Katharine Kelley
Katharine Kelley | |
|---|---|
| File:Katharine Kelley (2) (cropped).jpg Official portrait of Katharine Kelley | |
| Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Human Capital | |
| In office July 2022 – present | |
| Preceded by | Patricia Mulcahy |
| Personal details | |
| Education | Villanova University (BA) University of Oklahoma (MA) U.S. Naval War College (MA) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
Katharine Kelley is the Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Human Capital in the United States Space Force, and works as a civilian executive.[1][2]
In her current role, Kelley is responsible for procurement and management of both military and civilian personnel at 175 locations worldwide.[1] She is notable for her central role in implementing the Space Force Personnel Management Act, passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024. This legislation created a new hybrid full-time and part-time service model for members of Space Force (a.k.a Guardians).[3][4][2]
Prior to joining the Space Force, she was the first female Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery[5][6] and served as Chief Human Capital Officer of Army Futures Command.
Early life and education
Kelley grew up in Sheffield, Massachusetts, the daughter of teachers Christine and Joseph Kelley.[6][7] She attended the Berkshire School, where her father taught science, graduating in 1995.[6][8] At Villanova University she joined the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1999.[6][1] She later earned a Master of Arts in international relations from the University of Oklahoma in 2003 through its program in Heidelberg, Germany, and a Master of Arts in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College in 2012.[1][6]
Career
Military service
After receiving her commission in 1999, Kelley served as a Logistics officer in the United States European Command J4 directorate and with the 1st Infantry Division in Stuttgart, Germany, through 2003.[1]
Civilian career in the Department of the Army
Following her military service, Kelley transitioned to the Department of the Army as a civilian. From 2004 to 2007, she worked as a Business Process Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, D.C.[1] She then served as a strategic planner at Army Materiel Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (2007–2008), before leading the command's Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) division from 2008 to 2011.[1][6]
In 2012, she returned to Arlington National Cemetery as chief of standards and evaluation.[1][7] There she led an accountability project that mapped the cemetery's more than 400,000 graves using a geographic information system.[6] She subsequently served as Director of Enterprise Management at the Information Technology Agency at the Pentagon (2013-2014), and as Chief of Staff for Headquarters Services in the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army (2014–2016).[1]
Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery
In 2016, Kelley was appointed the 24th Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery, becoming the first woman to hold the position.[5] In this role she was responsible for the cemetery's strategic direction and all operational support for its burial and visitation missions. At the time, the cemetery encompassed 624 acres, received approximately 4 million annual visitors, recorded more than 7,000 annual burials, and had a $71 million operating budget.[5] She was inducted into the Senior Executive Service on March 2, 2017.[9][6] She held the position until 2019.[1][10][11][12][13][14][15]
Army Futures Command
From 2019 to 2022, Kelley served as the Chief Human Capital Officer of Army Futures Command (AFC) in Austin, Texas. She was part of the original team that established the command's headquarters and served as the senior advisor on all aspects of human resources.[1][16] She described the private-sector-style title as a deliberate choice, part of the command's effort to move the Army away from legacy personnel systems.[16] At AFC, she established the Army's first software-focused training for soldiers and civilians,[1] an effort tied to the command's soldier-led Army Software Factory in Austin.[16][17] She also worked on workforce modernization, including the AFC Modernization Demonstration Project, intended to create a more flexible and competitive personnel management framework for civilian employees.[18]
United States Space Force
In July 2022, Kelley started her current position as Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Human Capital (SF/S1) in the United States Space Force. Katharine Kelley currently holds this role.[1][19][20]
Kelley has been the Space Force's lead official for implementing the Space Force Personnel Management Act. This act allows Guardians to move between full-time and part-time service.[4][21][22][23][24]
During Kelley's term, (in September 2026) the Space Force laid out plans to grow to 25,000 uniformed and 12,500 civilian personnel by fiscal year 2031.[25]
Awards and honors
Kelley is the recipient of the following awards:
| Award |
|---|
| Distinguished Civilian Service Medal |
| Meritorious Civilian Service Award |
| Superior Civilian Service Award |
| Naval War College James D. Forrestal Award for Excellence in Force Planning |
| Meritorious Service Medal |
| Army Commendation Medal |
| Army Achievement Medal |
| Joint Service Medal |
References
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 "Katharine Kelley". United States Space Force. February 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Space Force to tackle HR, promotions before it can bring in part-time Guardians". Federal News Network. November 21, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Manning the Space Force: A New Model". Air & Space Forces Association. September 18, 2024. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Hadley, Greg (November 20, 2024). "Before There Are Part-Time Guardians, USSF Needs to Figure Out Promotions, HR, and More". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 "Biography: Katharine Kelley, Superintendent, Arlington National Cemetery" (PDF). United States House of Representatives. March 8, 2018. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.7 Smith, Jenn (September 2, 2017). "Arlington National Cemetery: Sheffield native presiding over hallowed ground". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Superintendent of Arlington National Cemetery: Who Is Kate Kelley?". AllGov. May 7, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Alum of the Month: Kate Kelley '95". Berkshire School. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ Dock, Courtney (March 2, 2017). "Arlington National Cemetery's Superintendent is newest Army SES". Arlington National Cemetery. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Arlington National Cemetery: Current Operations & Future Plans to Honor the Fallen". United States Senate Committee on Appropriations. March 29, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Army: Arlington National Cemetery is at a 'critical point' for space". Stars and Stripes. March 29, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Arlington Cemetery Running Out of Space to Bury Iraq, Afghan Veterans". Military.com. March 8, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Burial Eligibility at Arlington National Cemetery". C-SPAN. March 8, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ Suits, Devon L. (March 16, 2018). "Arlington National Cemetery seeks changes to burial eligibility criteria to ensure future space". United States Army. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Kate Kelley: Arlington National Cemetery to expand". Federal News Network. July 17, 2017. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Keegan, Michael J. (July 15, 2021). "Building the U.S. Army of the Future: Interview with Kate Kelley, Chief Human Capital Officer, Army Futures Command". IBM Center for The Business of Government. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Recruiting and retaining top data talent in the Army". Government Matters. 2020. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Modernizing Talent Management: Futures Command embraces flexibility in human capital processes". United States Army. March 17, 2022. Retrieved June 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Statement of Ms. Katharine Kelley, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Human Capital" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on Armed Services. April 9, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Statement of Ms. Katharine Kelley, Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Personnel" (PDF). United States House Committee on Armed Services. April 30, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Part-Time Military Service". Air & Space Forces Magazine. November 1, 2024. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Katharine Kelley: Why DOD's HR Revolution Might Start in Space". DefenseScoop. August 11, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ "Response to new details about Space Force's model for part-timers: 'It makes zero sense'". The Gazette. August 11, 2025. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ Hadley, Greg (August 13, 2025). "Why Space Force Part-Timers Are Nothing Like Guard and Reserve". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
- ↑ Hadley, Greg (September 17, 2026). "USSF Leaders Lay Out the Path to More Than Double the Force". Air & Space Forces Magazine. Retrieved September 21, 2026.
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