The Association of Graduates is governed by a board of directors consisting of 11 elected directors, four appointed directors and the president of the Class Advisory Senate.
The Association of Graduates is governed by a board of directors consisting of 11 elected directors, four appointed directors and the president of the Class Advisory Senate.
The Board may update the bylaws.
The Board may amend the bylaws at its discretion. Any member may propose a change by submitting it to a Board member for consideration. Alternatively, a member may submit a proposed amendment directly to the membership for a vote by securing signatures from at least 5% of all voting members.
The Board is composed of 16 directors: 11 elected directors, four appointed directors and one ex-officio director who serves as the president of the Class Advisory Senate. Elected and appointed directors serve four-year terms and may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms.
Elections are held biennially during odd-numbered years.
The nominating committee is a statutory committee of the Board responsible for identifying, recruiting and maintaining a pool of qualified candidates for service on the Board of Directors and Board committees.
Any AOG member may be placed on the election ballot without review by the nominating committee by submitting a petition signed by at least 25 other AOG members.
AOG members interested in serving on the Board or a Board committee should review the director eligibility requirements and nominating procedures. For additional information, members are encouraged to contact the chair of the nominating committee or the AOG office.
In November of even-numbered years, the nominating committee must submit to the Board a slate of candidates, presenting at least two nominees for each vacancy to be filled.
Class Advisory Senate: The bylaws establish a Class Advisory Senate to provide advice and opinion to the Board of Directors. The senate consists of a representative from each class selected by the class. The senate will meet at least annually.
The Board holds quarterly meetings, typically in February (virtually), April, July and October. Meetings are open to all members. The Board posts minutes of the meetings on the website as well as the agenda for the next meeting, typically two weeks prior to the meeting.
The Class Advisory Senate is is composed of one representative from each class. Several classes are currently without representation. If you are an AOG member interested in volunteering to serve on the CAS, contact both your class president and the CAS president.
The current process for approving Board minutes begins with the Board secretary and AOG staff drafting the initial minutes. This draft is sent to the Board chair for preliminary review and edits. A revised version is then shared with all directors for input. Feedback from directors is incorporated into a Board-coordinated draft, which may be recirculated if substantive changes are made.
According to AOG bylaws, the goal is to post "approved" minutes within five days. However, the Board chair has the discretion to release "provisional" minutes before formal approval to keep the membership informed in a timely manner. Please note that minutes are not officially "approved" until a formal vote is taken at the next Board meeting. Until then, "provisional" minutes serve as informational and are considered unapproved.
Association of Graduates Board of Directors meeting minutes for the past two years are available at the links below. Minutes from prior to 2024 will be added by July 24, 2025, as part of ongoing efforts to build out all content on our new website. In the meantime, please reach out to Col. (Ret.) Michael "Baja" Cornelius '00 at michael.cornelius@usafa.org to request meeting minutes prior to this timeframe.
Meeting | Date | Status | Link |
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Special Board Meeting Minutes | 19 March 2025 | APPROVED |
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E-Vote for DG Award | 14 March 2025 | APPROVED |
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E-Vote for YAEA Award | 7 March 2025 | APPROVED |
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E-Vote for Leadership Achievement Award | 28 February 2025 | APPROVED |
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E-Vote for CEO Bonus | 14 February 2025 | APPROVED |
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Board Meeting Minutes | 18 October 2024 | APPROVED |
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Board Meeting Minutes | 26 July 2024 | APPROVED |
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E-Vote to Approve Audit Report and Form 990 | 14 May 2024 | APPROVED |
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Board Meeting Minutes | 19 April 2024 | APPROVED |
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Special Board Meeting Minutes | 26 March 2024 | APPROVED |
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Board Meeting Minutes | 21 February 2024 | APPROVED |
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E-Vote for CEO Bonus | 5 February 2024 | APPROVED |
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Special Board Meeting Minutes | 21 December 2023 | Approved |
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Type | Date | Link |
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Minutes | Apr 15, 2025 |
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Attendance | Apr 215, 2025 |
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Minutes | Jan 21, 2025 |
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Attendance | Jan 21, 2025 |
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AOG Alumni Relations presentation | Jan 21, 2025 |
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Minutes | Oct 24, 2024 |
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Attendance | Oct 24, 2024 |
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PDF of Space presentation | Oct 24, 2024 |
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Minutes | July 16, 2024 |
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Attendance | July 16, 2024 |
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AOG Alumni Relations | July 16, 2024 |
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Minutes | April 16, 2024 |
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Minutes | Jan 16, 2024 |
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Attendance | Jan 16, 2024 |
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AOG Alumni Relations | Jan 16, 2024 |
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AFAF Class Annual Giving | Jan 16, 2024 |
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Lt. Col. (Ret.) Cathy Almand '90 grew up in the Washington, DC area. Her high school guidance counselor suggested she apply for Summer Seminar, introducing Cathy to USAFA. After graduating from the Academy, she served as a services officer and C-141B pilot until transitioning in 2000 to the Reserves as an Admissions Liaison Officer (ALO). Cathy has 7,000+ hours of flight time and currently flies the B-787 and coordinates a sponsor program for new-hire pilots at her airline. She and her husband, Dave '90, a retired colonel, have two college-aged sons and live in Dallas, where she continues as an ALO in retirement as a way to give back and encourage the next generation to serve.
