in Commemorating Doctor
Burdick by presenting the DS LDP
Excellence in leadership award . At
this time , I would like to ask Mr
Phillips and Mr Collins to come to the
center stage to present our
participants with their completion
certificates .
Nikki Barillo , she is the director of
Resource Management at White Sands
Missile Range ,
David Byrne . He is the acting Deputy
Director of the Defense Travel
Management Office ,
Charles Benton . He is an O SI
special agent and currently the Deputy
Director at the Office of Security and
counterintelligence at the National
Reconnaissance Office ,
Emmy Berger . She is the director for
tactical aircraft programs for the
Assistant Secretary of the Navy for
Research development and acquisition .
Andrew Bouch , he is a strategic
analyst for air force installations and
logistics .
Amy Brayshaw . She is a supervisor ,
textile technologist at the Navy
clothing and textile research facility .
Adam Bernstein , he is the sector lead
in OS D industrial based policy for
strategic and critical materials .
John Canafax , he is a policy analyst
at OS D nuclear deterrence policy ,
Zania Carty mcdonald . She is a
strategic advisor at US Central Command ,
Susan Cranfill . She is the senior
technical advisor on A I ethics and
risks for the dod chief Digital and
Artificial Intelligence office ,
Katherine Freeman . She is a space
policy analyst at the National
Reconnaissance office in the Office of
Policy and Strategy .
Yeah ,
Andrew Hartz , he is the chief of staff
for operations at defense finance and
accounting service .
Lara Johnson , she is the director of
OS D Intelligence and Security for
mission integration , special programs .
Courtney Kaga Rice , she is completing
her experiential assignment as senior
adviser at the Department of Veterans
Affairs ,
Jason Lavich . He is a program manager
for advanced targets at the missile
defense agency ,
Chad mcleod . He is the director of the
Air Force Negotiations Center ,
Steven Messina . He is a policy adviser
in OS D policy , Indo Pacific Security
Affairs ,
Jeffrey O Sad Nick , he is the Deputy
for Logistics and Standards for the
Office of the Under Secretary of
Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment .
Nathan Parks . He is the Deputy Chief
of Staff for resource management at us
Army Security Assistance Command .
Christy Polk . She is the assistant
director of partner engagement at
Interpol ,
Giovanni Perez . He is the Deputy
director for the Aus integration and
acquisition office supporting the
Australia , United Kingdom and United
States Security Partnership ,
Scott S Meyer . He is the Deputy
director for policy analysis and
Transition at the Office of the Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Defense for
Industrial Base Resiliency ,
Virginia Shaw . She is the executive
director for management and Chief of
Staff of the American Battle Monuments
Commission ,
Douglas Smith . He is a senior analyst
at OS D research and engineering in
critical technologies and in
hypersonics .
Olivia Steve . She is a supervisory
security specialist for the Naval
Special Warfare Command ,
Sloan Struss . He is Chief of Plans at
the Defense Logistics Agency , Energy
Jacob Stankowski . He is assuming the
role of Deputy chief of staff at us ,
Cyber Command ,
Timothy Tharpe . He will assume the
role as the joint project manager ,
chemical biological radiological
nuclear sensors for the joint program
Executive Officer , CBRN Defense
Jonathan York . He is a program manager
for the Marine Corps Systems Command .
Thank you . Please join me for one more
round of applause as we celebrate our
graduates .
I would now like to invite Miss Amy
Brayshaw , the class president of DS
LDP Cohort 2022 to say a few words .
Yeah .
1973 I wear a necklace with
this date on it . It's a great
conversation starter . Many assume it's
my birth year but it holds deeper
significance . I had this necklace made
to represent 1970 three's landmark
decision for women's rights . However ,
until attending the army war College ,
I didn't appreciate the significance of
1973 to us as leaders at the Department
of Defense . 1973 saw
fundamental changes to military
structure and recruitment . 1973 marked
the end of us involvement in the
Vietnam War in 1973 is the year
we transitioned to an all volunteer
military force . In 1973
the youth movement was characterized by
anti war sentiment that called for
transparency , accountability and
democratic resilience . Young people
question the actions of authority
figures . Recruitment strategies had to
adapt . 1973 was a pivot point in the
Department of Defense . Today's Gen
Alpha and Gen Z have a lot in common
with the youth movement of 1973 . Their
progressive ideals and environmental
concerns are reshaping the terrain we
navigate as dod leaders and we are
faced with significant issues related
to readiness recruitment and retention .
Bold changes are needed , hard
decisions must be made , risks must be
taken and processes that hinder our
progress must adapt . As Clausewitz
would say no military leader has ever
become great without audacity . There
is no better group of civilians to
tackle these challenges than the the
defense Senior Leader Development
Program cohort 2022 .
I
because of COVID , we had to pivot from
the very start . We began the program
with virtual meetings , essential but
not the ideal way to build a team . I
remember seeing cohort members for the
first time in their little boxes on my
screen . There are faces conveying a
mix of ops , optimism , curiosity and
skepticism . My approach to meeting new
people is to find common denominators ,
conversation starters like my 1973
necklace . Prior to starting the
program , we got information about the
other cohort members . So I started
orientation with these important
questions . Who is the person
with the email address ? Ginger snaps .
Who is the mystery man Steve Messina
with a bio page that's completely blank .
