U.S. NAVAL WAR COLLEGE - Key Persons
Andrea Groce joined the Henry E. Eccles Library at the U.S. Naval War College in 2006, currently holding the position of research and instruction librarian. Groce holds degrees from Pine Manor College, the University of Rhode Island, and the U.S. Naval War College, earning her Master's in library and information science in 2004 and her Master's in defense and strategic studies in 2022.
Capt. Brian Doherty is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate School. He was commissioned in 1997 and is a human resource officer. He most recently served as the commanding officer for the Navy Recruiting District covering New England, Eastern New York and Europe. Prior to the recruiting tour, he has been the deputy N1 at Tenth Fleet, budget head at the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (N100), training officer on USS Nimitz and officer-in-charge at Personnel Support Detachment, Whidbey Island.
Named for Vice Admiral Samuel L. Gravely Jr., the CIPI Gravely Program is a graduate-level directed research project that guides student research on cyber operations and the information environment.
Job Titles:
- Military Professor & Senior Service Advisor Maritime Advanced Warfighting School
Col. Wonson is a military professor at the Maritime Advanced Warfighting School and senior service representative to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. A career infantry officer, joint qualified officer, and certified strategic-operational planner, he is a combat veteran with nearly thirty years of service, seven overseas deployments and more than a decade of command experience. He is a graduate of Marine Corps Command and Staff College and School of Advanced Warfighting, and was a Marine Corps Fellow in Yale University's International Security Studies Program/Brady-Johnson Program in Grand Strategy. He most recently served as commanding officer, Marine Corps Tactics and Operations Group.
Job Titles:
- Military Professor Joint Military Operations Department
- Professor for the Joint Military Operations Department
U.S. Navy Capt. Danielle Higson is a military professor for the Joint Military Operations Department. She most recently received a master's degree from the U.S. Naval War College. During her career, she has served as the legal advisor at various levels of command at sea and ashore at joint, multinational and interagency commands. Her deployments include a carrier deployment to SW Asia, Individual Augmentation to Iraq, and an assignment to Bahrain. She specializes in national security law. She gained significant expertise in cyber and intelligence law while providing operational legal advice at the National Security Agency, U.S. Cyber Command, and U.S. Fleet Cyber Command/U.S. Tenth Fleet.
Biography
Dr. Doyle Hodges is a scholar of civil-military relations, maritime and defense strategy, and ethics in national security policy. A retired Naval officer, Dr. Hodges commanded a guided missile destroyer and a forward-deployed salvage ship. After retiring from active duty, he earned a doctorate at Princeton University. He has taught at the U.S. Naval Academy, Princeton University, George Mason University, and the U.S. Naval War College.
Job Titles:
- President and Founder of the Realize Leadership Group
Dr. Carla Thomas is president and founder of the Realize Leadership Group, a consultancy that specializes in diversity, equity, inclusion, and access services. Over the past decade, she has partnered with clients ranging from higher education to global fortune 500 organizations. Dr. Thomas currently sits on the advisory boards of Saint Joseph's University's Organizational & Leadership Development graduate program as well as the University of Pennsylvania's Chief Learning Officer doctorate program. Dr. Thomas is a graduate of Vanderbilt University, Saint Joseph's University, and the University of Pennsylvania.
Dr. Jennifer Lerner has been the Thornton F. Bradshaw Professor of Public Policy, Management and Decision Science at the Harvard Kennedy School since 2007. After receiving her Ph.D. from Berkeley, Lerner was a professor of Social and Decision Science at Carnegie Mellon University. Her honors include the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Faculty Early Career Development Award and the NSF's "Sensational 60" designation. Previously, she served on an expert NIH panel and as the first behavioral scientist ever appointed to the United States Secretary of the Navy's Advisory Panel.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Dean College of Distance Education
- Professor
Professor Hernandez joined the Naval War College faculty in 2015 and served in the Joint Military Operations Department as the JMO Chairman before retiring as a Navy Captain in 2019 and joining the College of Distance Education faculty in 2020. He holds a Master of Arts degree in national security affairs from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey, California, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from the University of California, Los Angeles. He is the former commanding officer of USS Patriot (MCM-7), USS Millius (DDG-69) and Mine Countermeasures Squadron Three. His shore assignments include serving on the Navy Staff at the Pentagon and Combined Joint Task Force - Horn of Africa.
Job Titles:
- Dean College of Maritime Operational Warfare
- Dean of the College
Biography
Ed Cashman is the dean of the College of Maritime Operational Warfare and a retired Surface Warfare Officer. He graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering and received his commission through Officer Candidate School in 1988. He served on the Joint Staff in the J5 and as Director of the Joint Integrated Air and missile Defense Organization. His career includes command assignments of a DDG in the Western Pacific, a Destroyer Squadron in the Arabian Gulf, a Joint Task Force, and Standing NATO Maritime Group 1 operating across the North Atlantic.