After graduating from the Academy, Dr. Lee Krauth '71 attended Duke University Medical school and received his MD in three years (validating the first year because of the classes he had. taken at USAFA). He then completed his surgical internship and neurosurgical residency at Wilford Hall USFA Medical center and University of Colorado Medical Center. He served as a neurosurgeon at Landstuhl Regional Army Hospital in Germany, and then as chief of microvascular neurosurgery at Wilford Hall USAF Medical Center. He served as the chief of neurosurgery at the Colorado Neurological Institute in Denver, CO. He also served four years in the Army Reserves until Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Aurora closed. He was secretary, vice president, president and historian for the Rocky Mountain Neurosurgical Association and member of AANS.
Dr. Krauth has strongly supported USAFA and the AOG since graduation. He is a lifetime member of the AOG, Sabre Society, Polaris Society, 1954 Society and Guidon Society.
His youngest son is a cadet at USAFA. Says Dr. Krauth: "USAFA gave me the education and, more importantly, the character development that allowed me to fulfill my lifelong dreams and to serve our great nation and its citizens. I’m fully committed to serving and supporting the USAFA and the AOG to make it the best it can be, and feel that my unique perspective can promote a positive dialogue amongst the other board members to help to achieve that goal."
Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Christopher S. Walker '88 was the Assistant Adjutant General and Commander of the West Virginia Air National Guard. The West Virginia Air National Guard has over 2,100 members and consists of two flying units, the 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston, West Virginia, and the 167th Airlift Wing in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Gen. Walker’s former federal dual assignment was Assistant to SAF-MR, and he also served as the Senior Military Advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force Office of Diversity and Inclusion.
Gen. Walker began his Air Force officer career as a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy. He served as a C-130 navigator in tactical airlift squadrons throughout the world, flying combat operations into the Balkans, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
In 1997, Gen. Walker left active duty to join the Air National Guard and serve as a C-130H3 evaluator navigator, and has commanded at the squadron, group, and JTF level. He served as civil aviation advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Transportation with the Coalition Provisional Authority. He has served as the ANG Deputy Director of Air and Space Operations. In 2019, he served as Dual-Status Commander of Joint Task Force-World Scout Jamboree (JTF-WSJ).
Christian Evans '08 is a business development executive at Olsson, where he leads sales and growth efforts in Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana. Christian previously worked as managing partner of Greenwood Capital lower middle market PE firm, Wealth Advisor at Morgan Stanley, Capital Markets Sales Manager at Highland Capital Management. Prior to joining Highland, he worked as an associate on the Banking, Investing and Lending team at Goldman Sachs. Christian started his professional career in the United States Air Force as a space operations officer at Cape Cod AFS, MA and an acquisitions program manager at the Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles AFB, CA.
Christian is an active leader in the Dallas community, sitting on the Visiting Nurses Association of Texas Board of Directors on the finance and development committees and on the Friends of Barack Obama Male Leadership Academy on the development committee. Christian is an active member of the Urban Land Institute and The Real Estate Council.
Christian majored in management at the Academy. As a cadet, he competed on the Fighting Falcon football team, served as president of the Tuskegee Airmen Club, and became a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Incorporated. He completed his MBA at the SMU Cox School of Business in 2017. Christian is married to Dr. Candace Evans and they enjoy their time with their son, Cash.
Lt. Gen. (Ret.) Rod Bishop '74 held seven command tours and two Joint Command positions, including standing up the service’s largest Operations Support Squadron and leading both a C-17 Airlift Squadron and a Wing to “Best in the Air Force” honors. Gen. Bishop played a pivotal role in Charleston AFB’s record-setting 99%+ departure reliability during a critical C-17 test and deployed seven times as director of Mobility Forces for U.S. Transportation Command and Air Mobility Command. He has extensive experience in congressional engagement, strategic planning and managing multi-billion-dollar budgets at the MAJCOM and Combatant Command levels.
