Is the Talent Pipeline Meeting America’s National Security Needs?
Virtual Briefing Series
Thursday, May 4, 2023 | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Over the years, recruitment and the creation of a healthy talent pipeline for national security jobs have become a concern. A changing landscape of challenges, including competition from the private sector, government shutdowns, shifts in educational priorities, and hiring freezes have complicated efforts to attract sufficient young talent with the right skillsets. In particular, the U.S. government faces significant gaps in cyber and IT talent. In recent years, there have been 16 times more federal employees in IT who are over 50 than under 30, leaving a looming talent cliff at a time when cyber and IT talent is more critical than ever. Join us on Thursday, May 4th, 2023 from 12 PM to 1 PM ET for a discussion with Sherry Van Sloun, National Intelligence Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and recently served as assistant director of national intelligence for human capital at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), and Brett Hunt, the Senior Director of Volcker Alliance’s Next Generation Service Corps initiative, with over eighteen years of leadership experience in the public and private sectors, to look at how we build the national security workforce of the future and what steps we need to take now.
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SPEAKERS:
Sherry Van Sloun
Sherry Van Sloun is currently the National Intelligence Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. She most recently served as the assistant director of national intelligence for human capital at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). In this position, she led the design, development, and execution of human capital strategies, plans, and policies in support of the women and men who serve in our nation’s intelligence agencies. Her previous positions at the ODNI include deputy assistant director of national intelligence for human capital and the U.S. intelligence community’s deputy chief human capital officer and director of human resources. Ms. Van Sloun joined the ODNI in 2007 and was selected as the chief of staff of the Office of the National Counterintelligence Executive. She also served as the executive secretary where she managed all correspondence to and from the National Counterintelligence Executive and led the National Counterintelligence Policy Board. Preceding her tenure at the ODNI, she held various positions over the course of ten years with the National Security Agency. She also served in the U.S. Army for eight years as a signals analyst serving in tours at the NSA and overseas in the Berlin Brigade during the first Gulf War. Ms. Van Sloun received a bachelor of science in political science from the University of Maryland. She is also a graduate of the National War College.
Brett Hunt
Brett Hunt joined the Volcker Alliance in September 2021 as the senior director of the Next Generation Service Initiatives.
In this role, Mr. Hunt oversees the Volcker Alliance’s Next Generation Service Corps initiative, working directly with a growing network of universities around the country to create innovative programs that prepare college students for careers in public service. Prior to joining the Alliance, Mr. Hunt was the founding executive director of the nation’s first Public Service Academy at Arizona State University.
Mr. Hunt has over eighteen years of leadership experience in the public and private sectors. He began his career as a captain in the US Army, including deployments to Iraq and Kuwait and service in Korea. He served as a foreign service officer at the Department of State, where he was a vice consul in the US Consulate General in Guadalajara, Mexico. In the private sector, Mr. Hunt worked as a consultant on immigration and agriculture issues, as well as on state and federal Department of Defense clean energy programs. He also worked as a manager in the fresh produce industry.
Passionate about veterans’ issues, Mr. Hunt advocates for veterans at the local, state, and federal levels; he is a facilitator for the Treks 4 Vets program, a wilderness therapy program, serves on US Senator Mark Kelly’s Veterans Advisory Committee, and founded the Veterans Scholar Program at Arizona State University to support student veterans. He also serves on the Arizona Advisory Board for the US Global Leadership Coalition and is a member of the Phoenix Council on Foreign Relations. Mr. Hunt is active in his community, serving as a youth sports coach and Parent Teacher Association co-president.
Mr. Hunt holds degrees from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the Thunderbird School of Global Management.
Photo credit: remotevfx
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