Job Titles:
- Director of Institutional Effectiveness Office of the Provost
Biography
Dr. Gillen has significant higher education leadership, marketing, admissions and research/assessment experience. His portfolio includes non-profit management, corporate communications and planning, and leading cross-functional teams. He has taught at the Zarb School of Business at Hofstra University. With a career focused on organizational improvement, Gillen's expertise comprises regional and military academic accreditation. A graduate of John Carroll University, Gillen earned an M.B.A. from Hofstra University and a doctorate in organizational leadership at Northeastern University. He joined the college's senior leadership team in 2014.
Job Titles:
- Associate Professor Joint Military Operations Department
- Professor
Professor Wright teaches Joint Military Operations and the George Washington elective. He joined the faculty in 2011, serving in the National Security Affairs department until retiring from the Navy in 2018. He joined NWC as an Associate Professor in October 2018. He commanded VP-46 and completed operational assignments with VP-23, VP-26, VX-1 and Carrier Strike Group 8, with experience in the Western Pacific, North Atlantic, Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Arabian Gulf. He also served as a staff officer at OPNAV, instructor and Deputy Director of the Navy Leadership and Ethics Center, and Officer-in-Charge of NAVCENT FORWARD HQ.
Job Titles:
- Research Contributions and Publications
Heath "Hank" Brightman is the Director, Civilian-Military Humanitarian Response Program and a full professor within the College of Maritime Operational Warfare. He is also the EMC Informationist Chair at the U.S. Naval War College. From 2008-2016, he served as an associate professor, professor and director of Applied Research & Analysis in the War Gaming Department. Brightman served as a tenured associate professor and chair of the Criminal Justice Department at Saint Peter's University from 2000-2008. He maintains a part-time private trauma and wellness practice in Newport, Rhode Island, where he specializes in trauma support and clinical hypnotherapy.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate Provost for Research Office of the Provost
Biography
J. Ross Dancy is the Associate Provost for Research at the U.S. Naval War College. His research examines naval administration, policy, and manpower as well as the veterans returning home from war. He is the co-founder and co-editor for the University of Massachusetts Press's monograph series Veterans. His first monograph was runner-up for the Society for Nautical Research's prestigious Anderson Medal. As a U.S. Marine infantryman, he served in both Afghanistan and Iraq. Professor Dancy holds a doctorate in history from the University of Oxford, as well as degrees from the University of Exeter and Appalachian State University.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Dean Center for Naval Warfare Studies
Colonel James (Jay) A Schnelle is the Center for Naval Warfare Studies Deputy Dean and a Marine aviator. He has extensive aviation and fires and effects operational experience as well as resource/requirement staff experience. He has six Marine Expeditionary Unit deployments as well as Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Marine Rotational Force Darwin deployments. Additional fleet experience includes as the III MEF Fires and Effects Coordinator, G-3 Aviation and various other G-3 roles. He has a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy and is an honors graduate of the Marine Corps University Command and Staff College and the U.S. Naval War College.
Job Titles:
- Professor College of Distance Education
Professor Jackson has served at NWC for more than 20 years, teaching in the areas of national security decision-making, logistics, and unmanned and robotic systems. He holds the E.A. Sperry Chair of Unmanned and Robotic Systems and lectures frequently. His latest book "One Nation, Under Drones" was published by the U.S. Naval Institute in December 2018. He is the program manager for the Chief of Naval Operation's professional reading program. Additionally, he serves on the President's Action Group and as chairman of the 9-11 Memorial Committee. A retired Navy Captain, he served in supply and logistics assignments both afloat and ashore retiring in 1998 after 27 years of active service.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Dean & Senior Service Advisor College of Leadership and Ethics
Col. Brown is an ROTC distinguished military graduate from California State University Fullerton and a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College. He was commissioned as an infantry officer in 1991 and transferred to the Military Intelligence Corps in 1995. He has served in key positions as the Assistant Chief of Staff (Intelligence), NATO Rapid Deployable Corps - Italy, Garrison Commander of the Presidio of Monterey, California, and Commander, 532nd Military Intelligence Battalion in the Republic of Korea. He has also served as the J2, Special Operations Command South in Homestead, Florida, and the J2 for NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan.
Job Titles:
- Squadron 542 Commanding Officer
Melvin G. Williams, Jr. served for 33 years in the U.S. Navy, commanding U.S. Second Fleet and various ships in Operations Enduring Freedom and Desert Storm. From 2011-2013, Williams was the Associate Deputy Secretary of Energy at the U.S. Department of Energy. Transitioning to academia, he was Associate Dean of Engineering at the Catholic University of America, the Nuclear Research Consultant at University of California - Davis, and Associate Provost at the George Washington University. He earned a B.S. from the U.S. Naval Academy and an M.S. from the Catholic University of America. His co-authored book Navigating the Seven Seas has been included in the Navy Reading Program since 2012.
Job Titles:
- Associate Provost for Outreach and Engagement Office of the Provost
Biography
Prof. Brad Carter is a graduate of the University of Kansas where he earned his doctorate in American Studies. Before joining the faculty at the Naval War College, he was an associate professor of military history with the Army's Command and General Staff College. He has previously taught at the University of Kansas and Saint Paul School of Theology, Kansas City, MO. A Kansas City native and Army brat, he received a bachelor's in Philosophy and Religion from William Jewell College, Liberty, MO, and a Masters of Theological Studies from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, Evanston, IL.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Professor
- Director