Gen. Bishop has served on multiple boards of directors, including as chairman of the Air Transport Association board of advisers. He has devoted much of his time to strengthening USAFA’s focus on developing servant-leader warriors. A former Falcon Foundation and Blue and Silver Club member, he remains engaged as a USAF senior mentor and adviser. He is chairman of the board of Stand Together Against Racism and Radicalization in the Services. In 2000, Gen. Bishop received the prestigious O’Malley Award, honoring outstanding wing commander/spouse leadership teams.
Colonel Dan Bohlin (Ret.), USAFA ’71, briefly flew the O-2A in South Vietnam, then became a KC-135A copilot, aircraft commander, flight commander/instructor pilot and Stan/Eval Branch Chief.
He was a 1978 Olmsted Scholar, studying in France, and later earned a Master of Arts degree in political science. His French language and pilot experience led to Air Attache duty in West Africa, flying and reporting on Sub-Saharan francophone countries. After a Research Associate appointment to the Hoover Institution, Stanford University, he became Africa Branch Chief at HQ USAF.
While Deputy Chief, Strategy Division, he helped craft the conceptual strategic air campaign against Iraq. A French Air War College tour then preceded assignment to NATO, establishing HQ Baltic Approaches (BALTAP), Denmark as Assistant Chief of Staff, Plans and Intelligence and becoming the HQ’s Senior US Officer. Active duty ended in late 1997 as Deputy Director, Cooperative Threat Reduction, Office of the SECDEF, and as USAF’s representative on the Olmsted Foundation’s Board of Directors.
He then rehabilitated a Wisconsin farm to a nationally recognized tree farm. The state’s governor appointed him to a six-year term on its Board of Veterans Affairs. Dan and wife, Jean, who have three daughters, will live in Colorado.
Col. (Ret.) William "Trapper" Carpenter '73 spent 48 years in or working for the Air Force. He spent 34 years on active duty, with 22 assignments, including 3 overseas tours, and staff position up through wing level and the Joint Staff.
Over his career, Col. Carpenter accumulated 5200 flying hours, with over 3500 hours in the F-15, over six operational assignments and Fighter Weapon School. He commanded both F-15 Air Superiority and Strike Eagle squadrons. From 1997 to 1999, he was vice wing commander for the 1st Fighter Wing at Langley AFB, VA.
Col. Carpenter's final active-duty assignments included vice commandant of cadets under Gen. Steve Lorenz '73 and Gen. Mark Welsh '76, and director of admissions. His remaining 14 years of service were as associate athletic director for recruiting support for USAFA's 27 Division I intercollegiate sports teams.
During his time at USAFA, Col. Carpenter formally mentored well over 100 cadets and served as the executive agent and then as an advisor to the Academy Board. He also was a member of the USAFA Preparatory School Advisory Committee and the Honor Review Committee. As a class officer, he strongly advocated for and worked toward the Class of 1973 becoming the flagship for NCLS, the Academy's premier character and leadership program. Their efforts ultimately resulted in the class endowing NCLS for $1.3M.
Col. Carpenter and his wife, Iris, sponsored a large number of cadets and Cadet Outstanding Awards over their many years at the Academy. They now reside in Irvine, CA and are especially proud of their daughter, Yung '11. They enjoy hiking, tennis, gardening and travel.
Col. Carpenter earned a master's degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh. He also completed graduate courses at Army War College and the Syracuse Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Col. John "Toast" Cinnamon '91 graduated from USAFA with a Bachelor of Science in engineering sciences (space systems design). He went on to earn a master’s degree in aerospace engineering (space systems design and control) from the University of Texas at Austin in 1992.
Col. Cinnamon’s distinguished military career included commanding the C-5 Galaxy; teaching astronautical engineering and introductory flight training in the T-3 at the Air Force Academy; serving as a T-38 instructor and evaluator pilot for the U-2 program; and earning a Ph.D. in aeronautical engineering (hypervelocity/hypersonics) from the Air Force Institute of Technology.
He also served as operations officer and later commander of a T-1 squadron, attended the Joint Advanced Warfighting School — where he earned a master’s degree in joint campaign planning and strategy — and served as director of plans at the U.S. Strategic Command Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction/Defense Threat Reduction Agency. He later commanded a pilot training operations group and concluded his service as permanent professor and head of the Department of Aeronautics at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Col. Cinnamon retired as a command pilot with more than 4,800 flight hours in the T-1, T-3, T-37, T-38, T-41, T-53, and C-5 aircraft. He is currently a senior technology portfolio manager for a federally funded research and development center and an instructor pilot on the Boeing 737 for a major U.S. airline.