Yeah . And what makes Chuck Benton so
special peering
into those tiny boxes on my screen .
This is what I learned . Ginger Snaps
is the personal email address of Ginger
Shaw , a military historian , a colonel
in the army reserves , an owner of a
cookie business called Ginger Snaps .
Our common denominator multitasking
picture . Ginger on a treadmill getting
her miles in as we're discussing
different styles of leadership in our
virtual seminar . Ginger Snaps is
also a double entendre . When Ginger
Snaps , things get done .
Ginger was our team captain in the army
10 miler . She coordinate our
participation res across America and
brought cohort members together at our
annual cookie party .
The mystery man , Steve Messina ,
an intel guy . Of course , his blank
bio intriguing . I knew I liked Steve
right away when I saw his two dogs
sleeping on the bed behind him during
seminar one , our common denominator
love of animals . I got to know Steve
well , at the army War College and it
turns out his brow reflects his low key
demeanor , intelligence , confidence ,
and humility . And finally
special agent Chuck , he
used the word special no less than 10
times in his bio . In fact ,
I gave him the n the nickname special
Chuck before I even met him . But I
knew right away why Chuck was special
when he appeared on my screen behind
him was a display of Boston Bruins
memorabilia , our common denominator ,
a fellow Bruins fan . And I said
before long , I would discover
connections to every member from our
cohort in part because they endured the
ne the many teambuilding activities I
forced upon them daily . We communicate
on our signal , chat with an open flow
of messages , photos , articles and
memes primarily posted by Gator .
We formed friendships through social
events seminar , two shenanigans in
Oklahoma brisket , old fashioned and
Jim Thorpe days remind me who won
over the course of this experience .
We've developed mutual appreciation and
respect . We lift each other up . We
have each other's backs .
We've accomplished a lot in this short
time . In the past 28 months , each of
us earned a graduate degree from one of
five military war colleges . We
completed career broadening assignments
among our 29 member cohort . We
traveled around the world visiting 26
different countries and 23 states from
intelligence gathering to international
co-operation to investments in our
industrial base . Our cohort is
directly impacting our nation's
resilience and preparedness . The work
is needed and our timing is critical .
A dod leader , John Sherman posted on
his linkedin page . It might just be me
but I think we're entering a weird time
right now . There seems to be nothing
but challenging news from around the
world . He's not wrong
since January 2022 . When our cohort
stood up , Russia invaded Ukraine .
China continues to rapidly modernize
its military and the Israel Hamas war
started cohort 2022 because of these
challenges , we need to stay motivated
and be proud of the responsibility
we've been given as we graduate today .
We must remember why we got into
national security in the first place .
I mean , really remember what motivated
us to get here . Was it for the love of
this country , the desire for a safe
and secure nation or for service to
others ? I
was born in Canada and spent the first
half of my life there . I described my
childhood as being raised as an
American in Canada . Both my parents
were born and raised in the United
States . My grandfather served 20 years
as an army officer . My mother is a
self described army brat and she
instilled in me a sense of patriotism
that led me to this career in national
security . September 11th , 2001 was a
turning point for many of us that day .
My mother called me in hysterics . When
she learned the Pentagon had been
attacked . She lived in Washington DC
when the Pentagon was built in the 19
forties and idealized it as a fortress .
Her feeling of security was shattered
that day , less than a year later , I
started my career in national security
cohort 2022 . Remember what motivated
you to reach this point and do not get
discouraged . We can all get frustrated
by bureaucracy and dysfunction . We
must continue to lean in innovate and
remember why we are doing this
important work over the course of this
program , we navigated challenges ,
forged lifelong bonds and created a
legacy by leaving Ds LDP better than we
found it . Cohort 2022 will always
be our common denominator as we
continue to shape the future of defense
leadership and live by our cohort motto .
If you want to go fast , go alone . But
if you want to go far , go together .
Thank you .
Thank you , Amy for sharing those
inspiring remarks . What a great day
for the Department of Defense as we
continue to grow , civilian leaders who
are ready and eager to make a
difference . Graduates , we are
extremely proud of you and your
achievements and unwavering commitment
to the excellence in pub public service ,
you will be part of a solution to the
many challenges our department and
nation face . You are ready with the
skills to handle all of these
challenges and to lead people to find
innovative solutions to make our
defense enterprise and our great nation
even better . Now , more than any other
time , we face unconventional
challenges that require the very best
leaders as you strive for improvement .
Don't forget to reach further , take
needed risks and most importantly ,
hold on to your solid ethical values
and standards . Although today marks
the end of your DS LDP journey , it's
the beginning of the next phase in your
careers . Your success is integral to
the success of our defense enterprise
and the security of our nation with
each of you on the front lines of our
nation's defense as transformational
leaders and role models . I am
confident that great things will be
done to continue sharpening the
department's future fellow guests .
Today's honorees are our future leaders
of the department and the legacy of the
defense senior Leader development
program . Thank you for coming today .
We welcome you to stay for a few
minutes uh to congratulate our
graduates and to take a few photographs .
If you were escorted to the auditorium ,
we ask that you meet your escorts back
at out those doors . Um After you're
done congratulating our graduates , I
wish you all safe travels to your next
destination . This concludes our
ceremony . But before we leave , please
join me in extending best wishes to for
suc a successful and productive future
for our graduates . And let's give one
final round of applause for our
graduates .
Thank you all .