Dana H. Born, Ph.D., is a Senior Advisor to the National Security Fellowship, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, retired Faculty Chair, Senior Executive Fellows Program; Faculty Advisor, Black Family Graduate Fellowship; and lecturer in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) of Government. She also previously served as the Co-Director for the HKS’s Center for Public Leadership and Faculty Advisor for the National Security Fellows.
A retired Brigadier General with 30 years of service in the United States Air Force (USAF), Dr. Born served as a military commander in times of peace, conflict and crises. Prior to Harvard, she served nine years at the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) as the Dean of Faculty, leading a 700+ member faculty and staff with a $350M annual budget. Previously, Dr. Born served as the Commander of the 11th Mission Support Squadron, Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. In that role, she served as an on-scene Commander during the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon. Other assignments included: Aide, Speechwriter and Policy Analyst to two secretaries of the Air Force; Exchange Officer with the Royal Australian Air Force and in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Dr. Born is the recipient of the Secretary of the Air Force’s Eugene M. Zuckert Award for Outstanding Management Achievement, Air Force Association’s Hoyt S. Vandenberg Award for outstanding contributions to Aerospace education, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit Medal and Defense Meritorious Service Medal. She also earned the HKS’s Innovation in Teaching Award in 2017 and the HKS’s Annual Teaching Awards 2014-2024.
Currently, Dr. Born is an Independent Director and Chair of the Midwest Reliability Organization’s Board, previously serving as Vice Chair, Chair of the Finance and Audit committee and a member of the Governance and Personnel committee; a Supporting Director on the Air Force Academy's Foundation Board and Chair of the Stewardship Committee, a Trustee on the USAFA’s Falcon Foundation serving on the Strategy and Governance committee, and formerly on the Scholarship committee. She is the Past President and Chair of the Board of the International Women’s Forum (IWF), Massachusetts, current member of the IWF-DC and Women Corporate Directors-DC, Honorary Board Member on the EOD Warrior Foundation’s Board, and Academic Advisory Board member for Chegg.
Dr. Born also serves as a Distinguished Fellow for the HOW Institute for Society; member of the Council on Foreign Relations, former Peer Evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission, and Senior Consultant for the Core Leadership Institute. She is Past President of the American Psychological Association (APA Fellow, Society for Military Psychology) and a Fellow for the Society for Industrial Organizational Psychology (SIOP). Previously, Dr. Born served as an Independent Director on the Board of Volato and Chair of the Audit Committee, and as an Independent Director of the Apollo Education Group, having served on the Compensation, Audit and Special Litigation Committees.
A graduate with distinction from the USAFA, Dr. Born received her B.S. in Behavioral Sciences and M.S. in Experimental Psychology from Trinity University, TX; an M.A. in Research Psychology from University of Melbourne and Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology from Penn State University. She received Penn State University’s Alumni Fellow Award in 2012 and Distinguished Alumni Award in 2018, and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Simmons College in Humane Administration in 2007.