Maj. Nathan E. Dial '10 hails from Richmond, Virginia, and is a pilot assigned to the 45th Reconnaissance Squadron as an assistant director of operations, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
For his undergraduate education, Nathan was a distinguished graduate of the US Air Force Academy, a 200/400-meter sprinter on the intercollegiate track team, a soaring instructor pilot, a Naval Academy exchange cadet, and the Fall 2009 Cadet Wing Commander.
After USAFA, he earned a master’s in public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), focusing on political-economic development, multi-party negotiations, and quantitative methods. In between his first and second year at HKS, Nathan entered the Air Force’s Language Enabled Airmen Program (LEAP) for Spanish. He used his fluency in Spanish to serve in SOUTHCOM’s J5 Plans and Strategy Office (Miami, FL), where he developed a tool for assessing partner nations’ humanitarian assistance and disaster relief capabilities.
After HKS, he completed the Euro-NATO Joint Jet Pilot Training Program (ENJJPT). Upon graduation, Nathan flew the EC-130H Compass Call out of Davis Monthan AFB, AZ. Over his four and a half years in Arizona, Nathan completed the Air Force’s Aviation Safety School, Mishaps Investigations Course, and Squadron Officer School as a distinguished graduate. As a reconnaissance pilot, Nathan completed three deployments to the Middle East with the EC-130H, amassing over 775 combat hours and five air medals. In 2022, with the RC-135, he completed one deployment with the Cobra Ball and one with the Combat Sent, amassing 88 hours and an Aerial Achievement Medal.
In the summer of 2018, Nathan was one of five captains selected for the Chief of Staff of the Air Force’s Captains Prestigious Ph.D. program. In July 2021, he graduated from Northwestern University with a Ph.D. in political science, studying the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the 21st Century. In 2022, Nathan was named an Aspen Strategy Group Rising Leader and earned a 10-month fellowship with the world-renowned nonpartisan Aspen Institute. Nathan published four peer-reviewed academic articles on topics ranging from why NATO should view energy security as an important new frontier for transatlantic defense to how the United States can produce 1,500 more Black national security professionals.
Throughout his career, Nathan has shown an ongoing commitment to an inclusive and empathetic culture in the Air Force and surrounding communities. Since 2014, he has served on the Academy Selection Committees for various Arizona Senators. In 2020, Nathan published a three-part series on race and the military in the Air Force Times. In 2021, Nathan became the co-founder and board chair for USAFA Class of 2010 Endowment, which raised $330,000 and provides a minimum of $5,000 each semester for the top cadet squadron’s morale fund in perpetuity. In January 2023, Nathan joined the Air Force’s Aviation Inspiration Mentorship (AIM) program, where he is a part of a cadre that will inform, influence, and inspire the next generation of Air Force aviators.
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Garry Dudley '68 served 22 years active duty, flying five different aircraft and serving two tours in Security Police [now called Security Forces]. The next 22 years were spent in project management with the last 12 years as the president and CEO of Pocket PM, LLC, a company which he co-founded in 2002. Garry is a former president of the Class Advisory Senate, where he volunteered for 10 years. He is also a guest lecturer in the Department of Management (USAFA/DFM). Garry and his wife, Tina, have two children and sponsored numerous cadets. Garry was recently selected as the 2020 recipient of the USAF Academy’s Distinguished Service Award.
Maj. Alexander G. Fogassy '12 is currently inbound to the Pentagon, having just finished his PhD at Oxford (Philosophy), as part of the AY21 “CSAF Captains’ Prestigious PhD Program.” Maj. Fogassy was selected for the CSAF program while stationed at Eielson AFB Alaska, where he flew and instructed in the F-16 as a member of the 18th Aggressor Squadron. At the Pentagon, Maj. Fogassy will be on staff within the Secretary of the Air Force’s office of Chief Data and AI (SAF/CND), dealing in military AI-ethics, as the DAF’s Chief Responsible AI Ethics Officer (CRAEO).
At the Academy, he majored in Astronautical Engineering (with a minor in Arabic). Upon graduation, he went to pilot training at Vance AFB, and then afterwards to F-16 basic course in Tucson, Arizona. His first operational assignment was with the 77th Fighter Squadron, Shaw AFB. Shortly after returning from an Afghanistan deployment (Winter 2017), Maj. Fogassy completed SOS at Maxwell AFB while enroute to Eielson. In his first year at Oxford, he completed a Master of Studies with a focus in Science and Religion, and then completed his follow-on PhD in philosophy in late summer of 2024.
Col. Hank Hoffman '63 served four combat tours in Vietnam in the B-52 and A-37, combining 377 combat missions from 1967 to 1971. After graduate school at Arizona State University and test pilot school, he spent another 11 years in the flight test community. He retired from flying as a C-141 instructor pilot in the Air Force Reserve forces, with more than 10,000 military flying hours. He added another 8,000 hours flying as a captain for American Airlines. He served for several years as a volunteer for the AOG.
Col. (Ret.) Bob Lowe '71 served 26 years in command and staff positions at Squadron, Wing, USTRANSCOM, Air Staff and OSD levels. A command pilot, Bob logged almost 4,000 hours, primarily in the C-130. His staff assignments included Headquarters USAF Chief of the Air Mobility Forces Division and Air Mobility Resources Allocation Team for the USAF Budget, USTRANSCOM Chief of Staff and Secretary of Defense Chief of Staff of the Bosnia Task Force. He earned a master’s degree in human resources management from the University of Utah. From 1997-2016, he had a second career with Lockheed Martin in business development, marketing the AC/HC/MC-130J to ACC and AFSOC. Bob was an Academy AOC/Group AOC/94th Airmanship Training Squadron Commander 1983-1987 and served on the AOG board of directors 1984-87, 1993-97 and 2019-2023 before being reelected to the board for the 2023-2027 term. Bob and his wife, Marybeth, live in Atlanta, Georgia. Their sons, Matthew ('95) and Patrick ('01), served as career USAF officers. Their daughter, Kate, and her family live in Atlanta. Bob and Marybeth enjoy their 10 grandchildren. Bob is a lifetime member of the AOG and a 35+ year Sabre Society donor.
Lt. Col. (Ret.) Denny Merideth '73 has built a career across the U.S. Air Force, farming, the Missouri Legislature, the U.S. State Department, business development and coaching, bringing practical leadership experience across the public and private sectors.
In the Missouri House of Representatives, Col. Merideth served on the budget committee, overseeing a $19 billion budget. He managed financial planning for five businesses, including a new venture launching in January 2025. His executive background includes roles as a U.S. Air Force commander, diplomat, chargé d’affaires and president/managing partner of multiple companies.
Col. Merideth has led successful marketing efforts to grow and promote businesses, combining operational knowledge with outreach strategies.
He has served over a decade as an Academy Liaison Officer and in coordination with service academy presidents and executive alumni through AOG affinity initiatives. He served as head coach of the USAFA rugby team from 2015 to 2022.
Gen. (Ret.) David "DT" Thompson '85 served 38 years in the Air Force and Space Force. He was the vice chief of space operations for the U.S. Space Force, where he assisted the chief of space operations in organizing, training and equipping U.S. and overseas space forces. He retired from the service in 2024.
A career space officer, he has served in operations, acquisition, research and development, and academia. He has commanded operational space units at the squadron, group and wing levels.
Gen. Thompson earned a B.S. in astronautical engineering from the Air Force Academy, an M.S. in aeronautics and astronautics from Purdue University and an M.S. in national security industrial policy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He is an Olmsted scholar and graduate of Defense Systems Management College; Air Command and Staff College; and Air War College.
Gen. Thompson continues to serve in advisory, leadership and educational roles.
Maj. Jennifer Walters '11 is an active-duty Air Force pilot and Olmsted scholar. From 2020 to 2022, she served as lead speechwriter to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
As a KC-10A instructor pilot, she led aircrew on air refueling, humanitarian and contingency operations across the globe. Walters has deployed four times in support of operations Enduring Freedom, Freedom’s Sentinel, Inherent Resolve and Resolute Support, completing more than 100 combat sorties.
She holds a Master of Philosophy and Ph.D. in policy analysis from the RAND Graduate School. As co-founder of Air Mobility Command's Reach Athena, Walters developed an organization that continues to identify and address barriers to military readiness today. Through the Language Enabled Airman Program, Walters has maintained fluency in both Russian and French.
Committed to the impact of mentorship, Walters volunteers with Girl Security and Service to School. She is an alumna of the CNAS Next Generation National Security Leaders Program and Atlantic Council Millennium Leadership Program while she remains a term member with the Council on Foreign Relations. Walters has served on the AOG board of directors since May 2023.